IMHO. Kiriya Hiromu Dinner Show 'Grand Dreamer' ~ is there life after Takarazuka

when I am in a pinch, nothing is better that something Takarazuka related

they say, when one has to do a lot of hard work, 'tis better to divide it into parts and periodically award yourself with something. I am not fond of this theory, but there is no doubt that everybody has to relax somehow

show
why would a person watch dinner shows? of course, unlike regular performances, the reason, meseems, would be that the show is lead by one's favourite sienne. what else? maybe one may want to see another kind of Takarazuka performances and understand Takarazuka Revue better. maybe one would want to look at another, non-lead sienne. all these motives are united by the fact that a dinner show creates a special atmosphere, different from other performances - something very intimate, unofficial, unstrained
together with Kiriya there were 4 siennes - Isshiki and Aoki as retiring members, as well as Miyako and Touka. after having a chance to see them in such relaxed atmosphere, I love them even more, especially miss Yurino. she is absolutely adorable. Isshiki and Aoki too, showed their 'human' sides

unlike what I expected, the show was a masterpiece of entertainment and mood-making. almost all numbers were chosen so that they would lighten up the mood of the guests and almost all songs were creating positive atmosphere. even 'Kitsch' had its lyrics rewritten to create a funny situation with a mug Kiriya was holding during the song

only 'yami ga hirogaru' and a few other songs were serious. after listening to all of them I can say one thing for sure. no Western musical in its original form will ever impress me, from now on. you must see for yourself how great the siennes are - in regards to singing, in regards to acting - even if they participate not in a Grand performance, but only in a small entertaining dinner show

only one thing makes me wonder about the phenomenon of Takarazuka Revue. look at who are most of the fans. yes, young women are pretty rare

be it how it may, the performance was very beautiful and rich in costumes, even though chamber

music

is there any way to change your opinion on a song? hear it sung by your favourite sienne. this is what happened with 'Fly Me to the Moon'. the fast jazz arrangement and incredible score for five singers made it into a wonderful pleasant song, unlike what it seemed to me in its original version
 

conclusion

only by looking at the disc cover I was already all tears and smiling happily
'listen,  wipe your tears and smile
I will always be by your side...'

translation! ~ an article about the last day of 'Edward VIII' and 'Misty Station' in Grand Theatre

 the original article

 

Takarazuka Revue Moon Troupe, the curtain has risen for the Top Combi Last Stage!

On March 3rd, the curtain has risen for the retirement performance of the Takarazuka Revue Moon Troupe Top Combi, Kiriya Hiromu and Aono Yuki.
The first part was the musical 'Edward VIII' based on the historical facts about Edward VIII, who earned great popularity among the masses and called 'Prince Charming' both at home and abroad. The musical paints both the false and the real image of him who, though loved by people, had to abdicate the throne in order to fulfill his love with an American national, Wallis Simpson.
The story starts with the funeral of Edward VIII, and then traces back the meeting of the couple. The unexpected direction of the funeral scene was quite interesting because a radio was used there, and thus seized the hearts of the spectators.
Kiriya, who played the open-hearted and possessing a modern character Crown Prince David (Edward VIII), was setting the pace of the performance with her nimble tone. Speaking of which, while looking as a man who leads free and pleasant life, the negative sides the character possessed as a person were also revealed. Thus, everyone could enjoy the splendid acting manner of Kiriya. Her partner actress, Aono, gently portrayed the changing feelings of Wallis to David, after she approached him in order to obtain a high status, and though a certain amount of loneliness and weakness was blurred in her, she finished as a strong woman with a firm heart.
Also, an indispensable supporting character was played by the Second, Ryuu Masaki. She portrayed Guy Burgess, a BBC producer, who was penetrating inside the scenes, but also narrated the story so that the spectators would not get confused. The Third, Asumi Rio, was playing the private secretary of David, who was watching over him, sometimes being harsh, but with a tender attitude, despite the fact he was twisting his secretary around his finger. While presenting her gentle image, Asumi showed both her character's strength of expressing his opinion straight to the face of the Crown Prince, and the irritation of being unable to help him.

