Takarazuka Journal

Well then, there you have it. I suppose I've been expecting something along these lines since Scarlet Pimpernel, so no surprise. I just hope my suspicion this means an early retirement isn't true.

Kinda cool to see them pulling some of those 70s and early 80s molds out again, with almost-sorta double-tops.

Not so sure about Romeo and Juliet, but on the plus side, I haven't seen it yet so I'm not personally sick of it. ;)

Manaki Reika impressed me in the Algiers shinko; she's grown a lot. Still think she's a better match for Mirio, though. If anything, that may be my only gripe out of all of this, and leads me again to believe in an early retirement.

But, hell, she did it! First top star from the 87ths<3 Hell of a lot of work. Congratulations, Masaki-chan.

Events in the sumary may be slightly out of order, but that doesn't affect the story itself, I think.

Studio 54
Moon Troupe, Nippon Seinenkan
Jan 16th performance

Stars: Kiriya Hiromu & Aono Yuki

[ TakaWiki ] [ Asahi Stage Gallery ]

I'm becoming hopelessly fond of the Nippon Seinenkan, despite always ending up in the balcony (monieeeeee~~~). This time I was up on the 2nd floor, off to house right. (Luckily, as it turned out for Rizu-viewing, not too far right.)

I was too slow on the grab to get one of the last of the free pamphlet "Hot Week"s that they had left over from Bow run -- From what I could see from reading over someone's shoulder, and from what other people told me, they were pretty hilarious. I'm kind of dying to know what the cast wrote, though, in their comments section. I want to know what Nozomu said. T_T


This show made me fall even more in love than I already was with Kiriyan and Marimo as a combi. (I know, I can see you rolling your eyes at me and saying it isn't possible for me to get any more mushy over these two, but they are so perfect together. Hankyu knows what they're about, as usual.)

( Summary: )

( What I Thought: )

Overall a really fun play. I left the theater grinning and with that Takarazuka buzz, wishing I could see it again. I think it'll be one of those smaller shows that Tsukigumi fans refer to for a long time to come. :)

From what I understand, there are two alternate finales, either Disco 54 or Showa 54. Even before the lights went up, the people around me started murmuring "Showa 54! Showa 54!" as the cast moved into place on the darkened stage. Then the lights went up and "Showa 54" flashed on the curtain. It was a fun medley of 70s disco numbers, the Japanese versions of English ones, and original Japanese ones.

The Gypsy Baron / Rhapsodic Moon
Moon Troupe, 2010

Stars: Kiriya Hiromu & Aono Yuki

[ TakaWiki ] [ Asahi Photo Gallery ]

The Gypsy Baron

Gypsy is amazing in so many ways<3

I had been hearing a lot about the 6-minute pair dance in the beginning, set to the overture (I think?), and it really blew my mind. As usual, Marimo and Kiriyan move as if they are extensions of each other. They really are the perfect combi, and every time I see Kiriyan do a complicated lift I think of Mariko<3 I LOVE our top combi.

Many of the songs from Strauss's original score are only slightly arranged, I believe, and then some few songs were added. Much of it is in triple-time, which they mention in many interviews gave them some trouble singing and dancing at first, since it's a rhythm they rarely encounter. The chorus arrangements--all of the songs, really--also had that familiar operatic feel. I'll admit, I was quite stunned by the chorus vocals. They blend so well and sound AMAZING. The solos also sounded very good, and the duets were moving as well, although in one they have Marimo singing up at the edge of her range, which can get piercing. In general, though, they have her singing alto, and it's *beautiful*.

From the few photos I had seen, I wasn't sure how fond I'd be of the sets, but the pig house grew on me. It has a charming fairy-tale feel. And the ruins of Sterk's father's castle are just awesome! I love when they use the rotating stage during the play half♥

I adore the costumes, particularly Sterk's and the gypsies'. Lots of blacks and reds and fun designs. The exception being Tamakichi's - She has a long open vest/jacket that hangs straight with no patterns or lines to it at all, and so she looks like the villain in an Arabian tale. (^^; That, or a stork.

I also love Kiriyan and Marimo and Masaki's hair pieces, extensions, and wigs.<3 Kiriyan's in particular is this perfect wild mane that hangs halfway down her back and looks like something out of a medieval romance novel. You really want to be the maiden with that head in your lap. It fits her character perfectly.

( Summary )

( Actresses & Small Complaints )

Rhapsodic Moon

I just-I..... Yes. It's as loud as people had warned me. But I was expecting the loud colors (we always wear yellow and orange in the specials, after all), and the loud music wasn't as bad from my habitual balcony seat.

