Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami (The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka)

For the first time, New York audiences can experience Japanese Kabuki in all of its resplendent authenticity with this presentation of Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami (The Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka), starring Nakamura Kankuro V, one of Japan’s most famous Kabuki actors.

In keeping with the production’s genuine spirit, the Japanese company transports and re-creates an Edo era playhouse–a 545-seat shibaigoya (a traditional Kabuki tent) complete with a hanamichi (a walkway extending down the center of the theater) and sajiki (cushioned floor seats in the orchestra section)–in Damrosch Park. Here, the legendary Nakamura Kankuro V and fellow actors will perform Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami, a tale of chivalrous men and their struggles to balance love, responsibility, and marital devotion. Since the 17th century, Nakamura Kankuro V’s family has been synonymous with the world of Kabuki, a 400-year-old art form passed from one generation to the next. A unique interpreter of Kabuki, Nakamura Kankuro V returns the art form to its original bawdy and raucous roots in street theater, making Natsumatsuri Naniwa Kagami an extraordinary cultural event.

Schedule

Saturday, July 17 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday, July 18 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Monday, July 19 at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, July 20 at 2 p.m. and7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 21 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Thursday, July 22 at 7 p.m.
Friday, July 23 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 24 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 25 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

English synopsis provided on headsets.