Paul LaNave, Clay Man Soo, Erik Ohno Dagoberg, Song Kim, and Josh Kwon Photo by Rick Spaulding

Shiomi took the stories of two men who served as "secret warriors" during World War II, shared with him by their descendants, as the skeleton around which the play's narrative hangs. "Secret warriors" were Japanese-American men–specifically, Nisei, second generation Japanese-Americans and United States citizens by virtue of being born in this country–who volunteered as interpreters and translators after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The United States armed forces were woefully short of staff able to translate intercepted communiques, interrogate prisoners of war, negotiate with Japanese officers, or interpret the significance of culturally embedded behaviors on the part of our Japanese foes. To address this crucial need, an intensive program was started to quickly train those who were willing and had strong enough language skills–growing up in America, many Nisei spoke Japanese poorly–for these assignments. This often entailed serving on the front lines or in dangerous intelligence gathering missions. Because their work fell under Military Intelligence Service, their identities had to be secret. Thus, they became "secret warriors," allowed to say no more than that they were serving in the war, even to their families.

Which raises the issue of these men's families. Because Japanese Americans were inevitably under suspicion of being loyal to our enemy, and thus a threat to our war effort, most Japanese families were forcibly placed in bleak internment camps under the terms of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Order 9066. These families lost their homes, farms and businesses, even as Japanese Americans served in the U.S. armed forces. Those who served in the military could view their service as a way to prove their loyalty as Americans. Still, they held ambivalent feelings about risking their lives to defend a country that stole their homes and placed their parents, sisters and brothers behind barbed wire.

These circumstances and feelings swirl in the hearts of Koji Kimura (Clay Man Soo) and Tamio Takahashi (Erik Ohno Dagoberg) as they interview for admission to the language school. Aside from their Japanese heritage, the two couldn't be more different. Koji's parents had a farm in California's central valley. He possesses a sincere and serious nature, with a desire to become an engineer, though he has seen little of the world. Tamio had gone back to Japan for his education so his Japanese is strong, then returned to Seattle where his father owned a business. He projects the fast-talking, cynical, and superior-acting demeanor of a "city slicker" and riles Koji up by calling him "country."

The first act takes Koji and Tamio through the Minnesota-based language school, introducing classmates Isamu, called Sam (Josh Kwon), and Masa (Song Kim), who is from Hawaii and therefore speaks a pidgin Japanese. They are under the command of Lt. Nelson (Paul LaNave) and taught by tough-as-nails John Aiso (Rich Remedios), the only character in the play, to my knowledge, who was a real person, serving as the school's head instructor. At a USO dance in St. Paul, shy Koji meets Natsuko Nishi (Stephanie Anne Bertumen), a Nisei granted leave from the internment camp to attend college, and Tamio meets Denise Murphy, a nurse whose Irish roots don't deter the two of them from forming a deep bond.

The second act takes a more intense tone as we follow Koji and Tamio through their separate duties in the war. The stage, which had been stationary in the first act, reveals itself to house a turntable that shifts the action back and forth between the two theaters of war, and director Lily Tung Crystal's adroit staging ratchets the suspense steadily up as we fear for our heroes' safety through hazardous scenarios. Through correspondence with their respective sweethearts, we gain insight into their frame of mind, and learn how their families, still held in internment camps, are faring. Shiomi's compelling script and Crystal's tight direction keep us drawn in, and the play draws us to anticipate the conclusion of the war with hope that Koji and Tamio, who have won our affection and respect, will come home alive.

The cast is superb. Erik Ohno Dagoberg's portrayal of Tamio is finely crafted to make his sensitive courageous, and even romantic facets lying beneath his wise-guy veneer feel completely authentic. Clay Man Soo, fresh from a compelling turn in Sanctuary City, lets us feel Koji's determination to find and follow the right course, whether it is accepting his role as a secret warrior or in acting on his attraction to Natsuko. In a scene in which Koji must negotiate with a Japanese officer (played searingly by Rich Remedios) taken prisoner, Soo conveys the desperation and intelligence with which Koji devises arguments in a language he has barely mastered, that can turn the tide of the war and save an untold number of lives. It is powerfully written and beautifully performed by both actors.

