Takarazuka Journal

I am having a very hard time figuring out where to put the lj-cuts in this one....

So. You love and support someone for five years and of course they change, and of course it happens so gradually you're only partially aware of it. Last year was especially hectic, so a lot of the changes actually *could* be seen, as she grew and stretched and beat down the walls she ran into and just... flew. But no matter how impressed I was by her Lucheni and her Palamon, there was still a large part of the back of my brain remembering the little ken-5. This show has changed all that. I don't know how to put it. I wouldn't say it "opened my eyes" or anything like that, but.... I guess I've fallen in love all over again, only this time with this amazingly talented, super-assured, calm and competent star who loves her fans in return.

HAMLET!!
Bow Hall, 2010

Lead: Ryuu Masaki

[ TakaWiki ] [ Asahi.com stage photos ]

This will be an amalgamation of a few performances, not a specific date.

Over-View:

The Rock Opera "HAMLET!!" is exactly what its titles imply: a rock opera. There are very few spoken lines, and there are something like 60 songs (not 60 melodies, but 60 different numbers). The music is all in-house, no famous songs reused. The duel between Hamlet and Laertes was choreographed by Kurihara Naoki (who also did the fight choreography for Pimpernel) and uses real practice fencing foils, not cheap-looking stage swords.

The costumes are very rock- and glam-rock-esque. The players scene ("The Murder of Gonzago" and just before) reuses some costumes from the Purple Haze numbers in "Fancy Dance" (2007). To be honest, based on stage photos I had thought I wouldn't care for the costumes, but they turned out to have much more impact in person, and not look cheap and thrown together, which I'd feared.

The set itself is composed of stairs. This is from memory, so the number and shape of the stairs might be off, but I wanted to show the bits that move, and where the band is.

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There are several entrances and exits along the two aisles through the audience, which means if you're lucky to be close enough, you get a great view of the makeup and costumes. This includes Hamlet, Horatio, the Ghost, Ophelia, Laertes, and all the players.

As for the story itself, because the show is only 2 1/2 hours it's very fast-paced. Most of the dialogue has been cut and replaced with sung lines or songs -- the most famous bits left intact -- and some scenes are bridged with short narration by the three grave-diggers.

The opening is a prologue sung by the dead, in a graveyard. Horatio's character mentions it all started with "that incident"... and back we go, to Claudius's crowning and Hamlet's discontent. We pick up the story with Hamlet meeting Horatio (and the new sister), and Horatio mentioning that he had seen the ghost of the former king.

No plot changes, really. Even the sister doesn't say much at all, just stands behind Horatio's shoulder and sings counterpoint from time to time. Rosencrantz being a woman meant an interesting added line or two which seem to imply that she and Hamlet once had a thing, but other than that, nope.

Being Takarazuka, there are a short couple of dance numbers at the end. They also added some dancing by the main characters at the beginning of the scene where the players perform "The Murder of Gonzago".

The Actresses:

They really managed to put together a cast of strong singers for this show -- not just the principles, but all of the chorus as well, which makes it a real pleasure to listen to, start to finish. This isn't often the case in Takarazuka, particularly with rock numbers, so I was pleasantly surprised!

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Favorite Bits:

So hard to just pick a few, but...

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Recommended for: EVERYONE. OH MY GOD, IF YOU'RE IN TOKYO THIS WEEK OR NEXT WEEK, GOGOGOGOGOGOGO!!!

Back to your regularly scheduled Masaki. Are you sick of Hamlet!! yet? *grin* This one has some more meat to it. Tomorrow I'll try to translate the newspaper review of opening night, if I have time.

Rock Opera HAMLET!!
Mini-Roundtable
(Kageki, Feb. 2010)

Participants
Playwright/Director: Fujī Daisuke
Moon Troupe: Ryū Masaki

( I thought this at the time I was doing 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' as well, but there are a lot of set phrases and jargon in Shakespearean works. I want not just myself, but everyone in the cast to perform with a full comprehension of them. Because I think that is the hidden interest of Shakespeare. )

I wondered if they might announce the next Hanagumi top musumeyaku on shuugobi, but then I thought: No, no, they'll draw it out, surely. Hahah, wrong!

*Snoopy Transfer Dance!* <-- It's been a long time since I did the Transfer Dance properly. :D

I love when things get all stired up♥

So, with Remi transfering to Hoshi, perhaps she'll be nibante musumeyaku, and get the lead along with Kaname in Lila. But I wouldn't bet on it entirely, as people have been transfered into anonymity before. That would make me a sad puppy.

I'll admit I'm not horribly disappointed that she won't be next top musumeyaku of Hanagumi, because I still hold on to my impossible dream of Masaki and Remi being reunited again. ♥ Hey, if Tartan and Akiko could do it.... ;)

I'll admit I'm not thrilled with Ranno Hana being Un-chan's new partner, because I think her singing still needs a lot of work, but we'll see. Maybe they pushed her up there because she's planning on retiring soon anyway, and this way she can go with Yuu. Or maybe she'll be with us yet for a long time. Who knows. Heh.

So I guess it'll be:
Ranno - Amasaki
Aono - ???
?? Maihane? - ?? Manaka?
Yumesaki - Shirahana
Nono - Hanakage

... Unless Alice is moved to Snow? Maybe with Tomu? I guess we'll just have to wait a few more months for that announcement, though. And it's just as likely to be Otozuki and Maihane.

And I admit to being completely stumped by Tsukigumi. It's impossible to tell right now. None of the remaining musumeyaku (who haven't obviously fallen off the star-track) have been in specials, or had shinko leads, or even nibante roles in any smaller shows. Kotone Kazuha? Saki Akane? Remi Kurea? Someone younger? I'll be curious who gets the nibante musumeyaku role in Yukariko, and who gets the shinko lead in The Pimp.

Thus endeth the speculation for the moment. ;)

(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.

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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♥

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.

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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. ^^;;)