Rakugo (Again)

 

Rakugo, the Japanese art of story telling.  If anything, it focuses on one person telling a story, and setting people up to have a good laugh.  Even though we knew we'd hear some stories we knew from our last visit to see this man perform, we also knew we'd have a good laugh or two.

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Our day started with both of us feeling a little lethargic.  I had awakened early, and was starting to get tired again by the time RQS was up for the day.  After a nice breakfast, we made our plans for the day.  Around 5, we'd go into Manhattan and get a bite to eat around Union Square.  Then, after a little time killing, it would be off to the theater to see Katsura Sunshine's (KS) performance.

We were supposed to meet RQS's new friend at the theater.  However, we got there late, and her friend went inside without us.  What surprised us was that RQS's friend was seated adjacent to us.  So we settled down to see the performance. 

Tonight's performance was broken up into several sections.  First was one of .KS's apprentices, who told a story I've heard before.   

She was good, but her accent made it a little difficult to understand what she was saying in English (a second language for her.)  Next came KS himself.  He opened up in a different way than he did when we last saw him.

This time, we knew a little more about him as a story teller, and we found out that he spends most of his time in Japan, coming to New York once per month for this show.  And then came a performer who was not here the last time around - someone practicing the art of Japanese dance.

To me, this was the weakest part of the show.  The art of Japanese storytelling via dance is lost on me.  But there was more storytelling to go.  KS's second apprentice was next.  Unlike the first apprentice, this fellow came from New Jersey.  So he'd be easy to understand. 

This apprentice told a story which KS told the last time we were here.  The story was still amusing, but not as much as when KS told it.  Next up was the first apprentice with another story.  She was entertaining, but only if you could wade through the thickets of her accent.

Then, the dancer came back in full regalia.  This dance was more interesting.  But, without the cultural context, the performance was a little flat.

Finally, KS came back on stage, and told one last story

Although KS covered much of the same ground in this performance that he did in the last one we had seen, both RQS and I agreed that seeing Rakugo could be a once every other year treat.  This would give KS and his troupe enough time to have their performances evolve, so that it would be fresh each time we came to see it.

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We exited the theater with RQS's new friend, and she invited us back to her place to chat.  Neither of us wanted to be on the subway at midnight, so we begged off.  But we made sure this friend knew we do want to see her again - some time after our next cruise.