As I turned the pages of a free magazine in London this summer, a picture of a beaming woman clutching a signed CD and program for the West End musical "Kinky Boots" caught my eye. She was a 27-year-old named Emily who'd seen the show 199 times in the past ...
"All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust." In those few words the Scottish novelist and playwright James M. Barrie conjured from the mouth of Peter Pan, the mischievous young boy in his 1904 play of the same name, his ...
Since Argentinian physical theater troupe Fuerza Bruta burst onto the scene in Buenos Aires in 2005, some 5 million people in more than 30 countries have experienced its high-energy, postmodern productions, which are often tailored to wherever they're staged. This time, the stage is Tokyo's ...
Giacomo Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" tells the story of a young Japanese girl named Cio-Cio San ("chō-chō" is the Japanese word for "butterfly") marrying and getting dumped by an American naval officer named Pinkerton. First performed in Italy in 1904, the opera is one ...
The government's Cool Japan initiative may be focused on spreading anime around the world, but Japanese culture scored a significant victory in France earlier this month in the world of theater. Director Satoshi Miyagi, 58, became the first Asian dramatist to present the opening play ...
When the call for auditions went out in November 2015, 1,346 boys sent in their head shots and resumes hoping to land what could be a life-changing role as the titular lead in a Japanese production of "Billy Elliot." The competition was fierce — around ...
The neighborhood surrounding Yurakucho Station isn't exactly starved for things to do. The Ginza is an area of intense competition for Tokyoites' leisure time, hosting countless bars, eateries and shops, as well as theaters dedicated to traditional kabuki and the famed all-female Takarazuka Revue. Still, ...
Summer in Tokyo: Excessive heat, relentless humidity and languid evenings spring to mind. Rather than fight the elements, visitors and Tokyoites alike are recommended to go with the flow and embrace sweltering temperatures. With the rainy season upon us and sizzling summer days just ...
A male Japanese dancer took the top prize and his female compatriot grabbed third place in their respective senior divisions of an international ballet competition held Monday in Moscow, sources revealed prior to the official announcement of the results. At the XIII International Ballet Competition ...
The Kanze Noh Theater reopened in April in Ginza Six, a new upscale shopping complex in central Tokyo that seeks to attract domestic and foreign audiences to a wide range of the country's traditional performing arts. With this in mind, the complex's owners reached out ...
"Not everything can be explained in words. Everyone draws a different nuance from the word 'love,' for example," says 50-year-old Shuji Onodera. "Yet through dance I've discovered a special beauty beyond words." Onodera, a leading mime artist and director, is talking about the language of ...
Sitting down with Condors frontman Ryohei Kondo, he says something a bit surprising: “’17’s Map’ is a work in progress.” This sounds startling at first as we're just three weeks from the curtain rising on the all-male dance troupe's newest production, which shares its name ...
At 37, director Shuntaro Fujita says he's just hitting his prime. "Many people say they liked being in their teens the best, but now my springtime has arrived. Mentally, I'm at the peak of my enthusiasm," he tells The Japan Times at a rehearsal studio ...