I fell in love with the opening with the orange neon outfits. Because it was so Tsukigumi, and because there was Masaki, in the nibante place. It was rather incredible; I don't think I can even explain it. I just sat there and thought about the past four years worth of revue shows, and opera-glassing Masaki back somewhere, moving slowly up. And now, here she was. Granted, sharing with Mirio, but still. There. Right there. It's an *amazing* feeling -- I'm sure I had a very stupid grin on my face the entire time.

Overall, though, I have to admit I'm not really a big fan of Nakamura Kazunori-sensei, or his revues. Still! I looked on the bright side; no chansons.

If you want more info on the various scenes, I've added it to the TakaWiki. But, in summary:

Prologue: LOVE
Castle Shining Under the Moon: Pretty Marimo dancing. Baaaaaad wig, Kiriyan. Mini-Death Mirio, who apparently sometimes turns into mini-Phantom. I have not seen this, but I'm told her face is too small to pull off a half-mask properly. (We all agreed that for the same reason, Masaki should not be allowed anywhere near a half-mask.)
Moon Dance: SUIT MASAKI♥ (Club ladies, you are crazy. She looks just fine in a suit.) Singing Masaki in a spotlight♥ Nibante Masaki♥
LUZ Moonlight: I was not fond of the chuzume, despite the Masaki nibante-ness. BUT. Marimo's scene? Where she sang a solo all by herself in front of the curtain because she is just. That. Awesome? *LOVE!*
CARAVAN & Desert Moon: Intellectually, I know I should love these scenes. I certainly adored the bit with the duet dance. I'll give it some time.
Finale: Giving Sonoka that vocal solo, instead of having her dance in CARAVAN & Desert Moon is a criminal act. Firstly, no Sonoka dancing!? Secondly, this song does not fit her vocals and, oh dear. :( Line dance was the usual. I spent much of it thinking Hanahi Mira was Mippou, which tells you how tired I was by that point. Black tailcoat otokoyaku dance was sexy, but also seemed to lack something. I suspect that was the exhaustion, though. Finale duet dance to "I Will Survive"? Too amazing. Doesn't hurt that Rizu-chan picks up the song with Kijou Mitsuru, after Kiriyan stops singing and starts dancing♥♥
Parade: NIBANTE. NIBANTE.

Altogether, an enjoyable revue, and one I won't mind watching multiple times. But not one that made my heart swell so much it felt like it might burst. At least, if it weren't for NIBANTE MASAKI. That alone will make this revue memorable for me. ;)

Slowly getting caught up with life.... ;)

Last weekend was so fun! Also, exhausting. But the fact that it's having lots of friends to run around with is what is making me tired is a good thing♥ Thank you, everyone!

( Read more... )

I'm drinking the beer I promised myself at the end of the weekend. (^0^)

SO much to say about the ochakai - too much for a phone post. (Masaki, Masaki, how are you so high on life? ... Rizu knows my name! And she drops the "san" like Masaki does - is this a Tsuki thing?)

So I'll leave you with a cute adlib story:

Saturday was Mirio's first time playing Chauvelin in Tokyo. Percy's suggestion for the ball was "a red and white and blue coat covered in sequins, enormous feathers on your back, and a sash that says 'Omedetou, Chauvelin shonichi'". To which Chauvelin's smirk was more of a grin: "Arigatou gozaimasu ga, kekkou desu."

The Last Play / Heat on Beat!
Moon Troupe 2009 Tokyo
Nov. 27th, 2009

Star: Sena Jun

[ TakaWiki ] [ Sanspo Sumire Style Stage Graph ]

Summary:

( spoilers behind most of the cuts )

What I Thought:

Just want to get my first impressions down before I see it again, so this'll be quick.

This is Tsukigumi. The suit troupe. The gangster troupe. The western musical troupe. The troupe of ridiculously hot tangos. The troupe that I fell in love with. All of the things that I love about Daichi Mao's troupe, and Tsurugi Miyuki's troupe, and Amami Yuuki's troupe, and Kuze Seika's troupe, and Tsubasa Makoto's troupe, and Shibuki Jun's troupe, and Sena Jun's troupe. The people might be completely different, but something intrinsically Tsukigumi is always there. That's why--although of course I'm sad about the retirements!--I'm not devastated. It will still be Tsukigumi♥

( Read more... )

On the Revue:

I've added in the little blurbs for all of the revue acts on the TakaWiki.

( Read more... )

(Photo: Grand Theater balcony view.)

Note: This is the second half of a two-part review, so some things are going to build off of what I said about the Sunday performance.

Elisabeth
2009 Moon Troupe
June 8th 1 PM performance

Leads: Sena Jun, Nagina Ruumi, Kiriya Hiromu
Switched roles: Ryouga Haruhi (Rudolph), Aoki Izumi (Elmer), Asumi Rio (Stefan)

[ TakaWiki ] [ Daily Sports Online stage photos 1 & 2 ]

Summary:

As I mentioned before, if anyone really needs one, I'll direct your attention to the Takarazuka Wiki.

