5/20/17 (Sat), National Theatre
A rare Edo piece (puppet plays typically come from Osaka/Kyoto), this is a fuller-than-usual presentation of the Kagamiyama play going beyond the well-known Iwafuji story. Continue reading
Diversity again. Over the past week, Actors’ Equity has released a survey of diversity in US theater, while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which votes on the Oscars, has sent out a record-setting number of invitations for membership that include a notably large proportion of women and non-whites. I’ll reserve comment on the latter other than observing that many of the invitees would not appear remotely qualified by the objective standard of their film industry credentials, which will ultimately raise questions over the organization’s credibility. I’m more interested in theater.
I live in a country where diversity (as defined in the US) is not a big concern. With rare exception, casts in local productions here are 100% Japanese (note: not “Asian”), even in musicals – The King and I and Miss Saigon come to mind – where some need for ethnic diversity is built into the show. So I’m probably not overly sensitive to the issue.
Nevertheless, I seem to be missing something in the Actors’ Equity survey. Continue reading
5/13/17 (Sat), Broadway
Bette Midler as Dolly – how perfect is that? In her last Broadway musical back in the 1960s, Fiddler, she was singing to a matchmaker; now she’s become one. The excitement level was very high for this show; it’s easily the hottest ticket in town next to Hamilton, and she’s already extended the limited run into December, which quickly sold out. The audience cheered at the opening bars of the overture, at the title song in the overture, at the opening of the curtains, at Bette’s first appearance, at the opening of her first song and on and on. Let’s face it: we weren’t there for the sets. She carried a tremendous store of good will, and the energy in the audience could have lit the theater. My only worry was the memory of the last time I saw the show, when Carol Channing was treading gingerly through it at an age way too old for the role. We applauded at the staircase scene in sheer relief that she made it down safely. Bette isn’t too much younger (she’s 71), but the word out there is very good. So it was hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm. Continue reading
3/6/15 (Fri), film
I managed to get myself switched to an All Nippon Airways flight to New York when my United flight was suddenly cancelled. One advantage was a good selection of Japanese films, and I was surprised to see some Kabuki selections. I had avoided this particular 2003 production before since I didn’t want to spend money on Noda Hideki, who wrote and directed it. But it was a big hit, and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to know what was out there. And at free, the price was right. Continue reading
3/2/17 (Wed), Tokyo
Ashiato-hime (The Footprint Princess) is the latest concoction by writer/director Noda Hideki. I keep promising myself not to see any more of Noda’s shows and then get suckered into them anyway, this time on the strength of glowing reviews by two good friends. I never learn. Continue reading
2/22/17 (Wed), Tokyo
Martin Scorsese’s film of Endo Shusaku’s 1966 novel about a test of faith for Jesuit missionaries in early Edo Japan. Continue reading
1/16/15 (Fri), Tokyo
Bancho Sarayashiki is based on a famous ghost story where the evil samurai Aoyama Harima, having been rejected by his young servant Okiku, tricks her into thinking that she has lost one of the family’s ten valuable Korean dishes, a capital crime. She frantically counts over and over, but only finds nine. He then murders her and throws her down a well. She comes back as a ghost to haunt him, always counting up to nine and then shrieking. That story was evidently adapted into Bunraku puppet theater, where the cruelty factor was upped considerably, and that version was then turned into a short-lived Kabuki piece.
The version this month, though, is a New Kabuki adaptation by Okamoto Kido in 1916, which takes a significantly different approach to the ghost story – for one thing, it has no ghosts. Continue reading
1/1/15 (Thurs), Havana
There were several venues advertising shows with BVSC members, who seem to form a large but loose group of son/salsa musicians. These shows have boomed since my last visit 15 years ago, maybe a sign of the expanding tourist trade. Locals didn’t know much about it, so I asked the hotel, which recommended this one. I had imagined a small, smoky, dodgy club, and the location, a decidedly un-touristy and yet-to-be renovated part of the old city, felt appropriate. But the theater was actually quite new and more like a fancy nightclub, with a large proscenium stage and runway. Dinners and snacks were available along with drinks, all of which were served throughout the show by waitresses in retro short lacy skirts. Continue reading
Into the Woods has never been my favorite Sondheim show for various reasons, though I seem to be in the minority among musical fans. Still, I was curious to see what Hollywood had done with it. Continue reading
12/13/14 (Sat), Tokyo
This play hadn’t been done for several decades, so it was a highlight this month (the entire run was sold out). Continue reading
sekenbanashi 