This rehearsal roundtable talk was recorded for the May 2015 issue of Kageki.
Besides Director Koike Shuuichiro, 15 performers from Senka and Moon Troupe participated.
Roundtable Talk – 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille
Kanpo Seimei Dream Theatre Musical Spectacle
1789: Les Amants de la Bastille
Participants
Koike Shuuichiro (Adaptation, Direction)
[not pictured] Ishida Akihiro (Producer)
Senka:
Mishiro Ren
Saou Kurama
Moon Troupe:
Asuka Yuu
Seijou Kaito
Touka Yurino
Ryuu Masaki
Nagina Ruumi
Miya Rurika
Hanahi Mira
Tamaki Ryou
Saotome Wakaba
Manaki Reika
Harune Aki
Umino Mitsuki
Akatsuki Chisei
Ishida: The Kampo Seimei Dream Spectacle Musical 1789: Les Amants de la Bastille, adapted and directed by Koike Shuuichiro, will run in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre from April 24 to June 1 [2015]. This show, a French rock musical that features the lives of many people involved in the events of the French Revolution blended with modern pop music, was first performed in France in 2012, in the Palais du Sports. After the first production garnered rave reviews, it became a huge hit with productions all over the Francophone regions. This Takarazuka Revue production, adapted and directed by Director Koike as a ‘Takarazuka version’, will be its first Japanese performance. Takarazuka is known to be skilled at portraying the French Revolution, and this show features the viewpoint of not only the nobility but also the common citizens. In order to create what we hope will become a new jewel in the crown of Takarazuka, we have brought in Mishiro Ren and Saou Kurama to make special appearances from Senka, and the cast is currently passionately engaged in rehearsals for the production. Also, the Takarazuka Grand Theatre run of the show will be the debut performance for the 101st Class of performers. This will be Moon Troupe’s second year in a row welcoming a new class, and the 101st students are currently rehearsing every day to prepare for their debut, so we hope you will look forward to that as well. I will now hand the talk over to everyone.
All: Thank you very much.
The characters are written into the music
Koike: Why don’t we get started by hearing from the revolutionaries. Ryuu, as Ronan Mazurier, you’ll start.
Ryuu: Yes. Ah…I didn’t think I’d end up having to talk so soon (laughs).
All: (laugh)
Ryuu: Well, uh…Director, what do you think about Ronan?
Koike: Hahaha (laughs). So, Ronan. Let me see. To be honest, when I first set out working on this show, I was wondering whether Takarazuka could really do it well. You see, this is much more of an ensemble work, as is clear from looking at the cover of the [French] CD. And besides that, the protagonist, Ronan, was not written as a role to be given to some major star, but was designed from the outset to be cast as a newcomer. Therefore, even when the soundtrack was released, ahead of the show actually being produced, it was still unsettled who would play Ronan: to the point that the actor for Peyrol performed Ronan’s songs instead1.
Ryuu: Oh!
Koike: So right away, this was a bit different from the organizational structure of Takarazuka, of course. The composers also created whatever songs they wanted, which is a common creative system for French and German musicals2. Therefore, the music will be the first part of the show to exist. In this show, Dove Attia served as head producer and sent requests to composers for songs, so the album came first in the order, and then fans who listened to it came to see the show. The music existed first, and even the performers were chosen for the songs. Due to this, the characters don’t have very much dialogue, or even do much dancing. That creative method is rather different from how Takarazuka operates. And it’s the opposite of the American Musicals we are more familiar with. To take an example you will all know, Romeo et Juliette was also like this. The composer Presgurvic began by writing all the songs, and then created lyrics to fit them, that was the process. Doing it this way means that by necessity it ends up centering on the musical numbers. But of course, in Takarazuka we also want that dramatic storyline, and we can’t forget that people want to enjoy seeing all the performers, so currently as we rehearse we’re in a process of trial and error to figure out the right balance for this. Due to these inherent qualities, the characters are not explained in detail in the text, so what I am seeking from everyone is for them to present as much as possible “this is what kind of character I am” when they first appear, or during their songs. So, in other words, it’s a matter of how much you can ‘set up the character’.
All: (laugh)
Koike: However, while, for example, in a production based on an anime, the visual aspects like costumes and hairstyles will set up the characters to a degree, but in this production everyone has a fairly realistic appearance. So it will be up to everyone to show their strengths in how they can make up the difference, and I’m hoping for a great deal of expression through the songs. I think it will turn out very fun if everyone can bring out their individuality.
