Kabuki Theatre

Here's where the girls and I went this morning:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki-za

The Kabuki-za is a HUGE theatre with an interesting history. We went there with the intent to catch a 21 minute Kabuki Act. When we came up out of the subway station, we were right AT the theatre, and got in the line that went to the box office. There was a man with a sign at the end of the line, and as we stood there for a moment, he must have known we were clueless. He explained to us that we were standing in the "members only" line, and beckoned us towards the correct line. Ah yes- the line for the "one act" audience members. We bought the cheapest tickets for the one act which was mostly dancing about sake, spirits from the ocean and a sake seller. The theatre has a 2 row section way up on the 4th floor across the back for the "one-act whimps." Claire and I got the earphone English commentary receivers that helped us know what we were watching.

The performance today was lovely to watch. The costumes were so colorful, the movement graceful, the music wonderful hear and see being performed. This was an all male show- the musicians were all lined up on two tiers across the back of the stage, sitting motionless, except for their string plucking, drum hitting and singing. I loved the singing. Quite high in places, and there was some strain to their sound, but I think it was supposed to sound that way. And during the singing there were 2 or 3 guys who were making funny sounds, at seemingly random intervals in time, that were ascending in pitch, like a surprised sounding "Ohh!" It made me want to giggle, but I loved this new sounding singing.

The sake spirits in their white faces and bright red long wigs danced into the sake establishment, drank until they were tipsy, and were so grateful to the sake seller that they magically made his sake vessel overflow for all eternity. They danced happily inebriated back into the sea.

We went to leave as soon as it was over, although everyone around us was sitting comfortably. When I tried to return the earphone receiver, the woman behind the counter pointed to a paper in her hand that said, "You may stay for another show." So we did. Or at least we stayed for part of the second one. This had a more complicated story, a very large cast with lots of cross-dressers, dialogue, and humor. The musicians were behind screens, so were much less conspicuous. The girls had an appointment to tour the Imperial Palace at 1:30, so we had to leave at noon.

An interesting thing: the people who were in the regular sections were given bags with lunch bentos in them, and some people were eating the contents of their bento with hashi (chopsticks) while they waited for the show to start. If you wanted to, you could make a full day of Kabuki. The first act of the matinee begins at 11:00, and the last act finally ends around 4:00. They provide the food, the potty breaks between acts, and the cool entertainment. Then in the evening, the tickets are much more expensive, and they do it all over again.