#takarazuka nyc

[oldbaton]

I need to catch Chicago before Robyn Hurder leaves I’ve been meaning to see it with a killer Velma or Roxie. The only Roxie I’ve been interested in was Pam Anderson but I didn’t get in to that. I’ve seen it twice! Once on tour and once with the Takarazuka Revue with an all female cast in Japanese. That was crazy because for 8ish performances the SAME production of Chicago was running in two different places in NYC. So weird. The Chicago revival is so weird because at its best it’s thrilling, sleek, and electric. At its worst it’s cheap and lifeless and lazy.

I’ve made this post before but like. Even based just on footage the early years of this revival were amazing. You just had a rotating door of the best of the best belting and dancing and acting their heads off with one of the best bands on broadway. Now it’s like. Here’s someone who has been in this show for the entire 25 year run doing limp jazz hands.

[grey-bard]

5/19 Japan Day Takarazuka meetup

Hey, it’s been awhile! The weather is finally nice again, who wants to meet up for Japan Day in Central Park? May 19, 12 pm

There will be music, dancing, vendors and a gorgeous park. And it’s free! Who wants to come? We can enjoy the festivities and talk Takarazuka!

Details here: http://www.japandaynyc.org/

If you think you might want to come, please let me know here on tumblr by commenting or messaging me (likes are cool but don't tell me you're coming) or at my email fitzrose at msn.com. (Btw, on Facebook this I posted using a friend's account with her permission.)

[01tsubomi]

1) bmc is playing in japan

look at this. what? why did this happen and how did i not know about it until today??? 

2) coincidentally i just received an email confirmation that my purchase of a ticket to be more chill japan was successful 

[myalchod]

Your turn for favourite musical/s 😘

It's only fair of you to turn this back on me, but sdflknalsdkfnlaknf picking favourites is the worst and I hate them. So I'm just gonna give you a selection of ones I Really Really Like (and why).

Sondheim's Into the Woods, because it mixes so many things I absolutely adore together: musical theatre, fairy tales, Steven Sondheim, wickedly clever wordplay, morally grey characters ... I haven't seen the film version and don't intend to, but I adore the original cast version to pieces. (Also, trying to sing "Your Fault" all by yourself is insanity and highly recommended.)

Fiddler on the Roof is something I come back to periodically for nostalgia factor. It's a personal sort of musical, even if my forebearers had left the shtetl by the time the show is set in. I saw the 2016 revival when I was last in NYC, and they added something that made it hit even harder: the show opened with Tevye with a family diary in his hands and in a modern winter coat over his costume, doffed when he hit the opening of "Tradition", which was grand fun, but then he came back at the instrumental that follows Anatevka with the coat back on, just hugging the diary to his chest, and I fucking lost it, because that could have been me. Aside from the diary, that basically has been me. So it is basically "Charis wallowing in her nostalgia feels".

For something not in English, I'm torn between two, but in the continued spirit of Wallowing In Feels, the musical version of Dürrenmatt's Der Besuch der alten Dame was unexpected. It's definitely a weird one, though in fairness the play is pretty damned weird too, but I honestly kind of enjoy the mood whiplash, and there are some absolutely glorious songs in it, especially for bellting around the house or in the car when there's no one to judge you.

... I feel like I should add a Takarazuka Revue piece on here, but that's kind of its own weird niche so maybe I'll save that for another time ...

[ ask me another? ]

[zukadiary]

Did you ever shared your story with Takarazuka here? There's still some of your newbie posts so I wonder did you already knew Japanese and was into theater/musicals in general before being a Takarazuka fan?

I have probably mentioned it in bits and pieces but I'm happy to answer again!

I was very lucky to grow up a stone's throw from NYC, and I often went to see Broadway shows with my mom when I was a kid, so I was definitely interested in musical theater before I got into Takarazuka (I was also a big Sera Myu fan, so that was kind of a gateway into Japanese musical theater specifically). I studied Japanese a bit in college and I think that gave me an important foundation, but most of my Japanese skill came from self study after getting more into Takarazuka.

When I first started getting into Takarazuka around 2004-2005, I didn't know Japanese yet, and it was before the Takawiki, so it was difficult to find information in English. You pretty much had to be a part of private Livejournal groups/communities, or know someone living in Japan who could give reports or record things onto DVD for you. I was a really shy teen, so I didn't participate in fandom much. I had a second wave of interest around 2013, and that one stuck!