Bertumen (also straight from terrific work in Sanctuary City) reveals Natsuko's clarity in knowing she must balance the opportunity she has been given to attend college and make a mark in the world with her love for Koji, and gives the play a whiff of comic breeze coaching her inexperienced boyfriend on how to express his affection. Kent exudes light and energy as Denise, worldly enough to match Tamio's sass while giving her feelings free rein to blossom. Her expression of confidence in her parents' capacity to accept her Japanese boyfriend is delivered with a common-sense hopefulness that is unimpeachable.

The reliably fine La Nave, who has several roles in the second act, is especially wonderful in Act I as Lt. Nelson, maintaining the stern command required of his position while offering light on the internal doubts he harbors about the way things are arranged in the world. Remedios is impressive both as the instructor, John Aiso, and the proud Japanese officer. Kim, as Masa, Kwon as Sam, and Tony Larkin, playing a number of characters in both acts, all carry out their assignments with aplomb.

Along with the turntable, scenic designer Erik Paulson's sets consist primarily of a pair of moveable platforms with stairs creating different arrangements of space both laterally and vertically, and serve the production extremely well. Kathy Maxwell's video designs establish settings and context throughout, becoming an essential element of the play. Wu Chen Khoo's lighting design and Frederick Kennedy's sound design work in tandem to create tension in the war-zone based scenes, and distinguishing the moments of romance and tenderness from the strain of the classroom as well as the terror of the war. Meghan Kent's costumes reflect the period and aptly expand on each character's nature.

Secret Warriors is a story all Americans should know, along with so many stories that have never been give their due about the contributions of diverse communities that make up our nation. It has special resonance in Minnesota due to the wartime location of the Military Intelligence Service Language School in our state–first at Camp Savage, which has since been demolished, and then at Fort Snelling, which stands as a 200-year-old historic landmark. There is information about the secret warriors in the fort's visitors' center. Still, without question, this is a story for the entire nation.

With serious efforts underway to remove from our teaching of history the contributions of Navajo code breakers, Black women who did the math that helped launch our space program, slaves who built the White House, Mexicans who established Albuquerque, San Antonio, and Los Angeles, along with the secret warriors and so many others with a multitude of skin hues and native tongues, it is essential to uphold these stories, which were never told until their descendants rose up and demanded it. The Secret Warriors brings one of these essential stories to light, not as a musty history lesson, but as an emotionally engaging, skillfully executed theatrical experience.

Secret Warriors runs through April 19, 2025, at History Theatre, 30 East 10th Street, Saint Paul MN. For tickets and information, please call 651-292-4323 or visit historytheatre.com.

Playwrights: R.A. Shiomi; Director: Lily Tung Crystal; Scenic Design: Erik Paulson; Video Design: Kathy Maxwell; Costume Design: Meghan Kent; Lighting Design: Wu Chen Khoo; Sound Design: Frederick Kennedy; Properties Design: Kenji Shoemaker; Choreography: Stephanie Anne Bertumen; Intimacy Coach: Elena Glass; Fight Choreography: Annie Enneking; Assistant Lighting Designer: Alice Endo; Stage Manager: Haley N. Walsh; Assistant Stage Manager: Samantha Smith.

Cast: Stephanie Anne Bertumen (Natsuko Nishi), Erik Ohno Dagoberg (Tamio Takahashi), Kendall Kent (Denise Murphy), Song Kim (Masa Matsui/Mori Hudeyoshi/Okada/ensemble), Josh Kwon (Isamu "Sam" Oikawa/Sato/ensemble), Paul LaNave (Lt. Jeff Nelson/Private Weber/Lt. Huber/Captain Peterson/ensemble), Tony Larkin (Sergeant Willis/Corporal Rizzo/ensemble), Rich Remedios (John Aiso/Captain Isamu Iwata), Clay Man Soo (Koji Kimura).