'Classic Takarazuka Dance. A Guide to the Future. TAKARAZUKA Flower Poems 100!!' ~ fly me to the Moon

First of all, this was gorgeous.

Classic Takarazuka Dance. Flower poems
It is supposed to be a remake on the legendary Flower poems version #1, but I didn't really care, because I'm not a fan to that extent. And the 'classic' is not simply a word here. This IS classics. A parade of perfection.
The flower theme goes through the whole show. Do you know any words that contain the poetic kanji for 'flower' 華?
華やか - gorgeous
華麗 - wonderful
豪華 - splendour
These are all the words that I could use to describe the show.
I don't know whether my favourite number would be the one showing the continuity of generations

or the traditions kept in a perfect shape

or the golden shining of the stage

I'd say that singing Japanese native songs always reveal how talented and skillful is a sienne in singing. And I'd say that miss Touka was extremely good at it.

But well, not only miss Touka surprised me. There were lots of different changes on the stage. Who is this lovely lady?

And this cute young miss?

And who is this?

And... o___O

 And where did you move the Grand stairs?

And how long does it take to bake a cake like thike this?

- What do you want from me?

- TWAS SO FUNNY MASAOOOO!

Now this was passionate. Oh, and I understand completely why the prices are so high in Quatre. Just imagining how much this costs...

Now this is not for very young girls. Imagine what kind of dress they would ask for when they have to go to the graduation party ten years later.

At least, I would die if I saw it in my childhood...

By the way, I found it a bit strange that they used such flowers for the song:
Tamaki Ryou - marguerite (ok... a plain but nice flower)

Miya Rurika - cattleya (what's that? never heard of. maybe I misheard?)

Nagina Ruumi - queen of the night (well I love it's shape but why is a song?)

Saou Kurama - forget-me-not (at least the last two are more poetic)

Seijou Kaito - sunflower
The only borrowed melodies I could recognise were 'Caravan' used in the scene about a young priest being seduced by a huge group of hot ladies,

and 'La vie en rose', used in the number with girls-roses and miss Ryuu is those huge white feathers

Guide to the future
I mean, seriously, have you seen Touka and Seijou together? If not, you should.
'I was so silly when it comes to men... If only I were more fastidious... If I were... I would miss my chance to get married!'

Darling!

Huh?

'Oops... Today was the day of filming for the DVD! Please, cut out what I've just said!'

conclusion

I wouldn't recommend 'Flower poems' to beginners. Too much 'japonisme'. However, if you've seen enough to be prepared to fly to the other side of the Moon...

'PUCK' & 'Crystal Takarazuka' ~ how to make your friend a Takarazuka fan

First of all, this is what I learnt from a friend working in the Grand Theatre. Though this is the order in which I learnt the facts, it is also an attempt to think it over while I'm writing.

1. The next Top Star of the Star will be miss Hokushou. That's no news for anybody who follows Takarazuka's life. The reason miss Makaze (or miss Kurenai?) was not chosen is that she doesn't look handsome enough and there are people who dislike their appearance.

2. On the contrary, Mirio is very beautiful. I can't disagree, because I like her type of appearance very much, too, though I wouldn't really compliment that in first place, like my friend did. The Japanese really do care a lot about a sienne's face.

3. And the reason why miss Hokushou is to become the Star's Top only now is that though she was originally popular in Moon, she couldn't become a Top because there was miss Ryuu, a daughter to a rich family. That's why they let miss Hokushou escape to Superiors and wait there for a while. That's what the rumour says, but even though a rumour, it is a very certain one.

4. It is a common-spread thing that the Tops are there not 'accidentally'. The only ones among the recent Top Stars who achieved their position thanks to their ability are miss Sou from Snow and miss Ranju from Flower.

5. Moreover, miss Ryuu has a high voice which makes many spectators regret that she's not manly enough.

6. Moreover, Moon Troupe as a whole is also bad at singing. They have bad pronounciation, too, which makes elder visitors of the Theatre complain sometimes that they couldn't understand what the actresses were saying.

I wonder why it is exactly mss Ranju and Sou for whom my admiration is limited to respect only, because they really failed to capture my heart even once.

Not that I thought that they are really allowed to become a Top for free. But it kinda... hurts. I mean, I could agree if I heard that a Top-Star-to-be, already chosen by her skills, is asked to make a 'small contribution'. Not vice versa.

1) Puck

Story and characters

There's nothing to say. Puck is one of my favourite musicals in Zuka, because it's so funny, so strange and so touching. And because of Suzukaze Mayo, too, because she created all that initial impression of the musical itself.

It happened so that both musicals we saw were based on Shakespeare's plays. Very loosely... And even though Shakespeare is not my cup of tea, I wouldn't mind drinking 'Puck' again (how was that? a nice phrase I made huh?).

