In this Graph feature from 2016, the troupes were surveyed about their Top Stars with the results ranked. Sagiri’s was published in the June issue.
Due to the length, this feature is posted in 2 parts. The second can be found here.
Continue readingOne of the yearly retrospective features from the December 2015 issue of Kageki, featuring Snow Troupe Top Musumeyaku Sakihi Miyu.
Looking Back on 2015: Sakihi Miyu
In Lupin III–Chase the Queen’s Necklace!, which blended Takarazuka with Lupin III, I played Marie Antoinette, who is a frequent character in Takarazuka, but that show looks at her from a very different angle from Rose of Versailles, as a woman with her own human weaknesses, so my impression of Marie Antoinette really changed. In Fancy Guy! every scene had different themes so I was challenged with different songs and dances and learned a lot.
For the part of Tamayuu in the Hakataza production Man of Starlight, the biggest challenge at the beginning was the Kyoto dialect. I played a woman older than Sagiri’s character of Okita Souji, and I had a lot of people teaching me how I should act and the atmosphere I should have. I really gave it my all. While it gave me a lot of trouble, it’s a part I’m very fond of now. Also, I feel like I was more deeply into Fancy Guy!, perhaps because I’d been performing it a long time starting with the Takarazuka Grand Theatre performances. It was wonderful to be able to spend time performing in my beloved Kyuushu.
The character of Sen in One Night of Stars changed the ideas about musumeyaku roles that I held until then. It was a role I had to take on as a new woman. Director Ueda [Kumiko] told me a lot about the things she thought were important while putting the show together. La Esmeralda has a really escapist feeling so it was a show that was very fun to perform.
The national tour performance “Sorrowful Cordoba” that I’m rehearsing for right now is really a struggle. I’m fighting to display burning passion not just on the outside but from my core. La Esmeralda is a complete change from that so I really want to show everyone what a real Takarazuka revue show is like.
For next year’s Rurouni Kenshin we’re working to not just reproduce the visuals of the manga, but to show its deeper aspects in our performance.
This article about Sagiri Seina and Sakihi Miyu’s first show as Top Stars was written by Harada Junko [approximate reading] and published by Ticket Pia on August 26, 2014. (Archived link here.) Some paragraph breaks have been inserted.
Takarazuka Revue Snow Troupe’s new Top Combi’s introductory performance is “The Count’s Daughter”
Snow Troupe’s new Top Combi, Sagiri Seina and Sakihi Miyu, take their position on September 1. Their introductory production The Count’s Daughter – Je T’aime; I can’t live without your love begins performances at the Nissay Theatre in October.
It is based on the popular manga of the same title by Hosokawa Chieko. The story is set in Paris at the end of the 19th century, and is about the young heir of a Duke, Alain, who is also called ‘The King of Journalism’, and an innocent young girl named Corinne, who was raised in an orphanage. They overcome many barriers in order to be together.
Sagiri Seina plays Alain, who has a strong sense of justice but will sometimes use force to get what he wants. “I haven’t had a part like this before, so I have a bit of inner turmoil at taking on such a formidable role,” she said. “But because of that, the process of getting into character is a lot more interesting, and due to my struggles I feel attached to him. It’s a performance where I will try to show different aspects of my appeal as an otokoyaku.”
Ever since the first promotional performance, Sakihi has turned completely into the adorable Corinne. “I want to make a fully fleshed-out character based on the original work,” she said. “I’m still inexperienced but I want to take on this role as an actress. Corinne is a wonderful girl, so I think the most important thing is that I understand her.
As this work is set in the lovely time period in Paris called “La Belle Epoque”, the visuals such as costumes and sets are made with all the splendour Takarazuka can provide. Furthermore, the finale will be reminescent of a Parisian revue, with a French can-can number.
Sagiri said “it’s a work that incorporates so much of the charm of Takarazuka, isn’t it? Since Flower Troupe is in the middle of performing Elisabeth at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre next door, it’s a great chance to see two really different Takarazuka shows both in Hibiya District.”
“In the Takarazuka version, Alain, played by Chigi-san [Sagiri] becomes the main character, so I’m really looking forward to it,” Sakihi said hopefully.
The new Top Combi charmed the audience excellent acting and beautiful appearance onstage, proving themselves worthy inheritors to “Drama’s Snow Troupe”.
Sagiri said “like those who said ‘we want you do to this kind of show, we want to see Snow Troupe put it on’ I want to keep looking ahead and work together with everyone.”
Sakihi also declared that “as a member of Snow Troupe I want to give it my all as I follow Chigi-san’s lead.” Her attitude is already perfect.
This article about New Year’s festivities at the Takarazuka Grand Theatre was published by Daily Sports Online on January 2nd, 2016.
Takarazuka’s Kagami-biraki ceremony features Sagiri Seina’s smile
Takarazuka Revue Snow Troupe’s Top Star Sagiri Seina and top musumeyaki Sakihi Miyu performed a Kagami-biraki* ceremony at the Revue’s headquarters, the Takarazuka Grand Theatre in Hyogo, on the 1st.
“I’m happy to meet so many members of the audience this early in the new year,” Sagiri said as she smiled at the fans packed into the lobby of the theatre. “Since this year is the Year of the Monkey, we’re going to put on shows with that kind of ‘ukkii, ukkii’ [T/N: monkey sound effect] feeling,” she said, making a strained pun.
“I’m going to work hard so that lots of people will come to love Takarazuka in its 102nd year,” Sakihi stated, showing her ambitions.
Starting February 2nd, Snow Troupe will be performing Rurouni Kenshin, based on the famous hit manga by Watsuki Nobuhiro which sold more than 59 million copies. While the musical is still in the middle of rehearsals, Sagiri showed her faith in it as she said “I think those who don’t know the manga at all as well as those who love the manga will enjoy it.”
The popular New Year’s performance of Lupin III which Sagiri starred in in 2015 created a precedent for adaptations of 2-dimensional works. “When Sagiri wore the red kimono during rehearsals, I felt like Kenshin was really there in front of me,” Sakihi said, staring at Sagiri in fascination.
* Kagami-biraki is a celebratory ceremony where a sake barrel is broken open and shared. More info here.