Zeni, Dean of the Diamond (Part 1)

This play is sponsored by the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, a state-funded grant project of the California State Library. Kenichi Zenimura – known as “Zeni” – loved baseball. As a young man in the 1920s he developed a Nisei baseball league in Fresno, California, and later organized barnstorming tours that brought the likes of Babe Ruth to the West Coast and Japan. And despite being sent to a Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during World War II, he knew that somehow, baseball would be the key to improving the lives of his fellow detainees. Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, in October 2024. Directed by Anna Lyse Erikson Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg An L.A. Theatre Works Full-Cast Performance Featuring: Keiko Agena as Kiyoko Zenimura Derrick Kemp as Willy, Doctor John Miyasaki as Hiro Tanaka Rob Nagle as Coach Hanley R. Slagle (Coach Hank) Michael Sun Lee as Kenichi Zenimura (Zeni) Thomas Winter as Harvey Zenimura Additional voices by: Tristan Chung CJ Cruz Genki Hall Rosie Narasaki Tristan Pravong Paul Yen Senior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson Prepared for Audio by Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Recording Engineer and Editor: Neil Wogensen Mixing Engineer: Charles Carroll Designed by Mark Holden and Charles Carroll for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin Foley Artist: Stacey Martinez Special thanks to Bill Staples, Jr., and the Nisei Baseball Research Project for sharing their research and expertise to inspire and accurately depict the historical events of this project. See Privacy Policy at and California Privacy Notice at .

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Zeni, Dean of the Diamond (Part 1) is an episode from LA Theatre Works by LATW .

This episode is 00:40:21 long.

This episode was published on Apr 9, 2026.

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