Acting

Now comes the main part. *taking deep breath*

I was not very happy when I heard miss Ryuu would play Puck. It wasn't her type, I thought. It was for Suzukaze, it wasn't for Ryuu. She was still that villain Jacques in my mind. She could do Romeo credibly, too, I thought.

Everything changes with the first note that she utters after appearing on stage. She's not a bad copy of Suzukaze. She isn't a completely new version ruining the original charm of the character. She's just another Puck. Cute Puck. Mischievous Puck. Then suffering Puck. Then poor Puck. Then kind, good boy Puck. My Japanese friend said that 'Puck' is a 'very-happy-ending' enjoyable musical. I wonder if that counts as a 'very happy end', but it's not a tragedy either.

And what can I say? I don't agree that they are bad at singing. Puck's aria or Hermia's song, or just one number of Tytania meeting Bobby - sung by mss Touka and Tamaki - is enough to hear that.

I didn't feel it was hard to understand them, either. My friend would say that's because I'm young and have no problems with hearing, but I'm not Japanese and still only a small percentage of words stay incomprehensible to me when I try to write the script down.

I can't say they are bad actresses. When miss Miya starts joking about her billiard playing being so unusual because of the Christmas Eve, and you understand that's obviously ad lib because it IS the Christmas Eve, when Puck looks at his hands that have just touched Hermia's, when both guys fall in love with Helen after Puck cast a spell on them, it may touch you, or it may fail to do so, but it's the real acting.

I was actually sad and distressed when I heard all those things from my friend. However, it doesn't matter anymore. It's not important anymore, because this I know for sure: after coming to the hotel at midnight having travelled with a heavy bag and getting lost while trying to go to a convenient store, after a difficult getting up in the morning, and after even the breakfast failed to make me feel energetic, it was the Moon Troupe that fixed me. 

Music
It was 90s. A time drowning in pop'n'rock. If you listen to Masao's voice when she sings the first song after Puck was born, or to 'Growing up', or to 'Just say dance tonight', you'll hear Okui Masami, Shiina Hekiru, Mazda Julia in there. (upd: I've just read that 'Midsummer Eve' was specially written by Matsutoya Yumi, so you'll probably hear her there, too)

2) 'Crystal Takarazuka'
I'd say it wasn't the best show I've ever seen. It didn't become my favourite either. I didn't even buy the CD. First of all, I was a bit disappointed by the main theme. It was not bad, it was as energetic, GENKI, as always, but I can't help comparing it with 'Dance Romanesque'. And it lost.
Other than that, I really liked one number, the one about marionettes, except for the fact it doesn't have a happy ending >___<
Still, I enjoyed very much both the dolls dancin' part and the duo dance, coupled by... Coldplay. Wow. Takarazuka even borrows things like that...

The other two pieces I recognised were 'Bamboleo' by Tamaki Ryou

and 'Misirlou' used in the fight between Coppelius and mr Detective, just before 'Viva la vida'

the latter, I must confess, I only recognised thanks to it being used in The Black Eyed Peas' song 'Pump It' (had to google for it).
I guess I could also recognise the 'gypsy' main theme, but it appears to be a bit hard to find how it's called. I'm also pretty sure the otokoyaku stairs dance was accompanied by a variation on some classical piece, but I just can't remember what it is.
If you ask me what seat to choose when buying tickets with a limited budget, I'd say - buy A seats on the balcony, row #8 in the Grand Theatre and #7 in Tokyo. It's the first row after a wide aisle connecting the right and the left sides of the balcony. Why those seats? Haha. Try yourself.
By the way, I was sitting 2 rows behind, and still the impression was deep.
I mean, just a metre away from Chinami Karan or Kanoha Toki giving high five to those who were sitting in front of them...
I guess I spilt it out.
And the point I cannot miss - Top Combi. It was the first time I've seen the current Combi and I was afraid I'd dislike it, but I was wrong. I think I might like them less if I saw them earlier, when they were still not 'used' to each other, but now they are a good couple. I like it extremely how Reika looks at Ryuu whenever possible - in all dances where she has at least some interaction with her, and even during the dancing numbers in the Grand Sports Day. If KiriMari were an unusual Combi, then Reika is a very typical nice, tender, cute musumeyaku. And why don't I hate her? Probably because she's very natural, with no shadow of showing-off, no attempts to make the audience actually notice how she's trying to behave in a cute way, and first of all, because there is no part of her body she'd spare for her performance, not a single piece of her soul she's not laying down on a tray to present to the audience. She gives all she has to those who watch her, and I can see that. The one thing that still bothers me is that they're not as close as I wish them to be in, like, Top Combi duet dance, etc. After 2 years together I'd like them to be clinging to each other, and they still aren't.
As for the young siennes who made their appearance in the usual 'boys band singing and dancing number' in the middle of the show, I can't really understand well why Ryou is so promoted, especially on part of her vocals. She's a good girl and she'll do well, but I wouldn't say I enjoyed her voice very much. I also feel sorry for mss Uzuki and Shimon who are not getting as much attention than they used to, and whom I would really praise for her vocals in this 'pop group' is ms Akatsuki.
Apart from them, my favourite vocalists would be mss Seijou and Saou. I'd drown in their voices...

