ekusudei: (NBN - Tomu & Gun-chan)
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Love and Death in Arabia / Red Hot Sea
Flower Troupe, 2008

Stars: Matobu Sei & Sakurano Ayane

[ TakaWiki ] [ Stage Graph ]

Okay, to be honest I haven't really read through any of the Summer Makes Sense crew's reviews yet, but I think I started to by accident once and there was a general consensus that it was dull!? Are you all on crack? I know people have differences of opinion, so I think this is either one of those moments where I'm at odds with 90% of the community, or perhaps I'll read your reviews properly and find out I was mistaken....

One other caveat before I start, which is that I spent my impressionable pre-teen years reading things like The Blue Sword. I have this ... thing for Arabia meets early 19th-century Britain.

Arabia - What I Thought:

I knew the costumes were going to kill me in a happy way, but I didn't realize exactly how much and how quickly.... The fabrics and colors were so rich; none of that cheap theatrical quality that made me laugh my head off over the pharaohs stuffed "crowns" in the last few Egyptian productions. Just, really, really gorgeous. And then the make-up was well done to compliment the costumes, I thought. I know people are split on the subject of otokoyaku facial hair, but I loved their little beards and mustaches. Oh god, Hinata San's evil goatee and mustache, with her evil eyebrows and her non-stop sneers. I may have melted into a puddle, just a wee bit.

I really liked the staging too, though I was slightly doubtful at first about the big, golden pyramid in the opening number, but then it... well, I won't spoil it for those of you planning to see it, but let me just say I kind of let out a muffled cheer. THIS is Takarazuka at it's most beloved and 華麗なる! Ostentatious love. <3

The music.... Nghhhhhh. Gorgeous. Really cool far-away-and-long-ago feel to them. And I'm sure people will pick apart the whole psychology of a show like this, but I don't want to. I want to enjoy the feel of the early 19th century, when Arabia was an exotic and mysterious place.... And then Matobu Sei started singing Scottish songs that I grew up listening to, because my mom and aunts are junkies for that kind of thing and always went to the pubs to watch our local Irish and Scottish family-groups performing, and I'd fall asleep, nodding to music just like that, and then my father would have to pick me up and carry me out to the car.... So, yeah. I loved it. It was different, and beautiful, and it allowed Hanagumi's vocal talents to really shine, and it blended really well, no making the otokoyaku or musumeyaku strain into an uncomfortable range.

I didn't really feel that the story dragged, I have to admit. So I'm not sure... I'm really not sure what bits made people say that? I thought they had some great dance numbers -- faux bellydancing, anyone? Lots of group dances. <3 And I thought they spaced them out well.

They kept the Matobu Sei/Sou Kazuho chemistry that I've been so excited about, and I squeed so hard! Though, unfortunately, as often happens when it becomes a story about manly bonding, the romance aspect of the story suffers, and I think this was unfortunate when they have such a crazy-talented top musumeyaku (Kurotokage, anyone?). BUT-! Un/Sou! <3<3<3 And Yuuhi got to be all older-brother-with-a-stick-up-his-butt, and proud, and hard, but loving his baby brother, and I LOVED it. And Sakura Ichika got to be a wicked, spoiled princess! And I LOVED it. And Hinata San got to be an evil, plotting bastard with real, actual lines (I'm sorry, Saori!) AND I LOVED IT. And Shirahana Remi got to be on stage all the time with Ayane, and I loved it! Natsumi You was very military. And would stand off to the side raising her eyebrows and shaking or nodding her head knowingly. It was very distracting. And! I keep forgetting Mineno Kazuma! Who I swear I thought must be a musumeyaku playing a boy role until after the show when I checked the program! Okay, maybe she'd be too one-dimensional cute and bouncy for many people, but-! SO CUTE I DIED. And then Nozomi Fuuto's scene with Un-chan out in the middle of the desert that I LOVED and ADORED.

And Matobu Sei.... Matobu Sei got to be the mature white prince, who was noble without making me want to wretch. And she sang, oh god, she sang. She doesn't quite have the richness to her voice yet that Osa had, but (to be perfectly honest, please don't kill me) it's nearly there, and there were moments when her voice filled the theater like Osa's could--in a way that had more to it than simple sound systems--and I got those goosebumps I remember from Kurotokage, and I thought: I like her voice more than Osa's. Give her another year or two, and she is going to blow us all away.

And though the story wasn't really a romance (it was a story about, well, about friendship, and leadership, and, well, brotherhood), the scenes that Un-chan and Ayane did have together were lovely. They have chemistry, boys and girls, they have chemistry. <3

It wasn't until the intermission that I realized that I hadn't thought about Osa even once. It wasn't like there was this huge gapping hole there; Hanagumi is whole, and strong, and amazing. I honestly, honestly believe that it might be my favorite troupe right now (and I am NOT just saying this because Yuuhi transferred there). I know this sounds like sacrilege to a lot of people, but give them a chance. They might just knock your socks off.

Red Hot Sea - What I Thought:

Oh, LOVE. I suspect this is one of those revues that isn't going to be nearly as much fun on DVD, because every other number was a massive, blinding, toe-tapping number that had the entire audience clapping along. :D THIS is why revues are so much fun live, and yet often so.... ridiculous on DVD. They don't always convert well. XD

But the theme was really lots of fun, and they did some inventive things with it. The ghost ship was my favorite scene, though I'll admit it took me forever to find Hatchi, because the last place I looked was at the buss-boys. Silly me. Earring. <3

And although Mattsu may have been practically invisible in the musical, she was everywhere in the revue! And Hanagata Hikaru was really prominent too! (Suddenly her getting the nibante role in Gin-chan isn't so puzzling.) And Maishiro Nodoka got so many great dancing moments! When she came out in the number she dances with Yuuhi the theater went wild -- there was so much love there. <3

Also, this seems like a good moment to mention that in one of the Kageki "E to Bun" articles, someone mentioned the going joke in Hanagumi about Nono Sumika's character (Ayane and Un-chan's little boy in the revue). Both her parents have straight hair, but hers is a mop of curls. Sou's is curly, so she claims to be the real father. Then Mitsuru (Hanagata) changed to a curly wig, so she's also claiming to be the real father. ;)

Oh! Right! I forgot! The finale! The pair dance on the stairs that had me holding my breath lest they fall and break an arm, but that was gorgeous! And then after the parade! When everyone runs off stage instead of lining up and I go: ??? But then they all run back on stage when Un-chan comes down the stairs and they're facing her, shaking their little tail-feathers and I'm all: !!!! I LOVED it.

I always have a hard time reviewing revues, because they tend to either be ones I love, where I love every single mad detail, or ones I just found blah. This was one I loved, every bit of it.

(PS - I think a couple people might have missed it without meaning to, so in case you're wondering why there isn't any iride information, or anything like that, check this post.)
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