The second part of the performance was 'Misty Station' starting with a scene which was to create a recollection of Kiriya's departure. She  played a young man Misty who embarked on an adventure with a trunk case and a map. After this a lot of dynamic scenes followed one by one. Cosmos, jungle, Arabia, enigmatic town, and a lot more - Misty is travelling around the variegated world. Among them, the scenes with Kiriya singing in the centre, surrounded by the Moon Troupe members standing in a row, and the male players dance in black tailcoats in perfect order were a grand sight. It was beautiful to the extent that a sigh would escape from the lips of spectators. Another certain thing was the duet dance of Kiriya and Aono, whose breath was perfectly matching, and there were also highlights for Ryuu, Asumi, and for those retiring like Aoki Izumi, Isshiki Ruka, and others, so the show was very enjoyable, presenting the overwhelming power of Moon Troupe.

For the last stage of the Top Star, in both works a lot of scenes and songs with farewell image were included. Do not miss the performance full of Kiriya's charm, who perfected in singing, acting, dancing, all these three skills.

 

 

 

 

 

My humble opinion on 'Edward VIII' and 'Misty Station' ~ the best performance I've ever seen

This time I was blessed with an opportunity to see everything with my own eyes, sitting in the 6th row of the balcony in the left sector. Well, I am wrong. I was not blessed. I was struggling hard to come there and be there. And I succeeded
Before I went to the Theatre I was already going to name my current post like this. However, I did not write it beforehand, being afraid that the performance might turn out to be just good, not the best. Well, I was wrong in my fear. It was the best
What I was also going to say about today is 'it was the best day in my life'. However, I doubt it now. It was a special one, but I cannot call it the best. I cannot, because of the emptiness in my heart. I thought that in movies when something shocking happens with a character and he is walking through the lively city as if in silence, slowly, not noticing anything around him - I thought it to be just a trick of a director to make the audience sympathize with the hero. Now I see this is a real thing when something great happens to you. I was walking in the same manner today. Somehow I found the JR station, somehow I got on the train, somehow I changed the line, somehow I went to 7-11 shop to buy some snacks, somehow I returned to the hotel... But all that I heard in my ears was the voice of Kiriya-sama singing 'come back to me'. 'tis thanks to the TV set in Quatre Reves which advertised 'Misty Station' CD. And still my heart ached as if those words were for me
You may kill me but I cannot imagine that this performance lacks something. At least it has everything that I appreciate. No, 'tis better to say, everything in this performance exceeded my expectations
Let me start with 'Edward'
Performance itself and acting
I thought there would be some special lines for Kiriya-sama and Aono-sama - but I did not think it was created completely for them, for Moon Troupe, and for nobody else...
The very beginning is already funny, when David sitting on the 'throne' copies Wallis's words on his funeral - 'he was my everything!'. And his cocky character is seen throughout the whole play. Which is 100% Kiriya-sama's type. What I appreciated is that in the radio speech when David abdicated the throne he pronounced the words the real David pronounced - 'I cannot rule the country without the support of the woman I love'. Another lube of his which I liked a lot was - 'Will you not go for a drink with me? It is scary to go alone for me' - this 'scary' literally made me shiver
Wallis is not a girl easy to deal with, too. She is a strong woman, somewhat arrogant and has enough gumption, which is completely Aono-sama's type. Such a great contrast between her worring about the beloved when his life was in danger, and the calmness she accepted his proposal with in the end
Ryuu-sama looked really cute. I wonder if it was done on purpose so that we do not guess that her character is actually *SPOILER*
a spy
*END OF SPOILER*
Another fact which exceeded my imagination was that it was Ryuu-sama who started the performance, not the Top Star, and not with the usual 'Mina-sama, honjitsu youkoso...' but with a funny line which I do not remember precisely, but it was something like 'whaaat, already starting???' Well, that was her part - she narrated the whole story, as she was a BBC producer, and she also finished the play with words like 'the musical has ended, let us meet in the next part'
