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CONTACT: mediarelations@janm.org
June 24, 2026                                                                                                          213.830.5690

Immersive Theater Event about World War II Heroes Coming to Chicago September 20

Tickets for the national tour’s only Midwest show go on sale July 1

LOS ANGELES, CA – Defining Courage, the nationally touring live show about the Japanese American soldiers of World War II, is coming to Chicago on Sunday, September 20, 2026, at 6 p.m. CDT. Defining Courage combines live storytelling by Emmy Award–winning journalist David Ono and stunning film with completely original live music featuring Grammy-winner Daniel Ho, acclaimed songwriter Harold Payne, and the powerful RAISE Choir. This immersive theater event will be performed at the Athenaeum Center in Chicago, Illinois—the tour’s only midwest stop. Tickets range from $35-$100. Tickets go on sale July 1, 2026, and will be available at DefiningCourageShow.com.

Defining Courage is a journey into the legacy of the Nisei soldier—Japanese Americans who served in the segregated units of the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Military Intelligence Service, and the 522nd Field Artillery Battalion while their families were incarcerated back home. Produced and narrated by ABC7-Los Angeles news anchor and filmmaker David Ono, Defining Courage honors the greatest fighting units in American military history and is a testament to inner strength that inspires us in our search for courage in today’s world. 

The national tour of Defining Courage is presented by Story Boldly, the Japanese American National Museum, and Outside In Theatre. Defining Courage is funded, in part, by a grant from the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation and Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant.

Local partners for the Chicago performance include the Japanese American Service Committee and the other member organizations of the Chicago Japanese American Council. Local sponsors include Ron & Joyce Yoshino, Martha Watanabe, Michael Takada, Chicago Nisei Post 1183 American Legion, and Rose Tashiro. 

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About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, JANM promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a center for civil rights, ensuring that the hard-fought lessons of the World War II incarceration are not forgotten. A Smithsonian Affiliate and one of America’s Cultural Treasures, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories. JANM is a center for the arts as well as history. It provides a voice for Japanese Americans and a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public in 1992, JANM has presented over one hundred exhibitions onsite while traveling forty exhibits to venues such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and to several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America. JANM’s Pavilion is closed for renovation; programs will continue on the JANM campus, throughout Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Southern California, and beyond from early January 2025 through late 2026. For more information, visit janm.org/OnTheGo or follow us on social media @jamuseum.

About the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC)

Founded in 1946, JASC (Japanese American Service Committee) was established to support Japanese Americans resettling in Chicago after incarceration during World War II. Originally known as the Chicago Resettlers Committee, JASC helped individuals and families rebuild their lives through housing assistance, employment support, and community connections. Today, JASC preserves Japanese American heritage while serving the broader community through cultural programs, social services, educational initiatives, and community engagement.

JASC’s cultural programs include Japanese language classes, cooking workshops, ikebana, arts and heritage programming, and public events that foster cross-cultural understanding and appreciation. Through its social service programs, JASC provides vital support to older adults, families, and individuals throughout the Chicago area.

JASC is also home to the Legacy Center, which houses the largest concentration of Japanese American archival materials in Chicago and one of the most significant community-based collections documenting the Japanese American experience in the Midwest. The archives preserve photographs, documents, artifacts, audiovisual materials, and personal histories that illuminate the experiences of Japanese Americans from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

As JASC celebrates its 80th anniversary, the organization continues its mission of preserving history, strengthening community, and building connections across generations. For more information, visit jasc-chicago.org or follow JASC on social media @jasc_chicago.