LOS ANGELES — Performing for audiences composed of both committed kabuki fans and the merely curious, the Zenshinza Theater Company, one of Japan's oldest troupes, broke new ground recently with a series of shows on the U.S. West Coast.
Taking the stage at the Aratani Theater in the Little Tokyo district in Los Angeles, the company made its North American debut in the fall, just before celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2011.
During a three-week stretch in November, the group introduced audiences in Los Angeles and San Francisco to two kabuki classics and a new history play, which they also performed in Hawaii.