Living in the year 1789: Revolutionaries
Koike: So, with that, once again, Citizen Ronan.
Ryuu: Right now we’ve made it to the end of the first act in rehearsals, and are reading the script for Act 2, and I finally feel as if I can really see what kind of person Ronan really ought to be. At first, when I watched the recording of the French version for research, when I saw Ronan’s death it seemed to happen so suddenly that I was thinking ‘Is that all?’ while I was watching. It all felt very fuzzy to me, and I was thinking, what on earth is this musical trying to say, and how is it possibly such a hit in the Francophone world? But now I think I’m starting to understand the answer, and I hope that we can express it well in our Takarazuka version. I think the subtitle, ‘The Lovers of the Bastille’ is actually the main emphasis of this work. There are so many different human dramas written into this work, which takes place in this one short year, 1789, when the revolution happened. But Ronan and his love interest Olympe serve as characters who link together the common people and the royals, so through those two, you can understand the kind of people who existed around them, and then at the very end, everyone is celebrating human rights, freedom, and equality…I think this work also presents a great message for modern society, as well. As for the character, Ronan is a farmer’s son who goes to Paris for revenge after his father is killed by the noble officer Peyrol, and there meets Desmoulins and the other revolutionaries and plunges into the revolution himself. But as he is the first character of such low station I’ve played since becoming Top…
All: (laugh)
Ryuu: It feels very new to me, as I thought he was an unusual type of character for a protagonist. After all, we as otokoyaku are more used to seeing how cool and charismatic we can make a character, but this time I’m doing the opposite, and you could say I’m trying not to make him too cool. It’s like I’m pursuing a kind of coolness thats a step away from my usual foundation. I want to perform with my emotions closer to the surface and paying attention to those feelings.
Koike: As Ryuu just said, I also was really wondering how this work was seen in France at first. The French Revolution is a rather heavy topic, isn’t it. Even in Takarazuka, it’s seen as something to cover respectfully, so I wasn’t sure whether, considering their own national feelings, people actually enjoyed it as a full-blown rock musical. But when I actually took a look, the audience was even really excited about the numbers for Ronan’s enemy Peyrol (laughs), but also weeping over Marie Antoinette’s songs, and also cheering and applauding for the scene declaring the rights of man… So in that sence, I think it’s appropriate to think of it as its own kind of entertainment spectacle. Right now, what I’m creating is a bit more Takarazuka-styled, but the foundations are in entertainment, so I think it’s fine if even the commoner characters are cool. Especially when they’re ‘performing’, singing and dancing [within the show].
Ryuu: Recently, when we ran through Act I, I found myself wondering what this energy was welling up within me. Something was happening as I moved… As it went, I was experiencing his failures and feeling his love, and I was enjoying performing it so much as I hadn’t felt this kind of complex emotion in a long time.
Koike: In that sense, that really shows the connection, and how Ryuu Masaki was the right person for this show. Ronan is a rather reckless character, right. I think one of his appealing traits is how he tends to act based on emotions rather than logic, which I feel is something that really fits with Ryuu. Also, the music works well for you as well, and I think it’s a great experience to be able to display your individuality as the star of a brand new show, not a revival performance. Alright, next, let’s turn to the three revolutionaries that Ronan encounters in paris. We’ll start with the most senior, so Georges Jacques Danton, if you please.
Saou Kurama: Yes. Danton is a real historical figure, so I started out by reading a lot of things to research him and the other historical revolutionaries played by Kacha (Nagina) and Tamakichi (Tamaki). But if I relied too much on that, it would leave a lot of aspects unformed in terms of this show. So right now, while still bringing in the real history, I want to get a clear image of the Danton who exists within the 1789 story that Director [Koike] has created and perform that. Us revolutionaries have the task of communicating this era of French history in a way that’s easy enough for the Japanese audiences to understand, but as Director [Koike] just mentioned, it was very hard to get it all across in the songs, while incorporating who Danton is as a character. On top of that, since it’s riding the rythm of the rock music, the story unfolds fairly quickly, so right now I feel like I’m just giving it my all to keep up.
Ryuu: Everyone who appears in this show, like Danton of course, and also Fersen or Marie Antoinette, is so well known, that at first it feels like the character is walking out ahead of you a bit, right.
Saou: Right, right.