[marshmellonew]

top 5 places you’d like to travel to! you know post pandemic and all that

omg literally anywhere at this point 😭

but currently:

1. Montreal - never been and haven’t practiced my French in a while

2. Japan - AGAIN but kansai area since i was mostly around tokyo the last time i was there. i want to see the takarazuka revue really badly

3. LA - never been want to just to say i have lmao

4. NYC - i’ve only been to manhattan so i’d like to check out some other places

5. Downtown Chicago - it’s literally 20 minutes from me but i haven’t been in more than a year. i just wanna walk around :<

ask me my top five anything!

[caithion]

Recently stumbled across this on Amazon music ($5.99) and a quick search also turned it up on Spotify and a few other places.

Album Title: Japanese Folk Songs Artist: Takarazuka Dance Theater ASIN: B00D4P9EY6

It's copyrighted 2013 to a pretty obscure label, and the cover image looked 1950s/60s, so I went hunting.

Turns out it was originally a Columbia LP release in North America only, in 1960. This Vintage Takarazuka site that I love states that it was recorded in a studio in NYC in Sept. 1959 during the American Tour of that year by Kiyokawa Hayami, Kuroki Hikaru, Mizuhara Setsuko, Ruri Toyomi, Sumi Hanayo, Maho Shibuki, Misuzu Sumiko, Asadori Chiho, Maki Yayoi, Kamo Sakura, Hama Yuuko, Hanazora Rie, Asuka Taeko, Uchinoe Noboru, Hatsukawa Kasumi, and Asanagi Mifune.

Here's the song list in Japanese: 01 鳩間節 02 岩戸神楽 03 棒おどり 04 五つ木の子守歌 05 傘おどり 06 野球拳 07 三つ面 08 宮崎の臼太鼓 09 獅子と蝶々 10 しゃんしゃん馬 11 さよなら

[likeaflowingriver1019]

Afterthoughts about 🍌 🐟

So I finished watching banana fish and I will save this spot to write some personal reviews and opinions.

「時の中に閉じたバラは枯れずに咲き続ける　愛のひとひらは 胸の奥にしまっておこう　永遠の時に閉じて」

I first heard about this work on Tumblr when someone was talking about the so-called “holy gay trinity”, which includes YOI, BF and Jeweler Richard, so I kind of like “well it sounds like nothing to do during this summer break on the way to graduate program plus quarantine why not start some new stuff to get into”. Long story short I first know about YOI in 2016 but I stopped watching it in the middle of airing I didn’t know why. I picked it up and finished watching it. It was a great show and it is literally making history throughout the time. Then I started watching Jeweler Richard and that was very good too. Put in one word or icon to summarize those I would use the the art style of female directors at Takarazuka, for YOI I will take it as 小柳奈穂子-ish and for Jeweler Richard I will say it is very 植田景子-ish. I would probably talk about them in the new posts. Those are just very personal view and if you don’t know about Takarazuka and those female theater directors you will have no idea what I am talking about.

And after I finishing these two I started watching BF, which is my favorite among the three and I will give it totally 上田久美子-ish.

There is an important thing I want to say that episode 24 of BF was in air somehow around Dec. 21st and that is also the day of F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘s death. People won’t take this seriously but it really means something for me that 月組 also revived the show The Last Party - S. Fitzgerald's Last Day. It was played by 月城かなと as Fitzgerald, 海乃美月 as Zelda and 暁千星 as Hemingway. They mentioned 楽園のこちら側 (This Side of Paradise), 美しく呪われし者 (The Beautiful and Damned) and 夜はやさし (Tender in the Night) in the play, but regrettably no ワルツは私と (Save Me the Waltz). I will talk more about this work later.

You know there are many literature references regarding the works by Hemingway and Fitzgerald in the plot and the ending cards of each episode, and the day of the double-shoot is just a ... mental suffering.

It also reminds me of Sisi, the Empress of Austria, but I would like to call her エリザベート. This vibe starts with a realization that the way Ash and Sisi died somehow shares something in common as they are both stabbed by someone else (although Lao is intentionally but Lucheni was not). It is sad and very torturing for me think about this because Sisi is my favorite historical figure and a character in Musicals, no exceptions. Thinking about two favorite characters died in same way is a terrible but blessed experience, no matter how you understand it. In Sisi’s “I-want” song Ich Gehör Nur Mir there is line saying she wants to be a bird and fly to the sea, and you know that Eiji jumped over that wall in EP1 like a bird, so...there is nothing left for me to say.