Conclusion

How to make your friend a Zuka fan? Try to guess. Well, she's into musicals in general. And she is interested in what a 'revue' is like in Japan. Still, she wouldn't watch what you tell her 'just because'.

And then you just take her with you to see it live.

upd. after watching the dvd version

- Puck, get on this swing
- can I, lord Oberon?
- of course, it's made-to-order for you!
- wow thanks!
- and now fly up!
- fly-fly, shrimp-fry!
- it's not THAT fry...
- oops...
- now be gone with the wind!
- ok, I'll think about that tomorrow!

- huh? why is there no applause?

IMHO. 'Me and My Girl' ~ the one I have never seeen

my usual ability to predict anything before I even get to know it properly works this time, too. and this is what is says this time

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/C34aCdbdvc4/

http://video.yandex.ru/users/welesdar/view/316#

ms Sena and ms Ayano were so good, together with the rest of the Troupe, of course, that their MeMy must be included into Takarazuka masterpieces list, if it were to exist. will the new version be close to that? hardly ever

on the other hand, in contrast to ms Miya's lack of naturalness - please forgive me those who are her fans - I almost like Saou and Nagina, as well as the current Top Combi together. they already look better as a new Moon team, and I cannot possibly dislike ms Seijou's advancing to the forefront

however, all of this looks so far-fetched... I can see how, without even any direct regulations, Masao was told to become a serious but positive young leader, Chapi - to repeat on every corner how great she feels about being a Combi with Masao, others - to display as much pleasure and happiness, as they can, randomly

hypocrisy lets people maintain relationship even through different obstacles and peacefully coexist. however, this is the case where I cannot stand these false smiles any longer

someone tell me that I am wrong

my humble opinion on 'The Man from Algiers' ~ it's been a year, huh?

 ...after the classes finished - 12-50 as usual - I left Meric Japanese Language School where I was studying and hurried to the subway. as my friend Sae-san told me there wasn't much time I preferred to run, but that was a bad decision - I dropped my walkman which has the screen glass on the very top with no protection and got it broken. as I never bothered to replace the glass, 'tis still the same now. when I arrived at Umeda I had to count carefully the staircases and escalators because our meeting point wasn't too easy to find for me who could not get used to new places even after spending a month in Osaka. needless to say, I was successful. having bought some snacks we took the train to Takarazuka and arrived there in a blink of an eye. the road from the station to the Theatre was very beautiful in summer, though I wished I could visit it in March when sakura trees bloom, as Sae-san told me that 'hanamichi' is all bestrewed with the flower petals. the interior of the Theatre seemed to be bigger than the building when looked at from the outside. the halls and the shops were all cute and crowded. we proceeded to the seats. though 'twas balcony and our seats were #2 and #3, left edge, I could observe the stage pretty well. so, the curtain raised...

I tried several times to recall why I was so delighted after seeing the performance. well, here's the reason

vivid colours of the costumes, moving decorations in the backstage, perfect steady loud low and a bit husky voice of Kiriya-sama, perfect synchro of the dancers (well ok this particular screencap is not a good proof) - and probably this particular lift marked the beginning of my love of lifts?

KiriMari duet song. perfection again. if 'tis KiriMari than an average lovers' song becomes special. I would be really mad for the fact that Moon is playing this tragedy, if not for KiriMari who create a fresh image of the main characters which is impossible to mistake for anything else

Koshino-sama and Hanase-sama were of course inimitable. recognizing Ayahoshi-san was much more difficult. I mean, after seeing her like this - a capricious young child - one wouldn't think she can sing the song from 'Notre Dame de Paris' scene of 'Dance Romanesque'. at least I wouldn't

'ai wa doko ni iru' is just an average Top Musumeyaku character's song, but 'twas really good to hear it from Aono-sama. this very song made me understand that Aono-sama is not as plain as I was afraid she might be when I only looked at her photos and knew nothing else

the scene of preparations for the party in Paris gave me the first impression of the 'many-members-having-fun-on-the-stage' thing. now that I see it for the second time I can't help wondering to myself... is it strange that for me seeing Japanese portraying French waiters and maids - and moreover being pretty credible - is not strange?

