{{Short description|Play by R. A. Shiomi}} {{Use Canadian English|date=December 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}} {{Infobox play | name = Yellow Fever | image = | image_size = | caption = | writer = R. A. Shiomi | characters = Sam Shikaze | setting = Powell Street in Vancouver, CAN in the early 1970s | premiere = 1 December 1982<ref name=gussow1/> | place = Pan Asian Repertory<br>New York, New York<ref name=gussow1/> | orig_lang = English | subject = Japanese Canadian Culture | genre = Comedy, Mystery, Parody
}} '''''Yellow Fever''''' is a play by R. A. Shiomi, which takes place on Powell Street in Japantown, Vancouver, a gathering place for the local Japanese-Canadian culture. Set in the 1970s, the Sam Spade-like main character, Sam Shikaze, must work to unravel the mysteries that surround him.<ref name=Oliver>Oliver, Edith. "Rosie's cafe." The New Yorker 63.n36 (26 October 1987): 130(1). General Reference Center Gold. Gale.</ref> First produced by the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre in 1982, it received positive reviews<ref name=Oliver/> and had a successful run off-Broadway.
==Plot summary== Sam Shikaze, a smooth private eye, narrates his own story about what happened when he was hired to find the missing Cherry Blossom Queen. He is soon trapped in a web of racism and political intrigue that seems to lead back to the Hong Kong tongs. Chuck Chan is a lawyer who tries to help solve the case, while Nancy Wing is a beautiful reporter who is searching for a story. Captain Kadota, an old friend of Sam's, offers his aid as a member of the police force, although Sam and Kadota do not see eye-to-eye on politics.
;Characters and actors in the premier production:<ref name=gussow1>Gussow, Mel. "Yellow fever." The New York Times 132 (2 December 1982): 24(N) pC21(L). General Reference Center Gold. Gale.</ref>
*Sam Shikaze (Donald Li) *Rosie (Carol Honda) *Goldberg (James Jenner) *Chuck Chan (Henry Yuk) *Nancy Wing (Freda Foh Shen) *Sergeant Mackenzie (Jeffrey Spolan) *Capt. Kenji Kadota (Ernest Abuba) *Superintendent Jameson (James Jenner)
Presented by the Pan Asian Repertory Theater: *Raul Aranasm, stage director *Tisa Chang, artistic director *Susan Socolowski, administrative director
==Awards and honors== * 1982: Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award * 1982: "Bernie" for new play from the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' * 1983: Obie Award to Ernest Abuba for performance<ref>{{Cite news |date=1983-05-24 |title=OBIE AWARDS PRESENTED |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/24/theater/obie-awards-presented.html |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *http://www.panasianrep.org **http://www.panasianrep.org/panasian/pastplays.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615185407/http://www.panasianrep.org/panasian/pastplays.htm |date=15 June 2009 }} *http://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/02/theater/theater-yellow-fever-by-the-pan-asian-rep.html
{{Japanese-Canadian relations}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Fever (Play)}} Category:1982 plays Category:Canadian comedy plays