yoko ono to address the UN's general assembly
U.S. Newswire (May 3rd 2005): "Yoko Ono will speak to the General Assembly of the United Nations tomorrow, May 4, regarding the launch of the Back to the Garden arts initiative, a program designed to support the Mayors for Peace "2020 Vision" campaign, which seeks the elimination of nuclear weapons by the year 2020. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Mayors for Peace, an organization that consists of 942 Mayors from 110 countries led by Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, partnered with EPOP International, a company solely dedicated to creating cause-related initiatives, to develop Back to the Garden. This arts initiative will comprise of an unprecedented benefit concert and five-year traveling art exhibit to support the "2020 Vision" campaign and call for a true global liberation from the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Ono, who will speak during the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the UN, is a fitting representative for the Back to the Garden initiative given that she is a survivor of the Tokyo fire bombings during World War II and witnessed the terror of modern warfare first-hand. As a result of that harrowing experience, Ono has spent much of her life fighting for peace, often expressing herself though art."

Yoko Ono's writings

yoko ono urges world to take heed of nuclear proliferation
Japan Times (May 7th 2005): "As a child of Asia, as a citizen of the global village and as a woman of the species I am concerned for the welfare of our planet," Ono said in an address in the General Assembly hall. She spoke of her own hardships during World War II when she escaped to shelters during bombing raids of Tokyo and suffered from the lack of food as a child. As a 12-year-old she learned of the devastation experienced by those who were living in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

"It is clean-up time as John Lennon said. It is not too late, it cannot be," she said. "We must give this planet one more chance. Let us wake up, come together and work on cleaning and healing our planet instead of further destroying it."

lennon - the musical
Press release: "LENNON is a biographical musical that tells the story John Lennon's life using Lennon's own words and songs. LENNON's ensemble consists of 9 extraordinary and diverse performers who will portray dozens of characters. Everybody plays everybody, and nobody ever leaves the stage. (--) LENNON, with permission from Yoko Ono, includes three rare and unpublished songs by John Lennon. Two of the songs, "India, India" and "I Don't Want to Lose You" were never published, and exist only on private recordings. A third song, "Cookin' (in the Kitchen of Love)," was recorded by Ringo Starr in 1976, but was never recorded by John Lennon."

lennon the musical news: "julie danao defines yoko"
Philippine News Online (May 11th 2005): "To Filipino American Julie Danao, who plays Yoko Ono in the Broadway-bound musical “Lennon,” Yoko Ono was a pillar of strength and an artist in her own right. “She was such a very strong woman in the ‘60s…for me to play someone like that was an exhilarating feeling, a challenge of my own strength,” said Danao. In the play, John Lennon’s character is performed by many actors – young, old, black and white to illustrate the different aspects of his personality. But for Yoko, only Julie Danao portrays her, which provides the audience with something or someone to ground them. Danao suggests that it also showed how Yoko was a grounding force for John. To prepare for the part, Danao read articles on Yoko and even met her in person. “She is very loving, and very beautiful…she was very supportive of all of us,” said Danao.

© Lennon musical