Cookin' Nanta

I went to the theater Sunday. Sounds so classy but wait until I describe what I went to see! It’s the longest-running show in Korea (since 1997) and was the first Asian show to reach Broadway. If I would see one show this year, it sounded like this should be the one. It’s also happens to be a musical about cooking…hmm maybe Nanta and I were meant to be.

"Nanta is a non-verbal performance of free rhythmical movements that dramatize customary Korean percussions in a strikingly comedic stage show. Integrating unique Korean traditional drumbeats in a western performance style, Nanta storms into a huge kitchen where four capricious cooks are preparing a wedding banquet. While cooking, they turn all kinds of kitchen items - pots, pans, dishes, knives, chopping boards, water bottles, brooms and even each other- into percussion instruments."

The show wasn’t exactly traditional, despite samul nori percussion played on kitchenware. But it was stimulating, comical, and…very silly. Acrobatics, magic tricks, pantomime, audience interaction. It had it all. We were encouraged to clap and cheer all the while being pelted with objects such as chopped cabbage…and plastic balls? Two audience members were married on stage and others had to compete in a mandu-making race. Children’s laughter echoed throughout the theater. I dare say it was almost too family-friendly for two 20-somethings to be seeing alone…

Of the four cooks, one was female. I was quick to notice how highly misrepresentative this is of cooking duties in Korea. My students and chingus have told me how women do nearly all the cooking and household chores. I suppose it could be that professional cooking is a different circumstance.

The female chef was also a complete bombshell; the show really did have a little bit for everyone after all. Her incredible abdominal region was easy to appreciate since her chef outfit gave an unobstructed view of her midriff…another highly misrepresentative aspect of the culture here. Korea is conservative when it comes to baring midriff and cleavage. I usually have to ask ten people to get a consensus on cultural topics, but I gather that it might be a combination of cultural norms and self-consciousness of the all-too-stereotypical ‘chopstick’ female body type. Though women tout high necklines, the length of shorts and skirts is anything but conservative. This duality of above-the-waist conservatism and miniskirts/booty shorts is always entertaining. Of course this is because of the values my culture has imparted upon me. Who really gets to determine what is or isn’t conservative? (Shout out, Richard Handler!)

Update: Can the new president really ban miniskirts?