Koike: There are definitely a lot of real historical figures in this show, but for example, like every time someone writes a new book or comic about the Shinsengumi, their appearance and personality comes out differently depending on who is writing the portrayal, right? So just like that, when you’re performing the character, it’s a question of how they will appear when run through your own ‘filter’. So as you do that, the music will serve like a suit of armor for you, in a way. If you can wear it well, the show will come together succesfully, and I think it will be very fun. Next, Camille Desmoulins.
Nagina Ruumi: Yes. To be honest, I couldn’t get any grasp on my character until just recently… I really struggled with how I could combine the impression of Desmoulins I got when I watched the original French version and the concept I got from all my research materials. I knew he was a revolutionary who made the famous speech telling the people ‘to arms!’, but I couldn’t figure out where his heart was, and for a long time he stayed very hazy. But just the other day, Director [Koike] said “Isn’t Demoulins the newest of the three revolutionaries?”, so with that hint, I started to see that beyond just being a famous revolutionary, he’s a young man who is trying not to be overwhelmed by what’s happening around him, I guess…I wish I had considered this more frankly from the start.
Koike: Demoulins is written out a bit more within the show, I think because he is Ronan’s friend. Although he was a leader who galvanized the people at the Palais-Royal before they went to the Bastille, but saying that doesn’t mean that he was already a famous revolutionary leader. Up until then he was a bit younger than the rest, and I see him as just one of the many people putting his whole heart into writing pamphlets and then trying to hand them out to people. So with his single-hearted dedication to the revolution, I think that sort of purity can come through a bit more. You don’t need to try too much to make him seem like a eminent historical figure. Of course he’s an adult, but he’s still a bit…
Nagina: He’s a novice getting himself into risky situations, sort of…?
Koike: Yes. That’s part of it, and also I think you could show him more as adapting to things as they go.
Ryuu: We already know how the history goes, so we might be focusing too much on what we can see ahead of them. But on the other hand, if we completely disregard the future, we might risk making our approach too narrow.
Koike: I do think that’s a factor. Alright, next, Maximilien Robespierre.
Tamaki Ryou: Robespierre already turns up a lot in Takarazuka shows, but for example, between The Rose of Versailles and THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, only a few years have passed in the setting, but but the way he’s written is completely different. So when I look at how much French history shifted in just a few years, I can’t help but think, ‘that’s amazing!’… During the time of Rose of Versailles, he was still a nice young man.
Koike: But by ‘ScarPim’, he’s already the demon of the guillotine.
Tamaki: Exactly. Therefore, I think in Robespierre’s Act II number, where he’s using pretty aggressive turns of phrase as he criticizes the nobility, maybe there’s a little foreshadowing of what Robespierre becomes later… While I don’t have a hold on everything yet, I think his actions tend to come straight from his emotions.
Koike: In that number he’s singing about his anger after being shut out of the Estates-General, after all. The lyrics are a bit extreme due to his intense anger, but I think that if you use the unique style of the music and give it the right presentation, you might create a new model for Robespierre. Therefore, I think this part should be a bit ‘shocking’, but in a good way. Actually, I’ve been thinking, for example if the creators of 1789 made a musical inspired by something like The 47 Ronin, this would be equivalent to say, Asano Naganori or Ooishi Kuranosuke getting amped up to the max the moment the music comes in for famous scenes like the Pine Corridor.
All: (burst out laughing)
Koike: That’s a very fun concept, I think, but in order to pull it off, the performers have to bring their own style into the music, don’t they. Well then, next, to round out our group of revolutionaries, the two Solene Mazuriers. Ronan’s younger sister.
Hanahi Mira: Solene is a farmer’s daughter who follows her brother to Paris when her father is killed, but in order to survive she becomes a prostitute. However, my first impression when watching the French version and seeing the scene where she attacks the bakery was that she was such a strong woman. In this Takarazuka version the bakery scene is gone, so I felt like the writing was different from the original version, and as I was thinking about it, what I settled on after hearing what Director Koike said recently, is that as she is pursuing the most lonely life of poverty, Solene is showing how women were still living eagerly, even though they could not lead the revolution the way men did and were pushed to the lower ranks of society. I’m still working on it, to be honest, but I also want to show her sibling love with her brother.
Harune: When I saw the original version at first, I also got the impression of Solene as a very strong woman, although I couldn’t understand each character’s story very well and only got the general idea of it being about the start of the French Revolution. But in the script Director Koike wrote, Solene’s growth as a person is so clearly written, so I feel like she is finally coming together within myself. But there is really a long way to go…
Koike: How do you want to play Solene?
