Hanafuda Denki – The Dance of Death – Location, Tickets, Reviews
Japan’s underground theater troupe Ryuzanji Company presents Hanafuda Denki – The Dance of Death, a musical written by Japanese avant-garde master Shuji Terayama, inspired by Threepenny Opera. Hanafuda Denki originally appeared in New York City in 2012 as part of the New York International Fringe Festival where it received an Overall Excellence Award for Design. It travels to HERE Art Center in New York City this month, fresh from a sold out run in Montreal, Canada.
Hanafuda Denki is a psychedelic musical comedy set in a profitable funeral parlor in Tokyo during World War I. The funeral home proprietors (who are, twist, dead themselves) will also help people die in whichever way they choose. In this play, the dead and the living intermingle, fall in love, and plot against one another, just like the real world, only creepier and with more opportunities for mischief.
Performed in Japanese with English supertitles.
Maxamoo
The show begins with a hysterical woman in black welcoming the audience to her daughter’s funeral, setting a tone of chaos and excitement even before the audience is entirely seated. The play tackles issues of life and death with goofy humor and gender-bending mischief, Karuta’s mother is played by a strong man with mustache and her lover a woman. While there are moments of serious meditation, the show is saturated in satire. As a matter of fact, the thoughtful comments can seem too fleeting.
The ensemble delivers a gleefully raucous performance with only one microphone passed amongst the cast, karaoke-style. The kooky, funky, old-fashioned choreography sets a cartoonic tone, and evokes roaring laughter throughout. If you are familiar with Japanese pop culture, especially 1990s era Japanese talent shows, you will be delightfully amazed. If not, don’t worry, it is still entertaining and oddly beautiful.
Public opinion
The audience seemed to enjoy the performance we saw and laughed with excitement, although there were a few audience members who appeared puzzled by certain cultural references.
Have you seen Hanafuda Denki – The Dance of Death? What did you think? Share your thoughts in a comment below or tweet to us at @maxamoo.
Critic reviews
There are no reviews for the New York run yet, but Canadian critics loved the show during its brief run in Montreal immediately prior to traveling to New York.
Montreal Gazette
Energetic Japanese company’s dark humour about death is refreshing
Rover Arts
Amazing costuming and choreography make this enchanting production with the sombre name a highlight of the 2013-14 season for those happy few who view it.
TICKETS
$20-$25 (Click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through January 26, 2014
LOCATION
HERE Art Center
145 Sixth Ave.
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour 30 minutes, no intermission
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Created by Shuji Terayama
Directed by Saori Aoki
Featuring Hiroko Ito, IWAO, Munekazu Tani, Kazuhiko Satomi, Naomi Hirano, Takuya Kigure, Kanami Sakai, Naoya Yamashita, Rina Yamamaru, Sanshiro Goto, Makoto Honda, Show Ryuzanji