Chong is a master at blending sound, slide and video with live performance, but this is only his second adventure in puppetry (His first, "Kwaidan," originated at Atlanta's Center for Puppetry Arts and went on to tour the U.S., England and Japan.). It was conceived as part two of a puppet trilogy. Working with puppets allows Chong to manipulate scale and point of view, the way the mind does so easily in dreams. So, for instance, a shrewish wife can be rendered as a gigantic head, spewing orders from its bright red mouth. Or a bustling city can be viewed from above, as though from the top of a tall building, with people and cars crisscrossing intersections below like swarms of bugs. Puppets also lend a certain spookiness to these ghost stories, as inanimate objects appear to come to life. The puppets, created by Atsushi Yamato, are handled expertly from behind the scenes by Jodi Eichelberger, Aya T. Kanai, Fred C. Riley III, Sam Word and Jennifer Kato (latter also appears as the only live performer onstage.). In some passages, the action is so realistic it elicits exclamations of recognition or delight from the audience, as when two rats scurry across the floor of a house or a man gently wades into a pond. The sets, designed by Mitsuru Ishii, are exquisite, with layers of screens rising and parting to reveal spare domestic interiors and lavishly floral gardens. Variety  |
Review by Lynn Jacobson Ping Chong's "Obon: Tales of Rain and Moonlight" is the sort of multimedia performance piece you'd expect to see at an alternative venue such as New York's La MaMa or Seattle's On the Boards, rather than at a resident theater. And yet, this hourlong, visually striking creation perfectly suites the Seattle Repertory Theater's gemlike Leo K. Theater. And on opening night, it clearly charmed the Rep's patrons, who no doubt are accustomed to more conventional plays. Theatergoers who are familiar with Chong's work may not find "Obon" so surprising - they'll recognize the director's signature visual style and wit - but they'll find it equally pleasing. "Obon" uses stick puppets, shadow puppets, moving scenery, projections, sound effects and recorded narration to tell three Japanese ghost stories. The first, "Bliss," is about a samurai who changes his murderous ways when he is confronted by the spirit of a bird he has thoughtlessly killed. "Bloom" follows the travails of a young woman haunted by the bitter ghost of her lover's dead wife. And "Beloved" portrays a man searchingfor the love he once abandoned. The three stories, based on Japanese folktales recorded by Lafcadio Hearn, are linked by themes of contrition and redemption. They are studded with obvious but profound lessons, such as this description of one character: "(He) had everything - money, position, a beautiful wife. But true happiness eluded him." The title, "Obon," refers to an annual Japanese festival that commemorates the dead. Seattle Times |
| PING CHONG & COMPANY OBON: Tales of Rain & Moonlight, 2002 | |
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Drawing from Lafcadio Hearn’s exquisite classic, artistic innovator Ping Chong weaves together three Japanese ghost stories to create a realm of mystery and strange beauty, a place where dark humor and ancient truths converge. Poetry, shadows, music, and puppets merge in a haunting evening that will hold audiences of all ages spellbound. See this one-of-a-kind evening before it moves to the Spoleto Festival. |
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