Harune: Let me see… As a farm girl of this era, I think she would be quite unsophisticated, so after her father died and she went to Paris, it must have been very hard for her to become a prostitute in order to survive. But in this version, unlike the French production, Solene meets Danton and thanks to him is able to leave prostitution, so I think the approach will need to be a bit different.
Koike: I see what you mean. I think a good way for you to see Solene might be to think about, say, in the final scene of act one, when her lover Danton is shouting ‘Revolution!’, she isnt just following along and saying ‘what he said!’, she’s thinking about it and acting on it herself.
Solene’s songs are very difficult, but I hope the two of you will do your best and present your own unique selves through the songs.
Hanahi and Harune: Yes.
Living in the year 1789: Royals and Royalists
Koike: Moving on, let us hear from the members of the royal family and the Royalist faction. First, Ronan’s lover, the person who links together the Royalists with the revolutionaries. The two Olympes de Puget.
Saotome Wakaba: Olympe is the Dauphin’s governess, a fictional character, but I’m sure there were women like her in that era, so I am currently imagining a lot of things as I develop her character. While she is guiding the Queen to her secret tryst with Count Fersen, she suddenly encounters Ronan, and starting from there her life starts to change more and more… I think her heart must have been quite stirred when she first met someone who held such different viewpoints regarding things like the royal family, compared to what she had thought for her whole life. In order to express this, I think I have to clearly express what she is thinking about as she is working in her palace position…
Koike: Her father is an army officer who is assigned to the Bastille, not part of the nobility. What I think happened is that after her mother passed away and while she was living with her father, just the two of them, she got an introduction from someone and was able to get the position of caretaker [to the Dauphin]. As she wasn’t familiar with the palace from a young age, or raised to be a court lady-in-waiting or a palace maid, I think that she must have known to an extent that there were people out there who held Ronan’s point of view. Therefore, while she doesn’t think they are wrong to hold these opinions, she feels that for her, right now, as she is in a position of supporting the Royal family, it is right for her to respect the royals.
Saotome: Still, when I looked at her objectively, I couldn’t help but think that she looks like a girl who doesn’t have any firm opinions either way and keeps going back and forth… At first, though she is working for the Queen, she falls for Ronan, and then in Act 2 the Queen tells her ‘go to the one you love’ so it’s like in the end she finally chooses Ronan after all.
Koike: After all, Olympe does not work directly for the Queen, but is specifically the Dauphin’s caretaker. When the Dauphin passes away, in some way it becomes a reason to separate from the Queen. Her job is gone, to put it frankly, so she doesn’t need to stay there forever, and she can’t expect them to keep her forever, either. Well, Louis’ household was very vague in terms of their finances, so they probably would have kept her on until she told them she was leaving.
All: (laugh)
Koike: If she was thinking about it logically, she might have thought “Right now, I have such a prestigious job, how could I fall for a man of his position!”. But Olympe doesn’t think that. Somehow it just hits her out of the blue. You’ll like what you like, after all, so I think it’s fine if she’s struggling with that dilemma. Next, Umino.
Umino: When I first saw the original French version, and when I read the script Director Koike wrote, I felt that perhaps Olympe was someone who thought about other people first of all, before considering herself. For example, when she rescues Ronan from the Bastille, she doesn’t tell her father, who is helping her, anything about the actual reasons. I think that is because she doesn’t want to involve her father in any chaos that might result. Looking at her actions, I think you can always see her expressing that consideration towards others…
Koike: And what do you think she liked about Ronan?
Umino: Maybe…how he follows his feelings.
Koike: Ryuu, what do you think of the two Olympes?
Ryuu: The more pure one is Umi-chan (Umino), and the more calculating one…
All: (burst out laughing)
Ryuu: No, no (laughs), not really calculating, but (Saotome) Wakaba feels more like she would come up with lots of reasons and hold back from realizing she was in love. Even though her heart is telling her ‘This is love’, she’d think ‘This isn’t love!’ and run away from it.
Saotome: What~!
All: (laugh)
Ryuu: Umi-chan seems like once she thought ‘This is love’ she might even go and have a heart-to-heart with the Dauphin about it.
Koike: I see (laughs). Then, moving on, Olympe’s father. Asuka-san, go ahead.
