KABUKI: 小春穏沖津白浪（子狐礼三）
26 January 2016 (Tues), Tokyo National Theater
I’m a big Mokuami fan, and this 1864 show hasn’t been done in years – the last production, in 2002, was apparently the first full showing in 138 years. I decided on the spur of the moment to catch it on its penultimate day. Continue reading
Taira Jo’s Medea, 17 Jan 2016, Tokyo
A puppet version of the Greek tragedy performed by Taira Jo, who adapted, directed, designed and performed the entire show and all characters. As a puppet lover, I had been curious about his plays, so this seemed as good a chance as any. Knowing this was a one-man show, I had expected an hour-long play and was taken aback when I heard it was in fact in two-and-a-half hours. And that was on top of my skepticism as to whether Medea is really a good choice for a puppet show. That said, I happily sit through Bunraku plays for five hours (though those involve a significantly larger cast), so I was willing to give this a chance.
It turned out to be a very appealing concept superbly realized. Continue reading
How to fix LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (musical)
A bit of a presumptuous heading, I suppose; I honestly doubt anyone connected with La Cage thinks it needs fixing – it remains a tremendously popular show some 40 years after its debut, and picks up a Tony for Best Production every time it plays Broadway (one for Best Musical and two for Best Musical Revival). I’m actually a fan, so it’s hard to complain too much; whatever the flaws, it’s always a fun night out.
But the flaws are there. Continue reading
I don’t like venturing out of my comfort zone of theater, but a link I added to Facebook some weeks back attracted curious comments that deserve a response. I wasn’t even aware for a few years that “liking” an article left a link on my FB page; I thought I was just giving the writer a pat on the back.
The article in question by the great Mark Steyn was an opinion piece on the recent inflow of migrants into Europe, especially Germany. It noted that nearly 900,000 of the 1.1 million migrants in Germany last year were young males, an astonishing statistic if true.
Doesn’t that age and gender ratio strike anyone as odd? Continue reading
Diana Krall
19 February 2016, Bangkok
I only know vaguely about Diana Krall: Canadian jazz pianist, blonde beauty, Julie London-type cool, married to Elvis Costello. I’ve heard scattered songs, such as her famous version of “The Look of Love”, and was never overly wowed. But with little else to do on a Friday night in Bangkok, this seemed as good a time as any to check her out for real. Continue reading
Well, whaddya know. Just a few days ago, I suggested an NBC Live “Mame” starring Bette Midler because I figured she wouldn’t go for a full eight-night-a-week Broadway run. And now she’s just announced that she’ll be doing that other Jerry Herman hit “Hello, Dolly!” on Broadway next year. I’m perfectly happy to be wrong in this case. What a perfect fit! They haven’t announced other casting, but does it matter?
Hopefully they’ll do two things. Continue reading
Piaf
3 December 2008 (Wed), West End
This show was not a true musical but a biographical play with songs, all sung by the leading character in the context of performances or concerts. It told the story of the singer’s life from her street years to her lonely death. Given Piaf’s self-destructive personality, this could make for a pretty depressing story, as I understand was the case with the movie. But here it was a wild, rapid-fire portrayal of key incidents in the main character’s life, making for an impressionistic picture of the singer’s eventful life. Piaf was a gutter child, and there’s no skimping on the random sex, raw language, alcohol, drugs and some pretty disagreeable character flaws. I can’t say I came to like her, and the show doesn’t dig deep enough to round out the portrait with any measure of sympathy or understanding. At best, I admired her fire and her perseverance, though I did feel sorry for her just a bit for not having enough strength to dig herself out in the end. There were other interesting characters, especially Piaf’s fat and loose friend from her poor days. Everything in the show, though, revolved around Piaf, so that was the character that mattered. Continue reading
Carousel
2 December 2008 (Tues), West End
Carousel was pleasantly and unexpectedly old-fashioned, a throwback to the days when directors were confident enough to let the material speak for itself. As much as I enjoyed the National Theatre production years ago, I’ve always thought that Carousel, a show that includes joys like wife-beating, mental abuse, armed robbery and suicide, hardly needed darkening. The singing was magnificent, the best overall that I’ve ever experienced for this show. That’s a big plus for a score as beautiful as this one. The chorus was also very strong.
The acting, however, was another story. Continue reading
KABUKI: 紅葉狩 (Momijigari)、愛駝姫 (Princess Aida)
8 October 2008 (Sun), Tokyo Kabukiza
The chief attraction here was the second half of the bill, a Kabuki adaptation of Aida directed by the ever-popular Noda Hideki. I’ve said before that I wouldn’t suffer again through Noda’s self-indulgent works, but I somehow convinced myself that I should see at least one of his Kabuki pieces since his other two were such big hits. On top of that, I felt that a Kabuki version of Aida is actually a workable idea. The show is supposedly a sellout, but I managed to get two seats early in the run. Unfortunately I couldn’t find anyone else as gullible as I am to buy the other ticket, so I took a half-interested friend along as a guest.
The good news first. Continue reading
Kabuki: 高野聖 (The Holy Man of Mt. Koya)
10 July 2008 (Thurs), Tokyo Kabukiza
Having loved Tamasaburo in a recent Kabuki Cinema showing, I decided to see him live in this month’s unusual production. This was not one of the classics but Kabuki versions of two ghost stories by the Meiji writer Izumi Kyoka. Because of the casting with both him and the popular young heartthrob Ebizo (not to mention a poster with Tamasaburo half-removing Ebizo’s priestly robes), the tickets were said to be selling fast. As it turned out, there seemed to be plenty of open seats not only for the opening show but also for the main attraction. Continue reading
ふるあめりかに袖はぬらさじ (Kabuki Cinema)
A high-definition film of the modern drama presented at the Kabukiza last December with Tamasaburo, Kanzaburo and a star-packed cast. I had missed the sellout show there and was eager to catch it this time. The show was adapted by the author from her novel in 1972 specifically for the great actress Sugimura Haruko, who I never saw on stage (though numerous times on film), and has been revived many times since. This was the first time in a Kabuki (i.e., all-male) staging. Continue reading
夏祭浪花鑑 (The Summer Festival) (Cocoon Kabuki)
As my fourth straight show in the annual Cocoon Kabuki series (held at Shibuya’s Theatre Cocoon), this had a very familiar ring. I’ve seen this much-performed show in both its Kabuki and Bunraku versions, and remember especially vividly the great climactic scene, where the guy murders his father and quickly disposes of the body in the mud as the festival procession approaches. I ended up with seats on the floor – literally on the floor in traditional style, since there were no normal seats left for the afternoon show. But for all the discomfort, it’s more fun to be down close to the stage, and these particular seats, evidently the house seats (exactly the same as last year), are right at the equivalent of the key 7-3 spot on the hanamichi. So I wasn’t too unhappy with the arrangements.
The show was as fun as ever in its usual crowd-pleasing style, and the production was professional. But I had a slight feeling of déjà vu, a feeling that this was becoming somewhat formulaic. Continue reading
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