I also want to add that I found 七海ひろき probably is a great fan of BF (and I am not surprised that she is) because in some photos of her 入待ち/出待ち she was taking a Tasche with contents related to BF on it or it is just an official goods but I don’t know. 壮一帆 also mentioned in her radio program when ポーの一族 was on stage performed by 花組 in 2018 that she see this work as her “bible”, and she also agrees that it would be fascinating if River Phoenix would be able to perform Ash in a real person adaptation of BF.

I did start to rewatch ポーの一族 as well as はいからさんが通る to get a little bit more sense of so-called 少女漫画. I found that together with BF these three are all categorized as 少女漫画, the differences between them are too much to list. Like many other people I questioned a lot why BF is also categorized in it because there are many things in it you won’t be able to see in other works in the same genre. But during my second watching of BF I somehow could get a glimpse that it is truly a 少女漫画. And I think the main issue is with the logic in the plot. Sometimes you don’t need a very sophisticated logics in the plot as you need in Desinated Survivor or Into the Night (yes they are my two favorite Netflix shows) . Thinking about はいからさんが通る, do we need so much reasons for 少尉 doing whatever he can to get 紅緒 out of trouble? So the twist is the same at here, although the relationship between Ash and Eiji is not simple as it between 少尉 and 紅緒, but might be as complicated (in a good way and needs effort to interpret) as Edgar and Alan? I put my words here because when Yut-Long wants Ash to give him the research materials about banana fish and go back to Golzine otherwise he will kill Eiji, Ash then go to Max and asked for the files (with his gun aiming at Max). Max almost doesn’t say nothing and gives it to him but he points out that Ash is doing this for Eiji. I think this part is kind of out of the logic because Max would not be so willing to give the files to him, and Ash did all those things only because of the threat that If he doesn’t do this Eiji will be killed by Yut-Long and Blanca. This is a completely 少女漫画 thing I would say, and it is not bad.

My favorite episode is definitely EP9 “Save Me the Waltz”, Save Me The Waltz is a novel written by Zelda, and this is the only literature work that has been mentioned in the ending cards that written by female writer. This is one reason and feminists like me love those small detailes that can inspire a lot of interpretations. Ash’s appearance in this episode is fabulous, and it is a classic actualization of カリスマ, as you might see in the 中詰 of EXICTER!! The moment when Arthur loosing the chain and Ash reaching for gun looks like an angel is forced falling to the ground, it is beautiful.

The discussion in episode 17 when Ash and Eiji heading to Long Island on the Ferry was amazing. I keep thinging of the song 彼女はエメラルド by DaizyStripper. I strongly recommend you to check it out. I would also want you to go over the album Born To Die by Lana Del Rey, especially Dark Paradise and Summertime Sadness. You may also want to try Old Money and Young And Beautiful. It is better for you to do this after finishing the whole season, but it’s completely up to you.

I also love how eng subtitles translate THAT line as “I am going prostituting”, which is much better than the Simplified Chinese version. 

I went to New York first time in my life in 2017, by that time I am not obsessed with anything related to this “greatest city in the world”. I also went to St. Petersburg and Moscow this year and that was my first time to visit Russia. My second visit to NYC was in 2018 when I was there for getting a visa to Germany. I went to Trinity Church for Alexander Hamilton, Elisabeth Schuyler and Angelica Schuyler (okay I know it is not a proper time to reveal this but I think lot about “everything is legal in New Jersey” for the episodes when Ash was in that psychiatric facility in NJ). In 2019 I was obsessed with another fandom which I choose not to tell at here but I want to visit Queens at least once in my life time.  Finally now in 2020 I am recalled back to this great city and observe more -- the lovely the disgusting things, as well as the summertime sadness.

From that Hamilton vibes I also want to say that Garden of Light makes me think of Who lives, Who dies, Who tells your story. It seems that BF brings in more ideas to the discussion about “what is legacy”, the question that never will be out of date. 

And...this is just a meme but how about THE PHANTOM OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY??? 

