The Theater: New Show in Manhattan, Jun. 13, 1960

Grand Kabuki made its U.S. debut at Manhattan's City Center at the very moment that all Broadway went dark (see SHOW BUSINESS), and comments about its shedding compensating light were inevitable. For this is one of Japan's oldest and greatest theater troupes, to whose dance-and-song-dotted productions Japanese audiences go again and again—as they do in the West to nightclub turns or ballets—to savor particular details, or compare performances, or await dramatic or choreographic high points. Unlike previous Kabuki-type visitors to America, Grand Kabuki, as true Kabuki, consists of all-male casts. Though Kabuki actually originated around 1600 with a woman dancer,...

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