This write up on the fist day of Flower Troupe’s latest show was published by Daily Sports Online on Jan 1. The original article can be found here. (Archive link here.) There are several photos as well so by all means give them some traffic!
Please note that I have not seen the show and am mostly unfamiliar with the source material, so I hope I understood the references properly.
Some mild spoilers ahead!
Opening of ‘The Poe Clan’ in Takarazuka – High praise from original creator Hagio Moto: ‘I could go over and over’
The Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe’s production of The Poe Clan opened on the 1st in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre in Hyogo prefecture. It is based on the manga of the same name, first published by manga author Hagio Moto in 1972, which has gathered many fans up to the present day. Top Star Asumi Rio plays the immortal Vanpanella boy Edgar, in a world that unfolds as if it was taken straight from the manga.
Due to the great number of fans of the original work, Ms. Asumi has taken great pains with her appearance. ‘His curly hair is very impressive, so I was very particular about the wig and also the blue contacts,’ and as she said she uses blue color contact lenses onstage. ‘For the vampire scenes I want to convey the beauty of the world of Poe and of Takarazuka’, she said, expressing her confidence in the aesthetic scenes created for the show.
Ms. Hagio, who saw the show, was ecstatic. ‘I felt like my head and heart were going to burst. It was all so beautiful it seemed straight out of the manga.’ As lines from the original work were used directly in the dialogue and theme songs, she said ‘It’s a bit embarrassing. I’m very emotional about it,’ seeming to blush as she covered her cheeks with her hands. ‘The last scene where [Edgar and Yuzuka Rei’s character Alan]1 go out through the window gave me goosebumps. The scene where [Edgar and Alan are saying] “I wish…” was amazing. I might end up going over and over just to see those two scenes.’ She is totally in love with the show.
1 – bracketed sections in original source.