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The Reigning Bell of the Bluegrass Region

with Actress Rose Power

The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region is the story of a Kentucky aristocrat, Olivia Buckner, who defied convention to marry a Japanese seminary student, Yutaka Minakuchi, in 1903 in Kentucky. 

Rose Buckner will present a Performed Reading of her solo play, The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region.  Inspired by her grandmother's life, Belle is the true story of a Kentucky woman who defied social expectations (and risked death threats) to marry a Japanese man in 1903. Artist and Medical Ethicist Dr.  Kevin Reid described Belle as "a theatrical featherbed to fall on as people of all ages.....negotiate personal and socially relevant existential challenges." Theater Director Luigi Salerni called Buckner a "consummate actress." Chicago Actor and DIrector Kurt Naebig wrote, "Belle is terrific. It deals with so many issues that are apropos now. I was captivated throughout and moved by the story."

Based on actual events, The Reigning Belle of the Bluegrass Region is the story of a Kentucky aristocrat, Olivia Buckner, who defied convention to marry a Japanese seminary student, Yutaka Minakuchi, in 1903 in Kentucky.  The play’s title — taken from a newspaper article written about her at the time–is meant to be ironic, as  Olivia was the antithesis of a typical “reigning “belle.”  Upon hearing of their engagement, the men in Olivia’s family held a meeting to discuss killing Yutaka to prevent the marriage. One cousin, Woodford Buckner, is said to have opposed the idea of murdering the young Japanese man, and Rose is forever grateful to that lone cousin for her very existence. The couple fled Kentucky, but racism followed as they traveled the east coast where Yutaka lectured on the Chautauqua Circuit. Racial prejudice and financial pressures were part of life as they made a family with their half-Japanese son (Rose’s father.) Despite the challenges, Olivia embraced life with courage, humor, resilience, and love.

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