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| Junior’s feature film credits include roles in MGM’s Legally Blonde 2 as well as independent films such as Missy and Take a Chance. Stage credits include Jake Blues in the Blues Brothers Show at Universal Studios Japan, Fiddler on the Roof at Sundance Institute with Tony Award-winning Michael Rupert, and Lennie in Of Mice and Men based on the novel by US author John Steinbeck. From 1999 to 2008, he toured the world while performing as a guest artist with Odyssey Dance Theatre. From July of 2009 to February of 2012, he worked with Cirque du Soleil in their show, Viva ELVIS, in Las Vegas, Nevada. He played the prominent role of the narrator and Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Through Loving the Silent Tears, Junior reunited to work with Cirque du Soleil’s amazing director and choreographer, Vincent Paterson and Bonnie Story, respectively. He expressed, “As a director, Vincent had really changed my life. He comes at theatre from a standpoint of love and so, you really feel that power when you work with him. I love Bonnie so much. She sees my potential, she sees where I can do, and so she’s been a real big support in my career.” Explaining the symbolic importance of his Conductor character in the musical, Junior said, “He puts us on a journey, and leads us through, and guides us to what we need in life. And I think each one of us as we go through our life, and if we’re truly listening, we will find those things that will help us progress and move on, and become better people.”
With the songs inspired by Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
poetry collection, Silent Tears, the musical imparts a message
imbued with profound spirituality. Junior shared, “As I’ve
been reading them [the poems], they just are rich in thought and
it makes me ponder about life and how I think. You know, we’re
all spiritual beings. I think we all desire to know more about the
universe and things around us and how we fit in. And I think if
we look at those writings, it’ll open up our minds. And we’ll
be able to learn more and ponder and just meditate on life and the
things around us, and that calmness comes into our lives. Supreme
Master Ching Hai, she’s an amazing woman. I was able to watch
some of her speeches, and just her essence, she brings such joy
to the world. As I listened to her, I couldn’t help but be
happy because what she said and how she said it just penetrated
me. And I was able to just see her joy and share in her joy. So
I’m so happy that we’ll be able to celebrate this with
her.”
One of the songs in the musical is “Initiation,” with music written by Tony winner Don Pippin, sung by Italian tenor Mark Janicello and accompanied by a dancer representing a marionette, who by song’s end is released from the bonds of his strings. This represents the joyous moment of initiation upon which one is liberated from the cycle of reincarnation. After the show, while Junior attended the VIP vegan banquet with his lovely wife Natsue, he expressed the impression this song made on him, “The Italian number, with the puppet, and letting go with the strings that tie us down…We each have those little things that keep us and hold us back in our lives, and I think if we can finally just let it go, we are there.” Just as the Conductor in Loving the Silent Tears
helped the journey of the two protagonists in the musical, may we
all follow our hearts in being guided by the Great Conductor of
All Life.
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