![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
The Tale of Genji x Ōguro Maki Songs ~I Love Twelve Hitoe~Galaxy Theater, October 30th 2PM show
[ Show Blog ]
Star: Shibuki Jun
The Tale of Genji in a modern world somewhat like our own, set to the rock music of Ōguro Maki.
I was not quite certain what we would end up with, but I KNEW I couldn't miss Rika's Genji. Yet I didn't have the money before the deadline and despaired. But called anyway a few weeks later and managed to snag a Saturday ticket. Oh, so very glad I did. As with every Rika show I have managed to see live, I wished I were seeing it a million times instead of just the once. It wasn't one of those life-changing shows, nor something very deep or significant. What it was was two and a quarter hours of quality, high-energy entertainment.
First, the costumes, because they rocked! The men (and Rika) all wore kind of punk, new-age kimono. Mismatched sleeves and Chinese silks and chains and such. The women all wore normal business suits or evening gowns or (in Murasaki's case) school uniforms. (Despite the poster, none of the men ever wore suits in the show.)
Next, the music. Was fun and a mix of pop and softer rock ballads with some forays into near-rap. I actually really enjoyed the one after Genji learns that he's just spent the night with and fallen for his father's new wife. (In English) it began: "You. Broke. My. Heart. I. Lost. My. Mind~!" Very silly stuff.
( Lastly, the plot. Was hilarious, fully packed with in-jokes for an audience expected to know the source material inside and out. )I loved all of the silly jokes, both the verbal ones and the physical ones. Things like:
Koremitsu (to Suzaku): "You're the older brother."
Suzaku: "Yes, but he's taller than me."
As Rika towered in her heeled boots over the guy playing Suzaku.
Hikaru's father hands him a presidential order, which Hikaru unrolls and after an eye-roll, shows to the audience.
Scroll: "須磨へGO!!"
("Suma e GO!!")
Hikaru on his cell phone trying to get a job interview:
"What? My clothes? What's wrong with my clothes?" Pause. "Too flashy?"
He's wearing sparkling gold pants under his multi-colored top.
After Hikaru's father and Fujitsubo finally track Genji down:
Kiritsubo: "What's with all these postcards from all over the world that you sent us? The Eiffel Tower, the pyramids...?"
Hikaru: "I was seeing the world."
Kiritsubo (waving the stack): "Then why are they all post-marked from Gunma?!"
(Rika is from Gunma.)
The fabulous scene where we meet Oborozukiyo for the first time is a pantomime (with sound-effects) with her using the drink machine, dropping a quarter, trying to fish it out of the crack in the floor in a sexy, ladylike way (but ultimately failing both in getting the coin and in remaining cool and sexy), trying again and the machine eating her second coin, and her finally exploding at it and kicking it. Really, hilariously funny. Kuroki Marina (Oborozukiyo) was amazing, actually. Completely wacky and completely sexy and I loved her hair (wig?).
Otsuki Sayu's character was fun. Not huge, but she had the nice benefit of not being in love with Genji. She was Koremitsu's girl, and very level-headed, no-nonsense. She had a great scene where the boys on their coffee break were rating the office ladies as they passed by (hilarious take on the rainy-day conversations chapter), and they gave Otsuki's character a rather low score until she threatened them with bodily harm and suddenly she was a "100!! Full points! Perfect!!". *grin*
While overall I enjoyed all of the changes they made to make the play fit its modern setting and thought a lot of them were quite clever, I'm still not so sure how I felt about turning it into a kind of traditional love story between Genji and Aoi in the end. On the one hand, the actress playing Aoi (Uno Misako) was quite good and slowly won me over to the character of Aoi through the course of the play, and they never went too far I think in changing Hikaru's essentially playboy nature, yet it was still strange to see Murasaki relegated to the background like that.
They will actually be selling a DVD of it. I missed the pre-orders they were apparently taking at the theater, but they said in the show's blog that they'll be taking internet orders too, so I'll be keeping my eye on it!
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