Hanahi-san as Annabelle was too credible. so credible that I started doubting whether she was credible or not. sounds like nonsense but this is what I thought

one more surprise - Seijou-san as Michelieu with... a gigolo aura? I mean, she was an personification of the courtesy- and gallantry-covered onslaught that are one of the main MOE points about Takarazuka in my mind

otokoyaku group sing Julien about the downtown of Paris where there are a lot of nice girls. again. actresses on the stage singing as if they were real young men willing to have some adult fun - note strange, at all! ^o^

Aono-sama's dance in the golden outfit in the nightclub is perhaps one of the most beautiful dance I've ever seen. and the golden glitter suits her so much *____*

Hihou-san is a great surprise again. her voice, to be precise. I am a bad judge in terms of person's appearance, but her low voice is really unexpected after you look at the cute smiling face of hers on some photo

hard to admit, but Morie's charm was a bit hard to notice this time. to be precise, I didn't remember much about her after the first time I saw her on stage, but surely this time I can pay more attention to her as I don't have to dissipate my attention to many things. now I can understand those who love her deeply. perhaps, this is the image of hers that is the most natural and attracts the fans

finally, Mirio as Henri. if I could see her in this image more... so gentle that she almost radiated peach-coloured light around her... does it sound strange? but I really was able to see it during the scene where Annabelle heard the conversation between Julien and Elizabeth - how she lifted Hanahi-san, how she looked at her, how she touched her,  how she sang after... I melted. well of course that does not mean I justify her Henri who, in the end, killed a human being
and Masao as Jacques. guys, how can you like villains like this? I mean, Masao created a villain with no slightest trace of mercy or a chance for redemption. she was too credible. this is why I have such an image of hers - capable of playing 'true' villains. having this Jacques as my first impression of Masao I truly cannot understand those who see her differently
well and the final dialogue of Julien and Sabine - if someone doubts there were no real love between those two, I don't know what real love is. who were those two, Julien and  Sabine or KiriMari?
my love towards this Combi might seem to have its roots in a mere coincidence, but this love hasn't died yet, and perhaps won't. why do I love them so much? maybe I love how Aono-sama grasped Kiriya-sama's back? maybe I love how Kiriya-sama holds Aono-sama's head?

maybe I love this look of Kiriya-sama with her eyes cast down or closed, and a tense smile on her face? maybe I love how Aono-sama can express so much hope and happiness with her face, though there is not anything special on it?

...and the curtain falls down. even now I consider this ending too abrupt. even now though I know how it ends, I have that feeling again - 'that's it?'

conclusion
I cannot be unbiased, can I? taking into account 'twas the first Takarazuka performance I saw, and the first Takarazuka performance I saw live. let me put it this way: play itself - not one of my favourites, but the performance... *____*

I have to thank once more the people who upload these things

BTW the Tudou links are
part 1
part 2

suddenly remembered something that bothered me... ~ Zuka makeup limits?

my friend once told me

ну я вот допустим если начинаю слушать персонажей одного и того же сейю внимааательно, чтобы понять где есть сходство в голосах, когда нахожу это сходство у персонажа, которого последнего слушала, начинаю слышать только это сходство и оно мне начинает резать уши. Примерно как когда обращаешь внимаение, как певец набирает воздух в песне и потом слышишь только эти наборы воздуха, вместо исполнения х)

'if I listen to different characters voiced by the same seiyuu attentively in order to understand where the similarity can be noticed, I end up hearing only the similarity after I find it in the voice of the last character I listened to, and this makes me sick to hear the voice. this is the same as when you notice how a singer inhales before starting to sing a phrase and then you end up hearing only those sounds of inhaling instead of enjoying the song'

a wonderful observation, isn't it?
some time ago I read several people claiming that Seijou-san applies too much stage makeup. now every time I look at her I recall that
but hey, isn't it partially caused by her eye shape? and also, she uses more white, blue, and usually sparkling shadows while others may prefer darker and 'calmer' colours. not everyone, though. in comparison with Morie, who is Magee's usual partner, she may look 'too much', but hey, other otokoyaku-san do this too? like, Kouzuki-san's make up here does not seem less bright to me... not to mention the Top Four ^^`

my humble opinion on 'Dance Romanesque' by Moon (2011) ~ my first...

though I mentioned 'Dance Romanesque' several times (oh, didn't I?), I have never written down all I feel about this wonderful 'show spectacle'. and I should!