Asumi-sama was cute, as always. She reminded me Andre in 'The man from Algiers' a lot, as she was playing again a very supporting and understanding character, the type I cling to if I happen to dislike the main character (not this time, fortunately)
Kaito-san and Izumi-san were very credible portraying men with particular 'villain inclination' or how should I call it
who surprised me was Isshiki-san. her clumsy and caring younger brother was a very cute character whom I liked and could not help smiling when he appeared on the stage
Touka-san also surprised me with the fact her character was not very outstanding. perhaps, Touka-san was not requested to act really strong, but I cannot help expecting her to make an unusual woman
Plot
If you need funny lines and quarrels, there are plenty - take the first meeting of Wallis and David when he spilt water on her. If you need an intrigue, a spy, there is some - closer to the end. If you need a credible love story, where love is tangible and grows naturally, gradually, 'tis there - we have enough time to understand how those two came to love each other. If you need a kiss, there are two - in the middle and in the end, on the wedding. If you need dialogues that tear your heart apart, there are such - when the couple was parting and they thought it could be forever. If you need danger and thrill, there are scenes containing them - when Wallis was threatened. If you need tragedy and hard feelings, they were acute enough in the play - when Edward realized he is the king
Several people who write comments published on the official website were praising the line by Edward in the end - 'even if the clock were turned back, I would choose the same path'. I wondered when exactly it would pop out. It turned out to be an answer to Wallis' question to David when he abdicated the throne - 'Do you not regret? Tell me the truth'. 'Of course I do' he answered, but added the line I wrote above
However, for me another line seemed to be important. It was one of the last lines in the wedding songs - 'our kingdom only awaits for us'. In other words, Edward's abdication was not an end, but a beginning of his life with Wallis, which was to be full of happiness. Still, I felt that those words had a deeper meaning. It was the Top Combi promising that their graduation is not an end, but just a beginning. Well, it might be I just want to understand it this way...
Yes, there was an obvious happy end. Can a happy end not be beautiful?
Now, as for 'Misty Station'
No need to say everything was great in terms of acting
Plot and performance
The storyline is pretty simple - a man and a young actress are travelling by train. But the setting!
First, I love it when some anime-like pictures are shown on the curtain
Second, I love it when different countries and styles are presented - here we have Scottish motives, Shanghai part, jungle fantasy and of course standard Zuka suits and dresses
Music and vocals
I have never heard anything that wonderful. It applies both to the play and the revue part
The duet of Edward and Wallis in the play was great. I do believe that their voices sound good together, but today's singing was the best I've ever heard
The arias of David were all superb. The strength of Kiriya-sama's voice was doubled by the melodies and it reached my heart through my ears
Though I tend to dislike the music in plays, this one was not boring and I would be happy to listen to some songs again if I have a chance to buy the disc somewhen
And 'Misty Station' was so beautiful that I immediately bought a CD in Quatre Reves after the show
The title song was familiar to me, as I heard it on the website but the real version was slightly different - and thus hundred times more energetic
The songs accompanying the scenes were all interesting, which is a rare thing for me - I usually enjoy only the main ones, or even pay more attention to what is going on stage, and think of the music as just the necessary background
Again, I never heard such inspired singing. We all know that Takarazuka actresses have strong voices and microphones, but this time there were several songs literally overwhelming
The scene with 'battle' had marvellous music and vocals, though 'twas hard to tell in the process, I was happy to see that 'twas Hanahi Mira-chan whose voice I was enchanted with
I should also praise Sakihi Miyu-chan for a very cute boy in the scene with agents. her waving in the end was not a difficult thing to do, but somehow I felt she was exceedingly cute in that role. I was especially moved when I read about the name of the boy on Miyu-chan's TakaWiki page
