This article about Ryuu’s upcoming performance in the co-ed production of 1789 was published in Osaka Daily News on Feb 16, 2018 (source link has regrettably been mislaid).

Ryuu Masaki in 1789: Putting herself in the music

In June, the French rock musical 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille (Toho Productions) will be performed at the Shin Kabuki-za Theatre in Osaka’s Tennoji Ward. Ryuu Masaki, who is performing in a stage musical for the first time since retiring from the Takarazuka Revue, says ‘I’m really excited to perform – I want to see how much of myself I can put into the music’ as she looks forward to her role of Marie Antoinette.

The show is set in France, in early 1789. With the love of the youth Ronan (Koike Teppei/Kato Kazuki) and Olympe (Kanda Sayaka/Yumesaki Nene), maid of Marie Antoinette (Ouki Kaname/Ryuu Masaki) at its center, it tells the story of the young people whose lives were turned upside down by the French Revolution.

1789 was first performed in France in 2012, produced by Dove Attia and Albert Cohen, and became a record-breaking mega-hit. The Japanese version, adapted and directed by Koike Shuuichiro, was first performed in 2015, by the Takarazuka Moon Troupe, and restaged by Toho in the following year.

While she was Top Star of Moon Troupe, Ryuu played the role of Ronan in 1789. ‘Even now I still remember every bit of dialogue and music in the show, and I’ll often flash back to individual scenes,’ she says, and when it came to the challenge of playing Antoinette, who ’(Ronan) rather had to hate,’ she couldn’t help feeling a tinge of concern. ‘I was very happy but also thought ‘can I do this?“

In order to study Antoinette, she read books, went to visit the palace at Versailles, and listened to stories about her, among other things. ‘I was able to see what Antoinette and seen and feel what she had felt,’ Ryuu said. ‘Despite being overthrown by the passage of time, she was a very strong and elegant woman,’ she realized. She is now very motivated for her role: ‘I’m really working to pursue her feelings and emotions.’

She says one of the appeals of the show is that ‘depending on which character an audience member sympathizes with, the whole show seems to chance.’ Changing from being an otokoyaku to playing a female role ‘without looking as if it feels different to me’ is an issue, and as the majority of the performers are returning from the 2016 production, she says ‘although I’m sure I’ll be quite a bother, I’m going to do my best to follow everyone!’