Review: POSTCARDS FROM IHATOV at 1st Stage

Kenji Miyazawa, a Japanese children’s book author, created a land known as Ihatov and placed it close to Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. In Ihatov, anthropomorphic animals live alongside humans and other creatures. And just like Alice explores Wonderland, an unnamed author (Matthew Marcus) finds himself transported to Ihatov, accompanied by a cat professor (Matthew Vaky), and immersed in Miyazawa’s stories like "Night of the Galactic Railroad" and "Gauche the Cellist." This is the premise for 1st Stage’s production of Postcards from Ihatov, adapted and directed by Natsu Onoda Power. Postcards from Ihatov is a captivating exploration of Kenji Miyazawa’s works and life.

The ensemble features the wonderful acting talents of Pauline Lamb, Matthew Marcus, Ethan Miller, Deidra LaWan Starnes, Matthew Vaky, and Jacob Yeh. Each actor embodies multiple roles with ease. They also sing, play instruments, and move around props as needed! There is never a dull moment on stage with this playful and energetic cast. This adds to the richness of the storytelling, which would definitely make Miyazawa proud. While Miyazawa tailored his stories set in Ihatov towards children, the journeys of each character would still resonate with older children, as well as adults. 

A few of the stories, including one about two hunters and a tale of a scorpion and weasel, use elements of a type of Japanese storytelling known as kamishibai, which translates to paper plays. It’s almost like watching storybook illustrations coming to life. It’s mesmerizing to watch the origami being folded, the layers of paper being added to a restaurant for two hunters to visit, and to see Japanese letters being written in real time. In one particular visually stunning scene, Japanese letters and words come to life and, as an actor interacts with them. The lighting, designed by Min Joo Kim, and the projections, designed by Kelly Colburn, do this beautiful poetic dance, which is fitting for a scene featuring one of Miyazawa’s poems. 

While the visuals are aesthetically pleasing, there are moments where the set’s configuration puts it at a disadvantage. This could be due to the limitations of the seating within 1st Stage’s small space, but it could also be attributed to the construction of the set. While audience members sitting in the middle might have a decent view of the action, people sitting in the back might have a hard time being able to take everything on stage in. This is unfortunate as the audience members should be able to fully see the play, no matter where they are seated. Despite this issue, Postcards from Ihatov still manages to be a visually stimulating production. 

Postcards from Ihatov is a great show for both adults and older children. After the show, you will be tempted to learn more about Kenji Miyazawa’s life and stories. 

Running Time: 80 minutes without an intermission

Postcards from Ihatov runs from June 6 through June 23, 2024 at 1st Stage in Tysons, Virginia. Get your tickets here. 

Top Photo Caption & Credit: Deidra LaWan Starnes, Ethan J. Miller, Matthew Marcus, and Jacob Yeh in ‘Postcards from Ihatov.’ Photo by Teresa Castracane.

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