The Japan Society begins its theatre season with Juro Kara's A Cry From the City of Virgins Sept. 29-Oct. 2. On Sept. 28 avant-garde director Andrei Serban will discuss Kara's work with the playwright.

City of Virgins is locked in the vision of Tabuchi, a young man who, while undergoing surgery, dreams that his unborn twin sister Yukoki is being transformed into a glass figure by a mad scientist. In a twist on the Orpheus and Euridice myth, if he awakens, she will die, a situation he can not bare. Kara has been writing, directing and acting his theatrical style of fragmented dream and myth since 1963 when he formed his own company, Jokyo Gekijo.

Sujin Kim directs Shinjuku Ryozanpaku ("A Group of Gallant People"). Their production of City of Virgins won a prize in 1993 from Japan's National Culture Agency and traveled to France and Toronto. These performances mark the company's U.S. debut.

Tickets to City of Virgins are $20 and available by calling the box office at (212) 752-3015. Performances are in Japanese with English translation available via headphones. The talk with Serban is $10 and begins at 6:30 PM.

-- By Christine Ehren