HIGHLAND LAKE, NY — Theatre Nohgaku, based in Tokyo, Japan and Bloomsburg, PA will present “Blue Moon Over Memphis” at NACL Theatre on Saturday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m. The play is a Noh theatre performance about one of the first global celebrity casualties: Elvis Presley. It is also an indictment of the cult of celebrity.

Originating in 14th-century Japan and derived from a centuries-older theatrical form, Noh is one of the oldest continuing stage arts. It combines highly stylized dance, chant, music, mask and costumes with intense inner concentration and physical discipline, to create a uniquely powerful theatrical experience. Founded in 2000, Theatre Nohgaku is an international ensemble theatre company that creates and performs original English-language works using Noh as its architectural foundation.

Even as Elvis turned the music culture of his youth into a commercial product, the entertainment industry turned Elvis himself into a product. Noh is the pathway that leads us from Elvis, “the brand,” to a meditation on the relationship between celebrity and humanity, allowing us to be in the presence
of Elvis, not as a costumed impersonation, but as an eloquent, complicated, beautiful soul. “Blue Moon Over Memphis” is written by Deborah Brevoort and features a musical score by Richard Emmert. For more information visit www.nacl.org.