In a nutshell, one of the more bizarre, but intriguing, entertainment spectacles that we can recall hearing about in awhile.
We assume that it's in an effort to woo some of the Asian gambling dollars that have forsaken the Macau market, which has seen fourteen consecutive months of steep revenue decline following a Chinese government crackdown on corruption, combined with the effects of infrastructure delays and growing competition from other Asian casino hubs, that MGM Resorts International recently announced plans for the "Japan Kabuki Festival in Las Vegas 2015-2016," to be presented in conjunction with Shochiku Co, Ltd. of Tokyo.
Kabuki is a centuries-old form of avant-garde Japanese dance theater, known for its flamboyant and highly stylized depictions, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. What next May's festival will comprise we don't yet know, as details are still to be released, but this August 14-16 the Fountains of Bellagio will be whetting our appetite for Kabuki theater with a performance that will somehow integrate the regular choreographed water show, with a theatrical presentation starring Ichikawa Somegoro, a top star in Japan, and Nakamura Yonekichi, a leading light in the younger generation of actors.
Kabuki Spectacle will feature a 30-minute battle scene, played out across that 165-foot center-lake stage that you saw under construction (a process that closed several lanes of the southbound Strip in late July), and based on a version of a famous Kabuki play titled Koi Tsukami, or "Fight With a Carp." [Ed: So it's Koibuki?!] The special performances are scheduled to place at 9:15 nightly from August 14 to 16, with additional 11:30 p.m. shows on August 15 and 16. The fountains will act as a dynamic, moving backdrop, with an elaborate light display projected onto them.
We confess that we're still have trouble visualizing this whole extravaganza, but you can get a vague idea of what it might look like courtesy of an artist's rendition released by the resort (see below), which also plans to extend its celebration of Japanese culture and the arts to the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, which are slated to feature Japanese-inspired art installations and sculptures during August, we understand (although from the Conservatory webcam, this does not yet appear to have happened).
We hope to catch the show up-close and in-person and, if we do, we'll be sure to report back -- not just on the performance, but also on its effect on Strip traffic... If any of our readers should happen to see Kabuki Spectacle while its performing, please be sure to drop us a line with your impressions.
