intriguing smells at the local theater
Just got home from a play at the Seattle Rep. It was Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight. A play about Japanese ghost stories, three to be exact. The first one was about a samurai who killed a duck b/c he was starving, and then the ghost of the duck's wife visited him that night, to tell him to go to the lake the next day to see the consequence. When he arrived, she talked about how life wasnt worth living w/o her husband, and ripped her heart out with her beak. He was instantly remorseful, and became a monk.
The second one was about a young girl who was being courted by an older, very ugly samarai who had an old wife already. She went to visit the old wife, and somehow the wife convinced her to carry her on her back out to look at the cherry blossoms. Once out there, the old wife started dying, and with her dying breath, reached into the young girl's kimono and grabbed her breasts. Apparently this was a magic feel-up because the girl then had these old lady hands that would torment her all night. Her new husband (the samarai who was courting her) got tired of her restlessness, kicked her out and married a new wife. She wandered the earth till she died, always tormented by the old wife's hands. Clearly, I've learned not to let old ladies feel me up.
The third one was the strangest (which is saying something). This guy decided he and his wife were not prosperous enough, so he left her. He even told her to marry someone else. She begged him to stay, telling him she would make his life better, just stay with her. He said no. He left, and we segued into this trippy sequence set in Kyoto, then he journeyed back home to her. He came in, she gave him saki, and he went to sleep. He was woken up by this young kid, and he started looking for his wife, when the kid says "thats my mom's name. She died giving birth to me." The guy decided he must be this kids father, and goes into remorse.
That was it.
Well, that and, all the 'actors' were elaborate puppets, so realistic that you could even see them breathing. Amazing puppets. The stories were strange, and rather focused on women's sacrifice and unhappiness, but the puppets. I recommend it only for the puppets.
I had the pleasant experience of sitting next to a VERY smelly man who was dressed, for a live theater event, on saturday night, in a pair of ratty jeans and a holey 'cowboy' shirt. He was rather obnoxious to sit next to, always laughing at inappropriate times. Laughing uncontrollably. But, perhaps I am being a bit stodgy. That happens.
The second one was about a young girl who was being courted by an older, very ugly samarai who had an old wife already. She went to visit the old wife, and somehow the wife convinced her to carry her on her back out to look at the cherry blossoms. Once out there, the old wife started dying, and with her dying breath, reached into the young girl's kimono and grabbed her breasts. Apparently this was a magic feel-up because the girl then had these old lady hands that would torment her all night. Her new husband (the samarai who was courting her) got tired of her restlessness, kicked her out and married a new wife. She wandered the earth till she died, always tormented by the old wife's hands. Clearly, I've learned not to let old ladies feel me up.
The third one was the strangest (which is saying something). This guy decided he and his wife were not prosperous enough, so he left her. He even told her to marry someone else. She begged him to stay, telling him she would make his life better, just stay with her. He said no. He left, and we segued into this trippy sequence set in Kyoto, then he journeyed back home to her. He came in, she gave him saki, and he went to sleep. He was woken up by this young kid, and he started looking for his wife, when the kid says "thats my mom's name. She died giving birth to me." The guy decided he must be this kids father, and goes into remorse.
That was it.
Well, that and, all the 'actors' were elaborate puppets, so realistic that you could even see them breathing. Amazing puppets. The stories were strange, and rather focused on women's sacrifice and unhappiness, but the puppets. I recommend it only for the puppets.
I had the pleasant experience of sitting next to a VERY smelly man who was dressed, for a live theater event, on saturday night, in a pair of ratty jeans and a holey 'cowboy' shirt. He was rather obnoxious to sit next to, always laughing at inappropriate times. Laughing uncontrollably. But, perhaps I am being a bit stodgy. That happens.