Asuka Yuu: Lieutenant de Puget is the keeper of the gunpowder stores housed in the dungeon of the Bastille. For this show, I was reading a lot of different things as research, and in one book about how the impregnable prison of the Bastille fell to the hands of a mob, I found someone who was in a similar position to Lieutenant de Puget… Since they had the gunpowder stores, the prison should never have fallen to an unarmed mob as long as they were able to keep up a counter attack. But apparently the reason it fell was that the soldiers manning the fort were unable to bear continually firing on fellow Frenchmen, which led to their surrender. Lieutenant de Puget is naturally an enemy from the point of view of the people, but I want to show a human side to him, showing that just like those soldiers in the Bastille, he still thought of himself as a Frenchman in the end.
Koike: Lieutenant de Puget goes along with his daughter’s request to help her rescue Ronan after he’s imprisoned in the Bastille, right. In a way, that’s treason, but if you change how you look at it, it shows that he’s a very understanding and loving person who will listen to what his daughter asks. So I think that he is someone who will think of his family and prioritize love above duty.
Asuka: Althought he does have a very strong sense of loyalty.
Koike: That’s right. But I think his feelings of loyalty might not be directly to any royal house, but to the country of France itself. I think that might be part of why he can’t fire on his fellow countrymen. Alright, next, one of the residents of Versailles, right. Suu-chan (Touka), go ahead.
Touka Yurino: I’m playing Yolande de Polignac. There was something I wanted to ask you about, actually, Director.
Koike: Sure, what is it?
Touka: Doesn’t Madame Polignac seem to get written as kind of villainous a lot of the time?
Koike: Sure…But, is she really? Of course she was one of Antoinette’s circle, and was swindling a huge salary (laughs), but when it comes down to it, she was the confidant that Antoinette really needed. So I think you can portray her as a friend.
Touka: Yes. So, in this production, 1789, I don’t need to portray her as cunning or…?
Koike: I think she does have a cunning side when it comes to making her way in the world. Her family is as prosperous as it is due to her setting herself and her relatives up with the Queen’s patronage. It’s not as if she is playing Antoinette’s confidant on a volunteer basis, after all. But all the same, it is not as if she is aiming for the overthrow of the country either (laughs). I think she is rather a symbol of the splendid noble society at that time.
Touka: Yes. I want to keep delving deeper into the character. Also, in this show, I have a lot of acting scenes with Chapi (Manaki) as Antoinette, and it’s actually the first time I’ve done this much acting together with her. I can really feel her passion for her character, and I want to let myself be swept up in that and create some great scenes together.
Koike: Alright, next, Louis XVI’s younger brother, Charles d’Artois.
Miya Rurika: The Comte d’Artois is basically a diehard royalist, and the reason for this is because his ambition is to reach the throne one day himself. He already knows exactly what he wants, so in order to achieve that he manipulates his older brother like his own chesspiece, he gets Necker thrown out for interfering, he tries to catch Antoinette and Fersen in a scandal so he can destroy their reputations… In his case, he has very clear aims all the way through to the end of the story, so I think that made the role easy to get into. And then, enlike the French version, he also uses aphrodisiacs… (laughs)
All: (laugh)
Miya: And to top it all off that song is called ‘I Am A God (Je Suis Un Dieu)’.
All: Wow~
Miya: (laughs). So, I don’t think I’ve quite brought myself to the point where I can fully think of myself that way, face Ronan there and declare ‘I am a god’. What is it…I need to take my thinking to a really strange place (laughs).
All: (laugh)
Miya: I’ll do my best.
Koike: In terms of this show, the Comte d’Artois is a bit of a mysterious figure (laughs).
Miya: Mysterious (laughs).
Koike: Yes. I guess you could say his character is rather unique. Well…to be straightforward he’s a villain (laughs). Therefore, if he isn’t fun, the show won’t come together, so as I said at the start, establishing your character is vital. As all of you are so well-behaved, I think it’s actually surprisingly difficult for you to deviate from that attitude, but you have to really let your own inner core flow with the music, I guess you could say, so you could stand to have more feeling of ‘my spirit speaks for itself!’ Alright, with that, next is the noble officer who protects the royal family, Lazare de Peyrol, go ahead.
Seijou Kaito: From Ronan’s point of view [Peyrol] is his most detested enemy, right. And also for the other citizens, since he tortures people and commits cruelties constantly without any consequences. So he’s really a genuine villain. But in Takarazuka, even villains always have some kind of ‘but actually’, and seeing that different side makes the portrayal more appealing—like in THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, for example, Chauvelin actually is in love with Marguerite–but Peyrol doesn’t have any ‘but actually’ anywhere.