「私の真の愛を受け止めて　いつもあなたが　音楽で私の心　包むように」

The song that immediately came to my mind after the ending of EP24 was the last number of musical Don Juan in Act 2, which is called Don Juan Est Mort. In Japanese version directed by 生田大和 and played by 望海風斗 this number has a lyric like “愛に呪われて愛に散った男 忘れない”, which impacted my heart with the insurmountable sorrow and sadness. I never feel drastically sad when I watch the ending of Don Juan, but this time I feel more than anything I have came up with when I do it. 

Please let me to share something personal at here:

Aslan means “dawn”. Ibe’s niece has 曉 as her name. I also have 晓 in my name. My mother chose this character for me because I was born at 7am in the morning. When I was reading Garden of Light I think there are so much feelings that I couldn’t express perfectly in words. I know I am strongly related to this story and I am so happy I get to know this amazing work. This is a epic I will never forget. 

[avaantares]

dinodina replied to your photoset “Forgot to post this when I was in NYC last week (didn’t post a lot of...”

Extensive Scarlet Pimpernel collection??

WHY YES FRIEND LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY SCARLET PIMPERNEL COLLECTION

Okay, so when I was about sixteen or so, I discovered the Scarlet Pimpernel series and went absolutely crazy over it. Books, movies, the Broadway musical, all of it. I joined a fan club, and started collecting Baroness Orczy books (with the full support of my parents, who were probably thrilled that I was deep into classic literature and not the latest boy band or something), as well as other SP-related items.

Now my collection includes not only memorabilia from the musical (which I’ve seen I-don’t-know-how-many times, both on and off Broadway), but also some pretty rare historic items such as an original program from the 1905 stage play, photos and postcards of various early productions around the world, an autographed photo of Baroness Orczy, a signed copy of Julia Neilson’s autobiography, full theatre press packages for SP movies from the 1930s, Marius Goring cigarette cards, and all sorts of other obscure things my dad hunts up on eBay.

I won’t subject you to all of it (I’m not sure even Tumblr could handle that level of nerdery), but here’s a quick summary:

Of course, I grew up to become a cosplayer, so imagine my SHEER AND UTTER DELIGHT when the Takarazuka Revue (Japan’s famous all-female theatre company) reimagined the Broadway musical, giving me a chance to finally embrace my inner lit nerd at the highest level and bring our A-game to the costume competitions we were entering! We made replica costumes based on the new stage production. They’re still among my favorites of all the things my group has made.

There’s enough photo spam in this post already, so instead of pasting in more pictures, I’ll just link to the costume set gallery here: https://www.andsewingishalfthebattle.com/portfolio/the-scarlet-pimpernel/

[i-platypus]

5 Guys... I mean, Things

tagged by one of my favorite mutuals, @somebodyhelpthenotdeadfreds​

Five things you’ll find in my bag (which bag? If it’s my kickboxing bag... ok, ok my purse):

Lilo and Stitch wallet

Dad’s handkerchief <3

Makeup

Business cards

Mini flashlight

Five things you’ll find in my bedroom

Darkwing Duck

Fan art from Emerald City Comic Cons

Necklaces hanging from said fan art

A black panther stuffed animal from FAO Schwartz... named “Hugh Panthero” (see, I got it when I saw Phantom of the Opera in NYC, and met Hugh Panaro)

My laptop, which is never off (I’m so not green)

Five things I’ve always wanted to do

Travel more (I want to go to Spain, go back to Ireland, spend at least one night in Tokyo,etc).

Write a play, or a screenplay

See my favorite actors on the stage and then grab a drink with them after the show

Go to D23

Play the lead in an all-female cast of a musical (kind of like Takarazuka). Like... Company, or Man of La Mancha... 

Five things that make me happy

@deweymydecimal

Fully-orchestrated music

Kickboxing

Adam Driver, Audra McDonald, Damien Molony, Gal Gadot (huge dorks who are still incredibly talented, famous, but seem genuinely nice, y’know?)

