Theater News

Japan Society Announces 2015-16 Season Events

Japanese theater is introduced to American audiences.

Octogenarian performer Mansaku Nomura joins the Japan Society's 2015-16 season.
Octogenarian performer Mansaku Nomura joins the Japan Society's 2015-16 season.
(courtesy of Japan Society's offical website)

Japan Society has announced the lineup of dance, music, and theater programming set for its 2015-16 performing-arts season.

The theatrical offerings include A Night of Kyogen with Mansaku Nomura and Mansaku-no-Kai Kyogen Company, celebrating Japan Society's long-standing relationship with the Nomura Family. In three performances from December 10-12, Mansaku Nomura, along with members of the Mansaku-no-Kai Kyogen Company (including stage/film/TV star Mansai Nomura and Yukio Ishida), will offer a special evening of kyogen, traditional comedic theater that began in medieval Japan that satirizes and embraces human imperfection.

Japan Society will then present the North American premiere of Toshiki Okada's God Bless Baseball, in performances from January 14-17, 2016. The play explores baseball, an iconic American pastime, as a symbol of America’s global influence, and will feature a cast of Japanese and Korean actors, as well as a set by acclaimed visual artist Tadasu Takamine.

Next will be Ripe Time and The Play Company's copresentation of Sleep, a theater piece adapted from Haruki Murakami’s short story. New York-based director Rachel Dickstein helms an all-female creative team that includes Japanese-American playwright Naomi Iizuka and set designer Mimi Lien. The production also features an original score by the NewBorn Trio. Performances will run from February 26-28, 2016.

Suguru Yamamoto's Girl X will then receive a reading on March 21, 2016. Directed by Charlotte Brathwaite, the play conveys the mood of an anxiety-ridden society through the members of an anonymous urban family. The piece marks the 12th installment in an annual play-reading series that aims to introduce New York-based actors, directors, and audiences to contemporary and topical Japanese theater artists and plays.

For tickets and more information about the Japan Society season, click here.