the reason why I watched it again today is that I stumbled upon an article about 'Algiers' and 'Dance' and translated it. no, this is not the reason... after translating I decided to check the spelling of names on TakaWiki, and while doing this - I read that Aono-sama was absent during one of the scenes in 'Dance'. I have read it for many times, but 'tis only today that I realized that she was absent exactly when I went to see the performance. no, better to say, I happened to go there when she was absent, yes

of course I did not notice any change. I didn't even know that Aono-sama should have been there, eh? whatever

after realizing this fact I decided to check what scene exactly 'twas. and after checking - I could not stop. I felt really bad after 'Hakushaku' and I had to allow myself have some medicine to drive that poison out of my body. therefore I watched the whole revue, yes

the curtain rises. the introduction. Masao sings. musumeyaku-san dance. Kiriya-sama appears. I see the same setting, the same dresses, everything is all right. I don't feel anything strange... and then the music suddenly changes. the rhythm becomes stronger. Kiriya-sama runs downstage. I recognize the title theme song. otokoyaku-san run up to the stage

心に響け、熱い歌 - ring in the heart, the hot song

and me is already struggling with tears

my love. my first. my Romanesque, that stole my Takarazuka innocence

心に刻め、その祈り -  carve it onto your heart, that prayer

and those beautiful ladies dance with smiles on their faces, which almost physically warm me

未来の自分を失わないで - don't lose your future self

the tension rises

この一瞬を永久に変える - this instant is turned into eternity

and ladies regroup into a triangle lead by Kiriya-sama

Ah~ - needs no translation

and then...
DANCE!

this revue is, perhaps, created to be the closest to the mere mortals - I mean, siennes invaded the audience. literally. including the balconies. I can imagine what it feels like when Aono-sama gives you a 'low five' running across the hall

Kiriya-sama's solo number did not impress me much, but it had a very typical 'shabadaba' in the end, and of course - Kiriya-sama winking before she disappears is... *___*

the scene about the '(un)inhabited mansion' is not among my favourites. a bit boring, I might say, if not for the soft image of Masao which contrasts a lot with her Jacques

the loose reflection of 'Notre Dame' is also a very strange thing, but there are a lot of good points in it. splendid acting of Kiriya-sama in an unusual role, and of course - Ayahoshi-san's singing. one of the best songs I ever heard in Zuka revue parts. also, the following battle is accompanied with one of the most wonderful background instrumental works. I really, really, really pay respect to the composer, the orchestra and the guitarist(s?)

well, lifting Kiriya-sama to the ceiling with white wings (they were moving, BTW) is a bit too much... too experimental... well, though this seemed strange to me, I cannot be against it. more diversity is never to the worse

as the programme says, this scene uses several pieces from 'Mask 41' OST. they are 'Kyoko's Dilemma', 'Cerca De Ti' and 'Fight with Dream'
then, the K-POP scene. guys... where's the K-POP itself? I am no specialist, but I have been told much about K-POP bands and I watched a bit of PVs and concert performances due to several friends and acquaintances of mine being fans of K-POP boys-bands. so, this number is a bit week for me, by the same token the music and the vocals were not really impressing. the dancing is much better, though, combining typical Zuka movements with -POP ones

the next part is a standard Zuka dancing number which has nothing special about it, but allows the spectators to enjoy some points that Zuka is famous for. namely - hot Latin background music, Kiriya-sama's singing in the same manner, Aono-sama representing musumeyaku charm, and a splendid synchronicity of movements which matches the music so perfectly that you quite forget they are real people dancing on the stage. also, a good scene for Morie and Magee who were overly cute

the Mirio's cover of 'Puttin' on the Ritz' is funny. really funny, because of both the music and her Engrish

row cancan rockette dance is very cute. and I consider myself to be lucky to see it the very first time I watched a Revue

Top Combi dance would be really good... if not for the fact that I dislike the song 'Sunny' in the original and the instrumental version is not much better

the all-troupe number is indescribable... I have no words to express how much I love it. the white costumes, the golden background, the expressive music, and the general concept were absolutely perfect and memorable. it might seem stupid, IDK, but I love when there are a lot of people together. it creates an image of unity and warmness

and this particular jump - to be precise, two of them - is simply GORGEOUS

 the following Masao's song reveals how warm and soft her timbre can be. the dance accompanied by the instrumental version of the song, where musumeyaku-san move as if they were made of water, is also a splendid number. I have watched many revues - of Moon, of course - but I cannot recall anything like this
and then, Stairdance. actually, I have never heard any of Yuzu's songs, though I might have heard their name. still, I wasn't aware of the original song until November when suddenly I saw a trailer of Yuzu's concert on a huge screen on a building somewhere in Shibuya (or I don't remember where), and suddenly I recognized the song. my dear friend, Sae-san, told me - 'you see? 'tis Yuzu'