Reika-chan (I still have a week to call her this way) was also cute portraying a young and fragile girl who was literally crying with her movements and gestures to be saved
Ayahoshi-san did not fail to surprise me this time, too. her 'villain' was so 'villainish' that I could not believe my eyes when I read that 'tis her
The jungle part had a very nice ephemeral chorus of young actresses and a special present was the number by Izumi-san with two girls where she was singing in a loud and steady voice
Kiriya-sama, you are a huge liar. You said in the interview that you were not thinking about graduation while playing, but I cannot believe this. Everything in the revue was created especially to commemorate this fact
Take the part when Aono-sama was wearing a white dress. She reached her hands to Kiriya-sama and... The ethereal girl parted with the man? Or Aono-sama herself parted with Kiriya-sama? Well, you may argue it was a coincidence. It was no coincidence then in the next scene when Kiriya-sama goes up the bright staircase and Aono-sama sings an aria portraying the young girl from the beginning, but what she was singing is - 'goodbye, my beloved, we are going separate ways, you go to the right and I go to the left' and 'I shall never forget your voice, your gestures, the warmness of your hands, and your name'. Well, I cannot reproduce everything exactly as it was, but i wrote down the main lines
In her turn, Kiriya-sama was singing - 'you taught me everything'. I cannot believe 'twas a coincidence
The song which still rings in my ears was 'watashi ni kaerinasai' by both Kiriya-sama and Aono-sama. The melody contributed greatly to the mood of the song so the sorrow and longing I felt while listening to it are unlikely to let go of my heart
No revue can do without covers of famous songs. This time I am ashamed to admit I could not recall the original immediately, but this is due to the fact I have been listening to the instrumental version of it for a long time, and I did not hear it more than once or twice in the version with words. In the revue 'tis also an instrumental work accompanying the Top Combi dance, which was again much more beautiful than I expected. Though I did not like Aono-sama in dark dress, it looked good when she was dancing in the artificial mist creeping on the stage. There was only one singing line in this part - 'subete wa kokoro no kimeta mama ni' sung by Kiriya-sama in the end of the number, the most part of the song was performed by Sawaki-chan in the background. I do love Sawaki-chan as an actress, she is simply cute. I love her as a person, she is straightforward. and now I can say I love her singing. one of the outstanding otokoyaku voices, though sounds more like shounenyaku ^.^ I mean, 'tis kind of boyish, not mature
As for Kiriya-sama's line, t was then when I felt relieved. 'Everything will be just as the heart decides,' she sings. If so, I am happy
The usual otokoyaku dance was not usual this time, too. It's theme song was 'final countdown'. Ok, this might be a coincidence. It might be not. In any case, Kiriya-sama's vocal made the number unforgettable
Again, the revue is very special because of the mixture of genres in if. We had rock parts, smooth melodies, jazzy tunes, even sine para-para disco, and of course everything was completely in frames of Takarazuka style
Disappointment?
They usually raise the curtain again after it falls down for the first time when the revue ends, and the Top Star and/or kumichou usually says a few words, am I wrong? This time there was no such thing. Moreover, the curtain fell down so quickly I could not even realize what was going on. In a blink of an eye I could no longer see the stage and those on it
The revue exceeded my expectations even in my predictions about the time to cry. The previous two times tears were sliding down my cheeks during the final parade. This time I could not help crying from the very beginning to the very end. It was especially difficult not to cry when Kiriya-sama's character was sleeping in the train, and a policeman came to wake him up - 'Mister, get up! We are arriving at the terminus - What? Already terminus? - Yes. How was your journey?'
How was your journey - is it a question to the young man with a yellow coat or...
Instead, I did not cry during the parade, like before. No, just when I saw etoile - Ayahoshi-san if I am not mistaken - I wiped my tears and I applauded. I was clapping with all my might. As if my personal clapping could be heard there on the stage... Still I could not help applauding. I wanted to thank them all...
If not for the best day in my life, then at least for the best 3 hours in my life. This is for sure so. Otherwise would I spend almost 30'000 yen in Quatre Reves?