English translation of lyrics from the Takarazuka production based on the Off-Broadway musical.
(Some of the text of this song is based on this poem by William Blake…it was whitewashed in the process but I believe that this originated in English versions of the show.)
Continue readingEnglish translation of lyrics from the Takarazuka production based on the Off-Broadway musical.
Continue readingEnglish translation of lyrics from the Takarazuka production of the Off-Broadway musical.
Continue readingThis interview with Tani Masazumi, director of Captain Nemo, and star Ayakaze Sakina, was published in the August 2017 issue of Kageki.
Continue readingThe second theme song from Man in the Iron Mask.
Continue readingThis is one of the theme songs from Otozuki Kei’s show Man in the Iron Mask, which was produced in 2011.
Continue readingFairy Interview is a monthly feature of web women’s magazine With Takarazuka. This interview with Jun Hana, written by Natori Chisato, was posted with the January 2018 issue. (Archive link here.)
Continue readingBackstage Journal is a short Kageki feature where very young cast members write anecdotes about what’s going on behind the scenes of the productions. They’re not very deep, being full of emojis and more like blog entries than articles, but they are a good way to get to know the newest actresses in each troupe, or to see what senior actresses got up to in their early days.
This one was written by Snow Troupe member Ayanagi Shou (of the 92nd class) during Otozuki Kei’s prodution of Romeo et Juliette, and published in the April 2011 issue.
Continue readingThis account of the junior performance of The Path of Light was published by Daily Sports Online on November 28th. The original article can be found here; (archive link here) there are a couple photos so I encourage you to click through and give the publishers some traffic!
Snow Troupe: Aya Ouka has first lead role immediately after troupe transfer – ‘There’s no time to be nervous!’
The junior performance of The Path of Light: Revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre took place on the 28th in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre in Hyogo. Aya Ouka, who transferred from Star Troupe in August, had the leading role.
It is the sixth year since her stage debut. In her Star Troupe junior performances she had proved her skill in many roles including 2 successive performances as second level star. Upon transferring to Snow Troupe, she had her long-awaited opportunity for a lead role. When she introduced herself as “Aya Ouka of Snow Troupe,” emphasizing the troupe name, she received great applause from the whole theatre. “Everyone in Snow Troupe received me warmly and [main cast Top Star] Nozomi Fuuto-san instructed me thoroughly,” she said gratefully.
Ms. Nozomi advised her “You have 1 hour and 35 minutes to bring Robespierre to life.” As Ms. Nozomi is one of the best singers in Takarazuka, world class songwriter Frank Wildhorn scored all of the songs. Ms. Aya sang all of those difficult songs; “It was more sheet music than I’d ever seen before,” she said, looking back.
While she said normally “I get nervous easily,” this time was different. It felt like “There’s no time to be nervous!”’ She worked hard with the responsibility of a lead role, and was able to bring a calm, confident performance.
This is also the first heroine role for Jun Hana, who plays Marie-Anne. “I was able to show my love and support for Robespierre on stage, and in the wings, and even during costume changes,” she said with a fresh-faced smile.
This article about Sakihi Miyu’s acting debut in The Story of Koshiji Fubuki was published by Sanspo on Nvember 25th. The original article can be found here (along with several photos of Sakihi in costume). (Archive link here.)
Sakihi Miyu makes her acting debut playing her historic Takarazuka senior, Otowa Nobuko!
It was publicized on the 24th that Sakihi Miyu (26), former Top Musumeyaku of Takarazuka’s Snow Troupe who retired this July, will be making her debut as an actress in the Asahi mid-day drama The Story of Koshiji Fubuki (Mon-Fri 12:30pm airtime), which starts in January of next year.
In the drama, Takimoto Miori (26) plays the famous post-war star Koshiji Fubuki (died 1980, aged 56), a former Takarazuka Top Star1 and singer who was called ‘the Queen of Chanson’, in the story of her life. Koshiji performed as an otokoyaku Top Star in her time in Takarazuka, and after retirement recorded many hit songs, such as ‘Hymne a l’Amour’.
Ms. Sakihi plays Koshiji’s Takarazuka classmate Otowa Nobuko (died 1994, aged 70), who became a famous actress after retirement. As Ms. Sakihi is making her acting debut playing her historic senior, who also performed as Top Musumeyaku in Snow Troupe, she is unusually motivated. Her acting skills have been highly praised since her time in Takarazuka, so she stands out as a performer.
In the storyline of the drama, Ms. Sakihi, who returns to her ‘old haunts’ to play her character from her time as a Takarazuka Music School student, says emotionally “everything’s new to me, but everyone helps me out and I am learning new things every day.” Regarding the responsibility of playing the famous actress Otowa Nobuko, she says “as I watched various materials of hers I started thinking that she was a really alluring person. I’m also explaining to Ms. Takimoto, in my own way, how precious the relationships between otokoyaku and musumeyaku are.” As she has the most personal experience, she is advising Ms. Takimoto, the lead, about Takarazuka.
“I am aiming to become an actress like a Jack-in-the-box, someone who will make people think ‘she’s such an interesting person’,” she says about her future ambitions. As she uses her great talents from Takarazuka to brighten this drama, she is rapidly climbing the stairway to stardom as an actress.
1 – While the article uses the Top Star/Top Musumeyaku terms, and Koshiji and Otowa were leading performers, the terminology is not historically accurate as the Top Star system dates to the 1970s. However, Japanese sources often use this terminology for older stars for ease of comprehension.