What I Thought:

Okay, this time I was awake. And this time I both put my opera glasses down most of the time to take in the full effect, and put them up to watch the solos and duets. (...With the occasional sneak at Masaki. I'm only human.) Conclusion -- there was still a spark of love for Elisabeth left that was waiting to be fanned back to life♥ I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do and change for Tokyo.

Still not a proper review, though. I'll probably inflict one last "impressions" post on you all after the Tokyo run, when I've had time to internalize more.

( Read more... )

So, final verdict from the weekend was one of excitement. I'm looking forward to Tokyo run a lot more now, and I'm definitely buying the DVD. (Yes, it was up in the air for a while. Like I said, I'm pretty burnt out on Elisabeth.) I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised by the results of the unusual casting♥

From: Kageki, March 2009

Moon Troupe Bow Hall Performance
3/12 ~ 3/29
The Two Noble Kinsmen

Participants
(Playwright/Director) Koyanagi Naoko
(Moon Troupe) Ryū Masaki, Asumi Mirio

( Koyanagi: The original work 'The Tale of Two Kinsmen' came into my hands at just the right time, as I was thinking about what work to produce for Ryū-san and Asumi-san, and I thought that this would fit the two of them. )

I can't quite believe how quickly Kinsmen finished. Sunday was raku... I wish I could have been there. I met an old fan club friend (who actually is supporting Yuzurun now) on Sunday in Tokyo, and she looked at me in a puzzled way and asked me, "Isn't it raku?" ... What can you say to that? For the hardcore enthusiasts, things are pretty black and white. Heh, my other club friends keep telling me there must be eikaiwa jobs in Osaka; why am I in Gunma of all barbaric places. And when I try to explain that I like my employers, they wave it away as inconsequential. XD

Anyway... much delayed:

The Two Noble Kinsmen
Moon Troupe Bow Hall, 2009

Leads: Ryuu Masaki & Asumi Rio, Hazakura Shizuku

[ TakaWiki ] [ Asahi Review w/ Photos ]

Koyanagi-sensei's adaption is an interesting one. (I'll assume anyone reading this has read at least a short summary of the original Fletcher/Shakespeare play. If you haven't, google it!) The first act follows the original Palamon/Arcite/Emilia storyline pretty closely, and the Palamon/Jailer's Daughter storyline is not changed much either. I think the biggest change is with the Schoolmaster and countrymen/maids and their Morris dancing, which has turned into a playwright and players, with the Wooer getting more of a personality as being a member of the players as well. In the second act, the show deviates quite a lot more, though it wraps things up to a similar conclusion.

I was surprised. Masaki had the voice-over intro at the beginning, and didn't share it with Mirio at all, like I've heard done in other double-lead Bows. In fact, in some ways it really didn't feel like a double-lead. Not that *I'm* complaining! <3

( Summary: )

( What I Thought: )

A traditional Shakespearean setting of the show, all-in-all, which actually made me really happy. I enjoyed it, and enjoyed it more each time I saw it, and was getting towards loving it. But I suspect if you're not a fan of any of the actresses in it, you might find it overall unimpressive.



OMG. LUCHENI!!!! She is going to blow everyone away.<3 Rehearsals start on the 6th. Everyone, mark your calendars.

The Floating Bridge of Dreams
Moon Troupe, 2008

Top Star: Sena Jun

[ TakaWiki ] [ Sanspo Stage Graph ]

( Summary: )

What I Thought:

When Hankyu announced that there would be no new top musumeyaku for Moon Troupe for a while, they said that they were going to use the opportunity to showcase the talents of a variety of musumeyaku in the troupe. I think a lot of people were skeptical, but... this show convinced me they weren't entirely blowing hot air. I thought it was a very interesting (and wildly different) adaption of the Ukihashi Chapters of Genji, and I thought Ono-sensei did a marvelous job writing in a lot of largeish musumeyaku parts: Kosaishou no Kimi, Ukifune, Onna Ichi no Miya, Kobai no Naka no Kimi..... As a huge fan of Hanase Mizuka and Shirosaki Ai, I was really happy with it.♥

Okay, Jen, great, you say, but what about the show? We know you hate Takarazuka Genji adaptions, and you always fall asleep in the middle of Asaki Yume Mishi.

( Read more... )

So, yes. I worried I wouldn't love it, and then I worried I'd only love it because of who was in it, but.... I don't think that's the case at all. I loved it as itself -- I really rather cool story that was staged beautifully with enough dancing in the aisles to keep you awake between all of the angst. Also, political plotting.♥ You win, Ono-sensei!

(The revue will have to wait a bit... this took me three hours. ^^;;)