This 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.