The Ghost Is Here: U.S. Premiere of Work by Japanese Playwright Abe
The Storefront Theater, First Floor of the Gallery 37 Building (66 East Randolph Street Chicago, IL 60602)
- Full Price:
- $25.00
- Our Price:
- FREE - $12.50*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for The Ghost Is Here have expired.
The last date listed for The Ghost Is Here was Sunday February 19, 2012 / 3:00pm.
Goldstar Member Tips
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Goldstar Member on Other
Here's another tip: don't eat yellow snow
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Goldstar Member on Where to Eat
None @ theater
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Goldstar Member on Where to Park
Parking is tough but plenty of public transportation options
2 Goldstar Member Reviews
Goldstar Member
Nothing like the outline I read initially when I bought tix; I thought the play would have a more somber tone, sounded very serious... when, in fact, it is packed with good humor and an excellent journey into exploring what people are capable of if they believe something; and people believe what they want to believe, that's the whole point. Good cast, very nice little theater with a fantastic, huge scene. Scene design was probably the best part. I might go see it againWritten on Feb 08 2012
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Daniel
It was alright. Did not live up to the cultural billing.Written on Jan 16 2012
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More Information About The Ghost Is Here
Website
http://www.dcatheater.org/shows/show/the_ghost_is_here
Description
With flair and panache, con-artist Oba – played by returning Vitalist actor Jamie Vann – develops an increasingly absurd scheme whereby war-weary and financially stressed villagers sell him pictures of their dead, only to be charged exorbitant prices when they seek to retrieve them. The wrinkle in the racket is the “agent” who represents the ghosts. Eventually, the prospect of sellers’ remorse prompts a stampede on the market, thereby seeming to assure Oba’s fortune in the best wheeler-dealer, robber-baron tradition.
The Ghost Is Here is set in the ruins of occupied, post-WWII Japan when the war-ravaged empire was forced to grope its way toward national redefinition. Suffering a loss of tradition, a devastated economy and a realignment of global power brokers, the villagers teeter on the edge of a plunge into unregulated and rapacious capitalism.
Constructed in the manner of a Japanese graphic novel, the play has moments of stylized song and dance, gallows humor and surprising poignancy woven around stark themes that resonate in America today. With echoes of Brecht, The Ghost Is Here is deadly serious while witnessing the ludicrous flim-flam man and the innocents caught in his web.
As Vitalist Artistic Director Elizabeth Carlin Metz suggests, “It’s as if Kobo Abe, writing in the ‘50s, foresaw the American (and world) financial and cultural crisis of the past decade: Enron, WorldCom, unemployment, poverty, Wall Street, Bernie Madoff … The list seems endless.”
About the Ticket Supplier: Chicago DCA Theater
Chicago DCA Theater offers downtown audiences the best opportunity for one to experience Chicago's vibrant off-Loop theater scene with an innovative and exciting look at the many diverse theater companies that call Chicago home.
By offering affordable ticket prices and providing an intimate space in the downtown theater district, Chicago DCA Theater fosters public awareness and cultural appreciation of the performing arts.