based upon Chikamatsu Monzaemon's The Love Suicides at Sonezaki
3m, 2w, 2 m/w
Exterior/Interior
Love Suicide had its World Premiere on May 28, 2004 at the Margot Tenney Theater in Bennington, Vermont. It was directed by Penn Genthner, with set/mask design by Iona Bruckner, lighting design by Myles O'Connor, costume design by Ashley Hanna, make-up design by MaryJane Walsh, property design by Oriana Shaplin, puppet design by Tim Brown, original song "Double Suicide" music by Elizabeth Kessler and lyrics by Robert Cole, original score by Eric Taxier, and graphic design by Charlotte Sullivan. The Production Stage Manager was Becca Lifton. The cast was as follows:
| Matthew Souther as | Tokubei |
| Danielle Gagne as | Ohatsu |
| Leah Bell as | Kuheiji |
| Luke Shaljian as | the Male Narrator |
| Kelly Muzzi as | the Female Narrator |
| Emma Givens and Andrew Kaluzynski as | the Kurogo |
Adapted from Chikamatsu Monzaemon's classic bunraku play The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (1703), Love Suicide combines elements of Eastern and Western theatre to tell the story of two doomed lovers in eighteenth century Japan. Tokubei, an oil merchant, has un-payable debts and suffers without his love Ohatsu, a prostitute in the town of Osaka. Their social statuses prevent them from marrying and without his love or a home, Tokubei has decided to kill himself. On the run from a henchman sent to collect his debts, Tokubei visits Ohatsu one last time. But, she refuses to let him flee alone. Knowing they will never be together in this present life, they vow to commit a double suicide at the Ikudama shrine, where they can at least be together in the afterlife. Utilizing puppetry, song, the terse poetry of the Noh theatre, Kabuki splendor, narration, and Kurogo stagehands, this adaptation is a truly theatrical and spellbinding version of a true story that has captivated audiences for hundreds of years.