Takarazuka Journal

Huuuuh, this is really interesting. I'm taking a break from catching up on the last month's worth of emails and comments (sorry!), and watching Haruna Yuri's "Great Graduates #13" (recorded in 2002). Some stories I had heard before, on various specials, but most were new.

* She says her parents were big fans of the Revue, so she went from a very young age. Her earliest memory of Takarazuka is of seeing "Gubijin" when she was a preschooler -- the live horses made a big impression on her *gin*.
* Talking again about how back then they lined the class up by height and split it exactly in half -- the tallest half to be otokoyaku, the shorter half to be musumeyaku. She was third-tallest in her class.
* Talking about physically creating the role of the first Oscar, and how they made their wigs from individual pieces back then, and how the curls came undone after every performance and others had to help her recurl them.
* Talking about how important it was to preserve the physical beauty of the scenes, even for those up on the 2nd or 3rd floors, and so even during the kiss scenes they had to keep a certain distance to preserve that form and beauty, and how it called for a tightening of stomach muscles that really left you aching by he end of the day.... (Makes me curious how this kind of choreography has changed with the now common practice of DVDs and close-up footage.)
* She talks about the first "Gone With the Wind", and how at first she had no confidence to be able to play such a role, especially without the understanding behind the American Civil War. Then her struggles experimenting with the makeup. At first she did her normal stage makeup and tried on a mustache with it (this was the first time a lead otokoyaku had worn a mustache in Takarazuka), but it just looked strange. She realized the balance was off then, and added a lot more shadow around the bridge of her nose, her eyes, and her chin, and a more natural-looking brown lipstick. But still something was wrong, and at last she realized it was her hair line. She actually steamed her forehead a bit every day and plucked her hairline into a more square, masculine shape! And then, at last, the sideburns.
* She talks about her decision to leave the Revue. After nine years as top star, she transfered to Senka. But for an entire year she didn't appear in anything, although she says she learned a lot through studying that year. Still, the directors didn't choose her for their shows, and her fans kept writing and asking her when she would perform, and she had to tell them, "I don't know, I'm sorry, it hasn't been decided yet." She says she could feel her fans' loneliness, and it made her incredibly sad. That wasn't her only reason, of course, but she looked very sweet and solemn as she talked about how important it was to consider her fans' feelings.
* She totally slaps down how uniform all the stars have become in their hair and makeup choices. (*laughs* Was she looking at Rika!? When was that woman's hair ever uniform?)