Word: kabuki
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...Theater: Kabuki Gets...
...Like many in his line of work, Shido is descended from Kabuki aristocracy. His grandfather was Tokizo Nakamura III, one of the kings of the 20th century Kabuki stage; his uncle Tokizo Nakamura IV perpetuated the lineage; and several of his brothers and cousins are also mainstays in the Kabuki world. He's not the first from his family to cross genres?uncle Kinnosuke Yorozuya was an icon of postwar Japanese cinema...
...Although Kabuki is an insular and conservative culture, it isn't the artistic trap it might seem. In fact, it's recently become a fertile breeding ground for film and TV talent. Twenty-five-year-old Shinnosuke Ichikawa cultivates a parallel career as a TV-drama heartthrob, and 20-year-old rising star Shichinosuke Nakamura landed a supporting role in this year's Tom Cruise vehicle The Last Samurai. Tokyo's Asakusa Kokaido theater has capitalized on the trend by staging Kabuki plays showcasing younger actors. "They realize that people like Shido are the key to Kabuki's future," says...
...Earlier this summer, Shido performed a sold-out, monthlong Kabuki run at the Bunkamura Theatre Cocoon in the heart of Tokyo's youthful Shibuya district. The series, conceived and headlined by older-generation star Kankuro Nakamura, offered audiences a flashier, faster version of the arcane art form?including a grand finale in which a police car bursts onstage through the back door. "I want people who have never seen Kabuki before to come to Cocoon," Shido says. "My hope is that they'll go because of me, and leave with a real interest in Kabuki." He'd no doubt...
...Shido's aspirations stretch beyond rekindling Kabuki's popularity in Japan. A lifelong fan of comics, he dreams of creating a Kabuki play featuring his hero Spider-Man and performing it in New York City's Central Park. "When Kabuki's taken abroad, it's always presented as something traditional and grand. I'd like to show people that it's a living thing?there's nothing you can't do with Kabuki," he says. Then he sets off on the short walk to the theater, where the next generation of fans waits to be converted...