Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended
"...Maybe there's something lost in Donald Keene's mostly excellent translation. Rather than clarifying things, however, director Jaclynn Jutting diddles around the margins with gags that don't land and tinny new song-and-dance numbers. Although Jutting's risk taking can be fun, the overall effect is erratic."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Novelist/playwright Kobe Abe's aesthetic has been compared to that of Kafka and Beckett, but it's the, um, ghost of Bertolt Brecht that hangs most heavily over Donald Keene's translation of this 1957 satire on post-war delusion and free-market rapacity—notwithstanding its decidedly un-Brechtian happy ending for everyone, whether their values lie in truth, love or lucre. Vitalist Theatre director Jaclynn Jutting also departs from stereotypical conventions surrounding Asian culture to conjure a vivid-hued panorama of a country undergoing globalization, populated by amoral characters eager to embrace the new risk-taking economy."
Centerstage - Not Recommended
"...The plot reveals itself to be some kind of facile indictment of capitalism, a cautionary tale of sorts about a down-on-his-luck businessman just this side of a con artist and a man who can see and talk to ghosts. Cliched characters spout platitude after stilted platitude, mugging and cavorting about the stage until the audience’s collective brow knits painfully in the attempt to puzzle out who these people are and why we should care about them. Apparently Abe would like his audience to understand that all entrepreneurs are scheming, manipulative chauvinists, and those who choose to do business with them are half-witted suckers of the lowest variety. More nuanced arguments against capitalism can be found on the 5-word placards of Occupy Wall Street protesters."
Time Out Chicago - Recommended
"...Edgar Miguel Sanchez is a capable dramatic anchor as Fukagawa, Oba’s accomplice tortured by his wartime experience, and his relationship with Oba’s daughter, Misako (a pleasantly tough Mildred Marie Langford), is the play’s main source of emotional heft. The despicable Oba benefits from Vann’s charming temperament and terrific chemistry with his wife, Toshie, played by a hilariously shrewish Yadira Correa."
Chicago Theatre Addict - Somewhat Recommended
"... Jaclynn Jutting directs this challenging piece with fluidity and style, but hasn’t settled on a tonal focus. As a result, the refreshingly diverse cast seems uncomfortable with the nearly Brechtian text and intermittent musical passages (Kevin O’Donnell has set Abe’s lyrics to some hauntingly simple tunes). A sense of hesitancy overshadows most of the evening, particularly during scenes where the money men frantically plot to keep the ghost alive and their pocketbooks full. Maybe after a few performances the show will find its footing and the satire will sting (and sing) as it should."
ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended
"...Better this work is defined in traditional Japanese formats with Asian actors without all the contradictory style elements. I’d get rid of the terrible songs and I’d trim at least 40 minutes off the script. Me and most of the audience members in the production I saw became restless and bored with this redundant and wordy work. Amazingly, Vitalist Theatre usually produces excellent work but not this time. I’d skip this one."
Chicago Stage and Screen - Not Recommended
"... While I would not recommend this production, I applaud Vitalist's effort in presenting this American premiere with a multi-cultural sensibility. Hopefully the artists working on this project will find more solid theatrical ground to labor upon in the future."
Let's Play at ChicagoNow - Somewhat Recommended
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“American Horror Story,” “Sixth Sense,” “Ghosterbusters 1 & 2”... I do believe in ghosts. I can get behind all the occult hocus-pocus. In fact, I have promised to haunt certain people from the afterlife. Why not? If I enjoy hanging with someone now, death shouldn’t separate us.
Vitalist Theatre, in conjunction with DCA Storefront Theater, presents THE GHOST IS HERE. It’s Japan post WWII. In the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedies, a small village is haunted by ghosts. Or at least that’s what they’ve been told. Oba is a con artist. Fukagawa talks to ghosts. Oba decides to use Fukagawa’s poltergeist detection to make money. He sets up a business buying and selling pictures of the dead. The hoax continues to grow as the town tries to embrace their departed. Meanwhile, Fukagawa is being oppressed by paranormal activity. And Oba’s daughter is being spooked by suitors. THE GHOST IS HERE yens to be a supernatural spoof but materializes more as a ghost whisperer.
Nobel Prize nominee Kobo Abe wrote this play in 1957. 10+ years after being bombed, Abe conjures up this Japanese ghost story. The play’s impact in that time period and in that country must have been a phenomena! (For Americans, it would parallel a story told this year but set in the year after 9/11. We can laugh now at the scammers that ripped off a grieving country... okay, *might* laugh now.) On the surface is the growing absurdity of the dead, but bubbling below are the multiple identity crisis of the living. In 1957, this dramedy must have been gripping and amusing Japanese entertainment. Enough time had passed that survivors could laugh and learn and remember.
Director Jaclynn Jutting works to bring this play to an American audience. Donald Keene translated it into English but the names and currency are Japanese. The unfamiliar is a speed bump as I listen to the grift in yens but the conversion rate is beyond me. Matching the Japanese names with the actors is difficult too especially with a multi-cultural cast. It’s hard to place myself in a Japanese village when a character has a Spanish accent. Jutting uses a linear, bi-level stage for the action. The set (Craig Choma) and lighting (Lee Fiskness) are incredible. Beautifully."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...The Ghost Is Here is an allegory that supports regulated capitalism. This timely piece demonstrates that as long as you have a system that supports cleverness and greed, clever and greedy people will exploit the system. It’s a thought-provoking and entertaining play, and though it’s a bit bumpy near the end, it’s still worth a viewing."