During the American occupation of Japan at the end of World War II, more than 100,000 native Japanese women married American soldiers. Between 1946 and 1960, they came to the United States with their husbands and were settled at remote Army posts around the country, one of which, Fort Riley, in Kansas, is the setting for Velina Hasu Houston's born-in-anger play, Tea, staged by Tacoma theater company Dukesby Productions. The story revolves around five Japanese women who are supposed to become a part of the great American melting pot. But when one of them shoots herself, the others are drawn to the traditional Japanese teapot.

Read Christian Carvajal's review of Tea in the Music & Culture section.

TEA, 7:30 p.m. opening night, also 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through Nov. 16, The Dukesby Theater, 508 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, $10-$12, 253.267.0869