| THE CONNECTION 2006 (official site-->>)
September 30th and October 1st 2006, premiere at the West End Theater, New York City
Stage Photo
© atsuko horiuchi Synopsis of The Connection
In 1986, two Japanese women, Rumi and Mika, were roommates at a Womens' Residence in New York City. Twenty years later, the two women now in their 40s meet by happy coincidence—on the subway. Now Rumi is married with three children, a designer who owns her own store. Mika remains single, perpetually youthful, studying dance at the same school, wearing the same cheap clothes, living in the same room in the same residence, and working off the books at the same restaurant she did when she came to the Big Apple. Mika seems satisfied with her sparse lifestyle, though, not very envious of Rumi's success, wealth, and full family life.
When a subway delay forces the two women to catch up more frankly on old wounds than an ordinary commuter trip would have enabled, their friendship—once abandoned—is once again tested. The women become more intimate in a few moments on a desolate subway car than they did in weeks of living together. While playing at "House," Mika reveals her inner pain about her childhood, her bulimia, and her unhappy relationship with her parents. She recounts a lost love with an American male student. Mika hasn't recovered from the pain and is still longing to reunite with the man. As the play progresses, it becomes clear how their short room share two decades ago has changed their lives forever, and the two women piece together the exact circumstances behind their hasty separation. It is discovered that Rumi's husband was indeed Mika's object of affection. Relations are strained as Rumi explains that she had no intention to hurt Mika. Rumi then confesses the other hardships in her life, including why the man they both wanted wasn't perfect. The women come closer together as they compare their dreams with their disheveled lived realities. They begin to sympathize for one another and have a glimpse of what life is all about.
Casat & Staff
Poster
Production Set Design
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| Projected "inside of the # 1 subway" images |
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© multisop productions / masayo nishimura
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