Pitt to Present Japanese Noh Theater Feb. 23

PITTSBURGH-For one night only, Pitt's Asian Studies Center will present Noh, the classic theater of Japan, at the Charity Randall Theatre in Stephen Foster Memorial, Forbes Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard. The unforgettable double bill, Aoi no Ue (The Lady Aoi) and Hagoromo (The Feather Cloak), is performed by acclaimed Japanese Noh artist Hisa Uzawa and a group of 11 actors and musicians featuring elegant costumes and masks. The performance is 7 p.m. Feb. 23. Uzawa, an actor of the Tessenkai branch of the Kanze School of Noh, made her first stage appearance at the age of three and her first performance as the lead actor at 13. She is one of the few women actors in what has been until recently a male-dominated profession.

For tickets to Noh, call the University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre Box Office at

412-624-PLAY (7529) or visit www.play.pitt.edu. Tickets to the Noh performance are $15 for reserved seats and $10 for students, seniors, children under 12, and Pitt faculty and staff.

An exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints, titled "The Prints of Tsukioka Kôgyo," supports interest in the Noh performance. The exhibition will be open from Feb. 3 to April 7 at the Frick Art & Historical Center, 7227 Reynolds St., Point Breeze. Kôgyo (1869-1927) was a master of the Japanese woodblock print at the turn of the 20th century. This exhibition showcases his remarkably colorful images of Noh theater. His work illustrates virtually the entire range of Noh repertory since the Meiji period (1868-1912), creating an artistically elegant record of this theatrical genre's customs and performances. For more information, call 412-371-0600 or visit www.frickart.org.

Noh is cosponsored by Pitt's Asian Studies Center, within the University Center for International Studies; the Japan Iron and Steel Federation endowment at the University of Pittsburgh; Mitsubishi Motors; and the Toshiba International Foundation.

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