needless to say, Kiriya-sama's strong low voice is superb, so is the orchestra arrangement. the song is completely different. however, the original is nice, too
the next Top Combi dance is among my favourites. first, I came to realize that this blue suits Aono-sama greatly. second, their movements are perfect. third - I cannot recall what music there was in the original performance. 'twas replaced in the vid, so I am somehow frustrated that I could not memorize this beautiful number to the utmost. I should have. I really should. if not for my poor memory...
at least I should thank TakaWiki again. they wrote a hint that implies that the scene is called 'we're all alone' - am I wrong? well, the scene is not called like this, but the song used was obviously Boz Scaggs' one of this name. I don't know why the Japanese love it so much - it played a big part in Takeuchi Naoko's 'Rain Kiss' and meseems I have heard something about it later. also, this vid is from his concert in Japan. I listened to it then, when I read the manga, and didn't like it at all. can't get what's so special about him

 then, the parade

 

the gorgeous parade starting with beautiful voice of Hazaki Mana-san. her high notes were really impressing, but the following main theme overwhelmed me again...
the curtain falls. in the dancing figures of Moon Troupe members I see the characteristic image of Takarazuka and, strangely, I recall watching 'Sakura Taisen Katsudou Shashin', the full-length movie for the first time

it rings in my head. 'tis carved in my heart. the moment it ended turned into eternity and did not let me lose my future self
oh I should pay more attention to the theme songs lyrics, shouldn't I?

translation! ~ RomiJuri first performance

things to be aware of

• spoilers in the article! if there are people who have never read the book, or watched any movie or musical based on it, this article will ruin everything for you. I actually doubt there are such people, though
• information! or, better to say, lack of it. most info is either already provided in other articles (including those I translated), or presents common knowledge, though there are a few words about the show
• pictures. unfortunately, not many of them this time. I will search for more for sure, but that will be later

the original article

The curtain has raised for the first musical of the New Moon Troupe of Takarazuka Revue - 'Romeo and Juliette'

On the 22nd of June, the curtain has raised for the first musical of the New Moon Troupe of Takarazuka Revue - 'Romeo and Juliette'. This performance marks the new system of Moon Troupe - Ryuu Masaki as Top Star, Manaki Reika as Top Female Role Player and Asumi Rio as Demi-Top Star.

The musical is based on the original work of Shakespeare - a famous love story, and it involves music with a rock taste, modern clothes and installation, the music, lyrics and direction having been created in France by Gerard Presgurvic. The musical, which was first performed in France in 2001, was then performed in almost every country of the world and gained an audience of more than 5 000 000 people. In Japan it was prettified and directed by hit-maker Koike Shuuichirou in Takarazuka, and first performed by selected members of Star Troupe. The next year, 2011, the Grand Theatre version was performed by Snow Troupe, and the Moon Troupe version will become the third one.

This time one of the points about the performance is that Romeo, the leading role, and Tybald, the villain role, will be switching roles for Ryuu and Asumi. On the opening day Ryuu is playing Romeo, while Asumi is Tybald. The new potential is shown by two Superior Members - Ema Naoki and Miho Keiko - and Miya Rurika who has just transferred from Star Troupe.

The peculiarity of the Takarazuka version is that in addition to the symbol of the musical - 'Dancer of Death' (Tamaki Ryou) - a role of 'Dancer of Love' was established (Akizuki Saya). These two proclaim the beginning of a story of love and death.

The story tells us about two noble families in Verona, Italy - Montague and Capulet. They have been nurturing hatred towards each other for centuries, so that even the youth is involved. Meanwhile, the heir of the Montague family, Romeo (Ryuu), and the daughter of the Capulet family, Juliette (Manaki), meet at a masquerade and fall in love at first sight. The two, whose first love develops swiftly, open their hearts to Father Florence (Ema), and with the help of Juliette's nurse (Miho) hold a secret marriage ceremony. 

Juliette's elder cousin, Tybald (Asumi), has been attracted to Juliette for a long time, but Lord Capulet (Koshino Ryuu) is going to accept the marriage proposal of the richest person in Verona - Count Paris (Shimon Yuriya). At the same time, the rumours about the marriage ceremony of Romeo and Juliette start to spread, and Tybald encounters Romeo's best friends, Mercutio (Miya) and Benvolio (Seijou Kaito), and others in the city, this leading to an explosive situation. Romeo interferes to stop them, but Mercutio is stabbed by Tybald, and Romeo kills Tybald in a frenzy. 

