Takarazuka Journal

♥♥♥!!! Kazahana Mai updated her blog with backstage photos of herself and a bunch of OGs as a New Year's present to us all. Whoever did their hair and makeup was a genius, and they all look lovely (well, except for Rea's hair ohgod), but Gaichi in particular looks so drop-dead gorgeous (even making silly faces) that I didn't even recognize her at first. (You can also see her in the background of the shot of Mai and Hoshina Yuri.) I want cheekbones like that...

And Shiomi Maho posted a recent photo of herself in her blog as well. The perm must be in this month. ;) I have hat envy, and her nails are the same color as mine! *grin*

*happy sigh* I'd been saving this video for months and months and months, just because Tom's Yukigumi was a national treasure and I'm trying to space out the shows. XD

The Man Called Bacchus / Splendor of a Thousand Beats '99
Snow, 1999

[ TakaWiki Page ]

( Cast )

( Summary )

( What I Thought )

Speakeasy

[ TakaWiki Page ]

MacHeath: Maya Miki
Polly Peachum: Sen Hosachi
Jonathon Peachum: Aika Mire
Rolly Rockett: Hibiki Takumi
Jenny Diver: Shino Yuka
Lucy Rockett: Nagisa Aki
Charles Randy: Iori Naoka
Cherie Peachum: Takayagi Midori

Summary: This show is based on the German The Threepenny Opera, which is in turn based on the English The Beggar's Opera. The plot seems to follow the musical fairly closely, but the music and lyrics seem to have been rewritten in many cases. (For obvious reasons .. this is one racy musical!)

Reactions: Loved Maya Miki in this role! Loved all of the cast. They still managed to get some fairly racy things in there, by zuka standards. That bed scene... o.0 I wish Jenny had had more screen time, because I loved the dynamics between her and Mack just as much as between him and Polly.

Sniper

Scene 1~3: Prologue
Scene 3~5: The Wonder Man, Harimao
A chivalrous thief aids in the independence of SE Asia.... and woos the girl while he's at it.
Scene 6~7: Getting Rich Quick
Gamblers and gigolos.
Scene 8~9: The Dream of Going to the Big Sky
The Wright brothers.
Scene 10~12: Heavenly Port ~ Rio
Carnival. Need I say more?
Scene 13~15: Hey, Reporter!
A famous couple of movie stars attempt to keep their affair under wraps.
Scene 16~18: The Sky at Auschwitz
A couple is taken into custody by the Nazis on their wedding day and taken to Auschwitz.
Scene 19~20: Finale

What? What? *shivers* This is one weird revue. The shiny space-age outfits in the prologue are just plain ugly, and the WWII scenes were actually a bit much for me. Maybe I'm overly sensitive, but I don't care if the two main characters get reunited on fluffy clouds in heaven, I don't want gas chamber reenactments. It's too much.

So, yeah. I've actually found a revue show I don't like.

ETA: I will admit, the "Hey, Reporter!" skits were funny. And Aika Mire's "chivalrous thief" was amusing and dashing at the same time.

The Energy 4

This tape includes about 40 minutes each of the four shinjin koen from the second half of 1999. Shinjin koen are smaller-scale performances of the main plays done by the actresses who have 7 years or less experience at Takarazuka.

Nova Bossa Nova [Moon - Kiriya Hiromu]
Tango Argentino [Flower - Mizu Natsuki]
Waga Ai wa Yama no Kanata ni (My Love Lies Over the Mountains) [Star - Matobu Sei]
Bacchus to Yobareta Otoko (The Man Called Bacchus) [Snow - Mirai Yuuki]

I have to say, my favorite part was definitely the little speeches the actors made at the end of their performance. Kiriyan was just completely adorable, and all with the lisp. Mizu was all serious. I completely fell in love with Un-chan, because her speech was a complete disaster. She gets up to the mic: "Uh, I didn't really think about what to say. I'm in a bit of a panic." She's holding the edge of her cape in her fists as if her life depends on it. "Uh, I couldn't really see before, because the stage lights were in my eyes, but now I see a lot of opera glasses. I guess a lot of people have them." And she continues to ramble on like that before she finally pulls herself together. She performed so well, and then looked so terrified after! Mirai Yuuki started crying, though I'm not sure if it was nerves or just joy that she had performed.

( Nova Bossa Nova )

( Tango Argentino )

( Waga Ai wa Yama no Kanata ni )

( Bacchus to Yobareta Otoko )