By Don Chareaunsy
Tuesday, July 22, 2015 | 10:58 a.m.
The Japanese art form of Kabuki will debut on the Las Vegas Strip in a never-before-seen spectacle next month.
Larger-than-life animation and water choreography will be featured in the Kabuki work “Koi Tsukami,” or “Fight With a Carp,” as a large fish and turbulent sea are projected onto the Bellagio Fountains in a battle scene.
Japanese actor Ichikawa Somegoro will battle with the carp from a 165-foot stage constructed in Lake Bellagio during the 30-minute production from Aug. 14-16.
Shochiku, Kabuki producer and global ambassador — with artistic partners Panasonic, Team Lab and Wet and support from MGM Resorts International — aims to raise global awareness for Kabuki by creating an elaborate, high-tech performance unlike anything Las Vegas and traditional Kabuki have seen.
Projection mapping by Japanese artists and Team Lab and water effects by Wet will bring the Japanese narrative to life in a Las Vegas-style production.
“The Kabuki Spectacle” performance schedule is 9:15 p.m. Aug. 14, 9:15 and 11:30 p.m. Aug. 15 and 9:15 and 11:30 p.m. Aug. 16.
“The Kabuki Spectacle” is part of MGM Resorts’ commitment to celebrating Japanese culture and the arts and also includes recently debuted art installations by sculptor Masatoshi Izumi and the first Japanese-inspired display at Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.
Don Chareunsy is the Las Vegas Sun’s entertainment and luxury senior editor and has been a journalist for nearly two decades.
Robin Leach of “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous fame” has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past 15 years giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.