Romeo is banished forever from Verona, and after spending a night with Juliette, he leaves for Mantua when the dawn breaks. Juliette, who is coerced to marry Count Paris, prays Father Florence to help her, and obtains a medicine that would make her sleep so that she would look as if dead. It was planned that she would escape from the city with Romeo when she wakes up, but the plan fails. Romeo, who hears of Juliette's death, meets with her in the burial chamber, and drinks the poison, and when Juliette wakes up, she sees Romeo lying dead, and stabs herself in the chest. The two, who reached their love at the cost of their lives, thus made the two families come to a reconciliation, and together with the Dancers of Death and Love they swear an eternal love in Heaven...

The finale is created with audaciously arranged numbers, such as the theme songs 'Kings of the World' and 'Aimer'. After rockette dance in tutus designed with a heart on the breast, in the male role players dance the dandy figure of Ryuu on the Grand Staircase appears together with a lady, proceeding to the debut Top Combi dance, and then to Parade, where Ryuu descends the Grand Staircase wearing huge feathers which mark the Top Star.

The performance will continue till July, 23rd, in Takarazuka Grand Theatre, and take place in Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre from August, 8th, to September, 9th.

_____
remarks

1. anybody can tell me where are Chapi's legs on the second photo (obviously Top Combi dance)? 
2. anybody can tell Zuka to be less greedy? I can't! such small photos... >____<
3. anybody can tell me what for the plot and trivial facts are put in the article? moreover, I noticed this too late. and after I have translated everything (which took me quite a while) I can only ask myself... WHAT FOR? 90% of the info absolutely irrelevant. this is why I put a warning on the top of the post
4. anybody can tell me if 'tis wrong to name Juliet - 'Juliette'? I cannot help writing like this... I mean, in French she IS 'Juliette', and in Russian she is 'Julyetta' - even writing Capulet cost me a lot of efforts (instead of 'Capuletti'), but while I coped with the family name, writing 'Juliet' is kind of impossible for me...
5. finally, my impression. at least, the Moon's version of RomiJuri is slightly different from the previous ones, and I am a bit relieved. this is not a 100% copy of Snow and Star, and that's good

my little thoughts on RomiJuri 2012

I have to face the fact that Moon is changing, and not only the things like Top, n-bante will be different from April, 23rd, but also the other roles

of course, I still adore many of the Moon, but I need time to get used to this new structure

and of course, RomiJuri is not a performance which settles the positions once and forever, but at least I should try to draw some conclusions
Ema-sama, Koshino-sama and Hanase-sama are quite predictable in their roles

I was slightly surprised seeing Touka-san as a mother of Capulet. well, taking into account the time she spent in the troupe, she is probably moving to the 'next category'. though the lady was obviously quite young - remember the times when RomiJuri takes place. still, the role is of a certain kind. well, if I liked RomiJuri in general, I would wish for no better Capulet mother than Touka-san
Seijou-san as Benvolio is not something I clearly imagine, but that would be an interesting thing to see especially after her very credible Ernest in 'Edward VIII', a womanizer and quite a greedy person, as I see him
Miya-san is cute. everybody acknowledges that. I do, too. almost every time I saw her photo I thought how cute she is. this, however, does not say anything about her acting skills, and I never ever noticed her on the stage as an actress with particularly memorable ability. seeing her transferred to Moon I wonder if she is going to merge with Moon or be the odd one out. hope my fear is groundless and my feeling is a usual jealousy
Shimon-san as Paris. well, I believe she would cope with this task successfully, but I still cannot understand her fast promotion while my favourite Sawaki-chan being so unnoticed. well, yes, this love for her is unexplainable and I should face the inevitable retiring of hers and cheer up for Shimon impartially. when she comes closer to the center spot I shall see her clearly and I hope she will prove to be a good actress
Tamaki-san will be a great Death, I am sure. though I almost hate her even more for her even faster promotion than that of Shimon-san. only 4 years and already 2 shinjinkouens. well, I did not see her, I cannot judge about her, I should not claim she does not deserve this. this is just my internal anxiety, which will not subside no matter how I try to suppress it
Akizuki-san as Love. I am sorry... this tall and strong girl as Love? erm... is this an attempt to show that Love is not that fragile and it will win for sure? o___O
the inevitable process of promotion and growth, change and surprises... I should have the strength to accept this
I shall only pray that everything goes smooth and everybody is successful in their roles

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?

