Origins of a classic form of Japanese theater in ‘Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki’ at NYC’s Theatre Row

DC Theater Arts: Performed in Japanese with brief thematic narrations and projected translations in English, Amaterasu Za’s world premiere of Okuni: The Woman Who Created Kabuki at NYC’s Theatre Row traces the real-life story of the boundary-breaking dancer who defied societal norms and traditional gender roles and, during the early Edo period in 1603, devised one of her culture’s most iconic forms of theater for an all-female troupe, playing both male and female parts.