Koike: That’s true.
Seijou: So this makes it hard to develop his character as a human being, and while I’m not making up reasons for why he’s this way, I’m thinking about all kinds of things. He was born into the nobility and was never deprived of anything in his upbringing, so he has no idea what the common people are going through, and was taught that the nobility are superior. So in a way, maybe it’s as if he’s been brainwashed. Maybe that’s why he can turn his sword on the people without feeling anything… But my biggest issue right now is how to make that Peyrol more appealing to the audience.
Koike: Have you seen the musicals The Rocky Horror Show and Little Shop of Horrors?
Seijou: Yes.
Koike: Don’t you think they’re a bit nonsensical? The most popular characters in them are the ones who fly completely off the handle. But if they were actually a good person after all, that wouldn’t be interesting at all. Therefore, even though it’s true what you said, that in Takarazuka even the villains have an escape route where they could be redeemable, I think that [Peyrol] not having that path to redemption is actually what makes him interesting. I think it’s fine without giving him too many reasons.
Seijou: Yes.
Koike: Next, Mishiro, as Louis XVI.
Mishiro: Playing the king in this show is actually my first time playing a member of the nobility…
Koike: Really?
Mishiro: Yes. I’ve always ended up on the commoner side (laughs). When I was given the role of Louis XVI, naturally I had the picture of him I got from The Rose of Versailles, but I wanted to do the research starting from square one, so I’ve been reading lots of books—it seems he was actually very intelligent and familiar with foreign languages. And he was also a very naive person, so I want to bring him to life in a very straightforward way, without overthinking things. When he likes something, he likes it, when he’s worried about something, he’s worried; I want him to be pure. I think that way I’ll surely be able to embody the character through those feelings. Also, until now, I don’t think Louis XVI’s love for Marie Antoinette and for the people of France felt as clear within me. I think that was because, since I’d always been one of the commoners before, I was trying not to see it. But now, when I looked at it consciously, I realised the king really did love them. It’s a clumsy kind of love, and he can’t convey it very well, which is what I want to express in my acting even when it’s not in the dialogue itself. Therefore, I think acting as him too skillfully would actually be wrong, so while we’re just at the start of rehearsals now, I want to try performing just how my feelings take me.
Koike: Well, I think he also has a surprisingly determined side as well (laughs).
Mishiro: That’s true.
Koike: I think it would be good to show a bit of that as well. Now we have Chapi (Manaki Reika) as Marie Antoinette, go ahead.
Manaki Reika: When I watched the French version and read Director [Koike]’s script, I felt that the writing makes Antoinette someone you can really sympathize with. As Antoinette, I have several major scenes where I sing for a long time—at the very beginning, during the duet with Fersen, and towards the end of Act 2. In the beginning, she’s playing at the gambling table freely and carelessly, the way she’s seen by the common citizens. In the duet with Fersen, she shows her passionate womanly side, and in the end she shows her determination to live as a mother, wife, and Queen. I want to express all of these well through my singing. Right now, I’m still having trouble uniting the concept I had of her before rehearsals started with what I’ve realized since getting to know more about her…how she was actually a surprisingly normal girl, and how there’s a side to her you can sympathize with. But I want to work hard so that by the end of the show, all of those aspects will come together, and I can convey her sense of presence as a queen.
Koike: Ronan is a peasant farmer, so he’s at the lowest rung of society, but in the reverse, she’s the wife of King Louis, at the very top. But in the end, it’s not her husband who was the symbol of the French Revolution, but his wife, Antoinette. In that way, her and Ronan are completely separate, like heaven and earth. And uniting that heaven and earth is Olympe. Since Olympe is close to Antoinette, Ronan can, if indirectly, be connected all at once to the very top of society. I think that’s one of the really interesting things about this show. Therefore, if we’re seeing this as a story about heaven and earth, and the Top Star, Ryuu, is ‘earth’, then of course we want to portray ‘heaven’ thoroughly as well, so I have Chapi playing Antoinette. In this show, Antoinette is written in such a charismatic way musically, so I thought she would be great for Chapi to play, and now that I’m actually seeing you in rehearsals I think you’re working very hard. I think you’ll definitely be able to bring out the ‘musical drama’ aspects of this show, so please keep doing your best.