my humble opinion on 'Studio 54' by Moon Troupe

this time me would like to say some words about 'Studio 54'
the usual version is here http://www.tudou.com/listplay/GURRRIaiV34/s76b3krzz1E.html
the Tokyo closing night is this http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/_FJI3rmbEso/

acting

this time we are having no Masao in the show, as she is busy with her 'Hot Fairies' - you can even see an 'ads' of the show in one of the scenes of 'Studio 54'

on the other hand, we have a strange Mirio here. is it only me who can't enjoy the greatness of the 'villains'? I mean, though as the Algier's Jaques she was great, I liked Mirio's Henry there much better. then everything changed and I noticed Chauvelin much better, but still I was no fan of him. be as it may, whatever I watch - I am fond only of the 'good guys', and even if I see a great, cool, shining Mirio with unforgettable hair, with sparkling accessories and retro glasses and with that sharp makeup....... I still can't adore the character, though I might try very hard. I am absolutely firm in the thought that she is overly cool for such a brute as Zack... he should have been created the same way, with all the rockish attributes etc. but he shouldn't be that cute beauty Rio is. in the end I came to the conclusion she looks simply too womanly >______< I couldn't even see her as a Z-BOY and she seemed a real Z-GIRL to me at first, but then - oh yeah - I managed to think of Z-BOY, 'n you know what helped me? yeah, the love scene between him and Steve. is me still the only one to laugh at two actRESSES performing yaoi on the stage? as for Z-Boy with Steve, let me presume the scene was created to show that sex and drugs (and maybe rock'n'roll? just a little of) were in plenty in the year of grace 1977.

the minor role performers were also rather distinguishable! I recognized Sawaki at once, but oh, Yuriya-chan as Neil was also great! and Yurino-chan, adorable image! the kids were cute as well, really looking as kids! well, Hanahi-chan was Hanahi-chan, as cute as usual - 'bro, Jamie is happy~!' after Holly kissed her ^.^

and several scenes to enjoy... me couldn't help making some, as 'tis too funny, me was never expecting this particular show to be that funny!

singing

me was never mentioning the songs as they were always performed greatly. however I want to say that 'hoshi ni naritai' by Yuki-chan in 'Studio' is more than great, 'tis one of the best songs me ever heard by Yuki-chan. I can remember only of 'I'll forget you' from 'the Scarlet Pimpernel' when Yuki was just as credible and bright. the songs of reminiscence by Becky is performed so that it moves your heart and makes you almost cry and meseems Yuki-chan managed to take the 100% control over her voice at the same time, so 'tis as if she gave vent for her emotions and they poured down on us, the spectators, with all their might, but those emotions never prevent her voice from showing its maximum capacities. the trembling and the strength is so wisely combined with tenderness and softness that I could call it the perfection...

however, my favourite song is 'hitogomi no naka no kodoku' - it has both great lyrics and touching melody. I would even argue that 'tis a song with one of the deepest meanings any revue ever had

covers

we love Takarazuka for splendid dramatic performances, perfect movements in dances and strong and expressive voices in songs, and so on... however, there is always one more attractive point in revue parts. we can play a little game - I would name it 'guess the original source of the music'. the ending part of 'Studio 54' is an adorable collection of covers of famous songs - well, famous in Japan, and released in the end of 70s. obviously not only the 'Studio' itself takes place in 70s, but the final part also. so, the covers are 

YMCA - by the young siennes

then Ayahoshi-san, Morie and Magee perform a part of a song from 'Galaxy Express' which seems to be a title song

Mirio sings 'otokotachi no melody' - according to the trivia I found, a song by SHOGUN released as a theme song for a dorama called 'oretachi wa tenshi da!'

Aono-sama sings a song of Yamaguchi Momoe-san 'Be Silent' which is spelled as '美 サイレント' therefore translated as 'silent beauty' sometimes. a song with mysterious lyrics, haha

Kiriya-sama's appearance starts with a song 'HERO' or 'Hero ni naru toki sore wa ima' by Kai Band

all-troupe song is easily recognizable - 'In the Navy'

unfortunately the music is cut in the Top Combi Duet Dance >____< greedy copyright owners just die

the Tokyo Closing Night had another final - with another covers of course
the first song by Seijou-san with girls is 'Sky High' by Jigsaw

the next song by Hanase-sama is a 'remix' on..... on something. this is the case when I do know what the original is, but I can't make myself remember the name of it. completely. to the extent I almost want to hung myself.... >___<
Aono-sama together with Morie and Koshino-sama sing 'Hot Stuff'

after Kiriya-sama descends, there is an instrumental part which I am not sure about, whether 'tis a cover or not. the Troupe starts singing the famous 'Dschingis Khan'

Top Combi duet dance in the special version of the Finale... I love it! ^^` especially the part when Kiriya-sama smacks Aono-sama on the rear ^o^
well and because of this lift also

then the usual Finale follows with no changes - at least I noticed none. Top Combi duet dance music is not cut this time, as far as I can understand, but I still have no idea of what the music is. unfortunately...
the closing words were really long. and this is a good thing. the longer it takes, the more fun! ^___^ this time was one of the funniest closing ceremonies I have ever seen... with lots of jokes from Kiriya-sama, lots of dancing and lots of 'reraising' of the curtain

conclusion

I love this show.