Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Musical

07/30/2026

07/30/2026

The new musical adaptation of the NYT bestselling novel ‘Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet’ by Jamie Ford premiered Act I at the Langston Hughes in Seattle on May 2026 produced by Sakachez®

Young Henry and Keiko sneak out after hours to see their favorite musician Oscar Holden (Nathaniel Tenenbaum) perform with Henry’s best friend Sheldon (Darius de Haas) at the Black Elks Club!

Song: ‘Alley Cats’
Music, Lyrics & Orchestrations: Paul Fujimoto
Dance Arrangements: Sam Davis
Book, Direction & Choreography: Lainie Sakakura
Co-Choreography: Rick Faugno
Cantonese Consultant: Fenton Li

Cast: Rich Ceraulo Ko Keita Kawahara Isa Noriko Sanchez Darius de Haas Jonny Lee Jr. Owen Yen Kathleen Kwan
Morgan Claire Roberts Nyce Somar Rick Faugno Minami Yusui・由水 南(ゆうすい みなみ) Kate Jaeger Sam McCulley Jimmy Shields Cyana Paolantonio Tinka Gutrick Dailey Reiko Muto Aramaki Marsha Crawford

HOTCOBAS Band conducted by Brian Walters
Piano: Kenneth aramaki
Sax: Kellen White
Bass: Jarrett Mason
Drums: (from paulrevereandtheraiders)
Violin: Jonah Byrne
Trumpet: Paul Fujimoto

Theater: LANGSTON

Please follow and share Summary.Media Component on our journey back to Seattle with our full musical. To make a tax deductible donation to HOTCOBAS at Sakachez, click the link in our bio!

07/29/2026

The new musical adaptation of the NYT bestselling novel ‘Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet’ by Jamie Ford premiered Act I at the Langston Hughes in Seattle on May 2026 produced by Sakachez®

In this scene, young Henry (Keita Kawahara ) gets ready for school, believing he’s finally figured out a way to fit in at Seattle’s all-white Rainier Middle School.

Song: ‘Carrying The Flag’
Music, Lyrics & Orchestrations: Paul Fujimoto
Book, Direction & Choreography: Lainie Sakakura

Cast: Rich Ceraulo Ko Keita Kawahara Isa Noriko Sanchez Darius de Haas Jonny Lee Jr. Owen Yen Kathleen Kwan
Morgan Claire Roberts Nyce Somar Rick Faugno Minami Yusui・由水 南(ゆうすい みなみ) Kate Jaeger Sam McCulley Jimmy Shields Cyana Paolantonio Tinka Gutrick Dailey Reiko Muto Aramaki Marsha Crawford

HOTCOBAS Band conducted by Brian Walters
Piano: Kenneth aramaki
Sax: Kellen White
Bass: Jarrett Mason
Drums: (from paulrevereandtheraiders)
Violin: Jonah Byrne
Trumpet: Paul Fujimoto

Theater: LANGSTON

Please follow and share Summary.Media Component on our journey back to Seattle with our full musical. To make a tax deductible donation to HOTCOBAS at Sakachez, click the link in our bio!

07/27/2026

Photographer Matt Masuoka captured jazz musician, Sheldon (played by Darius de Haas) teaching Young Henry (played by Keita Kawahara ) a thing or two about life and love in Seattle 1942 in the song “Live A Little”. Music & Lyrics: Paul Fujimoto Book & Direction: Lainie Sakakura

The HOTCOBAS Band conducted by Brian Walters
Piano: Kenneth aramaki
Sax: Kellen White
Bass: Jarrett Mason
Drums: (from paulrevereandtheraiders)
Violin: Jonah Byrne
Trumpet: Paul Fujimoto

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The FULL Musical planning a return to Seattle June 2027 with a lot of love and luck. Keep the support coming!

Book & Direction Lainie Sakakura
Music & Lyrics Paul Fujimoto
Based on the bestselling novel by Jamie Ford

Seattle Presntation May 2026
LANGSTON Sakachez®

07/23/2026

Photographer Eugene Tagawa captured the band seat of Jonah Byrne in rehearsal - violin, music, book

The HOTCOBAS Band conducted by Brian Walters
Piano: Kenneth aramaki
Sax: Kellen White
Bass: Jarrett Mason
Drums: (from paulrevereandtheraiders)
Violin: Jonah Byrne
Trumpet: Paul Fujimoto

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The FULL Musical planning a return to Seattle June 2027 with a lot of love and luck. Keep the support coming! We need it.

Book & Direction Lainie Sakakura
Music & Lyrics Paul Fujimoto
Based on the bestselling novel by Jamie Ford

Seattle Presntation May 2026
LANGSTON Sakachez®

05/26/2026

Thank you to the award winning author and theater professional for your kind support!
Book/Direction/Choreography
Music/Lyrics/Orchestrations
Music Direction/Supervision
Producer
Venue

05/18/2026

Sunday Seattle Times!

05/13/2026

Wonderful Seattle Times article just came out.
In other news, tickets for both shows are sold out 1 week before we start rehearsal! Let’s go!