Manaki: Yes. Thank you very much.
Koike: Next and last, Hans Axel von Fersen, go ahead.
Akatsuki Chisei: Fersen is famous from The Rose of Versailles, and in 1789, as well, my first impression of him was that Antoinette is permanently on his mind. And since I’ll be playing him in this show, I started thinking about him a little more deeply. In Act 2 there’s the scene where he’s suggesting that the Queen flee France, and of course he’s saying this out of consideration for her, but on the other hand, he also understands that now that the awareness of being a Queen has sprouted in Antoinette’s heart, she could never bring herself to flee and abandon the people of France. So I think in the end he’s also thinking of himself when he wants her to escape… If it was the Queen from Act 1 she might have run away, but the Queen was the one whose character grew, and Fersen was left behind in a way.
Koike: In a way, in this story Fersen ends up looking a bit foolish, maybe…he just keeps messing up (laughs).
All: (laugh)
Koike: Akatsuki, you’re quite young, so at first I was wondering if you’d really do okay, but your singing voice was much more solid than I thought, so I was relieved. Actually, I hope you can work harder with the dialogue lines.
Akatsuki: Yes. There’s also a fight scene, although it isn’t very long, so I will do my best.
Koike: When it comes to reconstituting the musical numbers, in this production, there are several where the characters performing them are different from the original. This is because, for one thing, the otokoyaku key is posing a problem; supposing if the song with the most ‘punch’ is performed by a female character, no matter what she’ll still end up using the otokoyaku range, and the difference between male and female will disappear, right? Therefore, I’m distributing most of the punchier songs to the otokoyaku. “We Want the World” was originally Solene’s song, “I Want the World [Je Vieux le Monde]”, but I reinterpreted it as “We Want the World” for Desmouslins, and “Ca Ira Mon Amour”, which was originally Demoulins’ song, is a really musically energizing song, so I have everyone sing it starting with Ronan. Also, the song that was originally a duet for Olympe and Ronan is now Ronan’s solo love ballad.
Taking on the highly expected new work together
Koike: The finale is still yet to be created at this point, but TETSUHARU is working with Takarazuka for the first time on the choreography, starting with the duet dance. He’s one of the top choreographers in Japan, so since Moon Troupe has the opportunity to work with him for the first time [out of all of Takarazuka], please give it your all.
Ryuu: Although we haven’t been given the choreography yet, I’m sure it will be cool, and I’m so excited.
Koike: In this finale, basically I’m going to have everyone dancing (laughs). And as for the choreography in the show itself, we have a new choreographer joining us named KAORI[alive]. I hope you’ll all take this opportunity to absorb all of these new influences and pursue new heights. And also, of course, we have the debut class’ rockette, so I hope everyone will look forward to that. Alright, finally, if we could have a last message from Ryuu and Manaki.
Ryuu: Although I’ve been in so many of Director Koike’s works in the past, this is my first time being able to embark on a new work as Top Star, so I’m thrilled about that. This show was a huge hit in France, and to the same degree, even in the press conference I could feel that everyone has really high expectations… Under Director Koike’s lead, I have no doubts it will come together as a great spectacle, and since Moon Troupe was given the chance to perform it for the first time, I want all of us in the cast to come together and give it all of our efforts. I hope that we can also welcome the new debut clas and all work together to built this new world.
Manaki: I’m also so happy to be able to perform in a new work from Director Koike, and I think that performing this kind of character will also be a new challenge for me, so I hope I can take a new step forward with this production. Together with everyone else, I want to do my best with the courage to encounter new challenges.
Koike: Right now, I can’t help thinking that Ryuu is perfect for Ronan, and Antoinette is a great role for Manaki, so in that way, I’m very happy that it’s Moon Troupe that will be the first to perform this show. Of course, I think all of you are just right for your own tasks, so I hope you will do your best and make your roles complete. Also, I think this show will end up being a bit different from what people are expecting. The music is a huge leap [from what is usually done]—you could even call it a bit eccentric. But that’s what makes this show interesting, so I don’t want you to play it safe, but I hope you’ll all give it your best together to convey it to the audience until they’re enjoying themselves along with you!
1 – Koike may have missed some details through translation or interpretation: The actor for Peyrol actually was cast as Ronan at the time, but due to a vocal operation had to give up the role and took Peyrol instead by the time the show opened.
2 – This is much more typical of French shows although it may happen occasionally in other parts of Europe.