Water (a hot shower, the seaside, a mountain lake, rain falling on city streets)

Five things I’m currently into

Star Wars (it lay dormant for so many years, always a part of the Jeffrey family DNA, and then stupid JJ Abrams woke it up... with a vengeance)

iZombie (I FINALLY caught up with it on Netflix, and remembered why I loved it. So many nerd puns)

Positivity, Small victories, Kindness, finding something good about each day. No matter how dumb or trivial or silly it may seem to others

Quality makeup (that doesn’t irritate my skin, but can be used on special ocassions, aka, whenever I feel like it)

Porgs 

Five things on my to-do list

Keep stretching those paychecks while actually living, rather than just marking the days

Script a one-woman cabaret/show involving a lot of show tunes

Outline a TV program in collaboration with my vocal teacher on “the Creative You”

Go grocery shopping

Save money for trips to: Disneyland, Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando, Spain, NYC... in no particular order just... goals. 

I tag @deweymydecimal, @mzmarbles, @lasimo74allmyworld, @allthetruebeauty, and @drivingmradam

[hoshigomi]

words:

i started drinking tea

i havent cut out coffee

i love my planner

i dont know what im doing

i love my friends and sun and breezes and fandom and learning and writing and working at 2am on papers and frozen yogurt dates and coffee and talking about takarazuka and when i watch my friends play videogames and making people smile and being in musicals in those big finale numbers where the audience can’t help but smile and i love arguing fandom things and i miss watching anime and i think you can find your purpose doing anything but i dont know what my purpose is but i just want to be happy and thats so hard to do but so easy to say because will i be content if i just stay happy or do i need to do more than be happy i dont know at all

i graduate in ten weeks

im living with @fish-nut next year and that keeps me going on a molecular level i cant imagine yet what it’ll be to just live in an apartment with one friend who shares some things i love like i forsee that being so so good

i get to go visit @jojolian in japan this summer which means time with my best friend somewhere i never thought i’d be (and this is the boldest thing my over cautious ass has ever done) which brings me to the point that 

ill be homeless starting april 30 and thats not scary because i have friends who love me but im such a PLAN THINGS person that im terrified so anyway i work in nyc this summer on june 25 and im in tokyo with li because it costs less to round trip there and back then it does to pay a month’s rent in seattle and anyway my lease is up april 30 but i graduate on may 15 and i dont leave for japan until may 19 so where will i live for that time i do not know and then there’s mid june until nyc where im homeless again and then thank god jjang has me in august probably until we get OUR PLACE but god im nervous

i think im gonna work on liking the boba part of bubble tea

and work on learning japanese again to pass N4 of the JLPT this year because I could already pass N5 i think so if i brush up i’ll be ok 

i’ve been feeling Sleep On The Floor and Cleopatra by the Lumineers so hard lately

i feel like i am continuously letting down those i love and myself as well

i dont know what im doing and thats so scary 

and im hopeful but god i just DONT KNOW

am i going to do what im getting a BFA in? i don’t know. does that make me a failure? 

i don’t know ? 

i can’t even capture the feeling of an engine revving and stalling and quitting and revving in my heart and my soul and every bit of me but i am so l o s t 

im trying to find comfort and a home in being lost

[amuseoffyre]

Those of you who have known me for some time will know I tend to globetrot in the name of musicals. I’ve been doing this for almost 18 years now. It started with London and... branched out.

To date, I have done: London (Cats, esp. closing weekend, Starlight Express, Les Mis, LotR and Avenue Q), NYC (Cats - the original closing date - and 2016 was Kinky Boots (Wayne Brady omfg), Hamilton, Something Rotten, Aladdin & Matilda), Warsaw (TdV & Phantom), Berlin (TdV), Vienna (Rebecca), Budapest (Elisabeth, Romeo es Julia & TdV), Takarazuka (Elisabeth, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Legend), Osaka (Me and My Girl), Tokyo (TdV, Elisabeth, The Gypsy Baron), Paris (TdV)

And this year, Amsterdam :D Or, more specifically Apeldoorn. Just to see only my favourite Elisabeth/Death combi ever :D

I’ve been dying to see these two perform live for ten years. I never ever expected it would be both of them in the show that made me fall in smit with them :D I am so fricking giddy right now :D

[zukazukazuka]

Takarazuka OG Chicago NYC Recap

Unfortunately I took very few photos during the weekend so this is just gonna be a wall of text and I’m just gonna apologize up front about that ahaha.  The weekend was an absolute dream.  I met so many new people, made new friends, and had so many incredible memorable moments.  It was incredibly emotional on so many levels, but all of them good and I feel like I’m still riding the high even days later.

Since I’m still relatively new to Takarazuka, this was my first time seeing all of the OGs in the show live (with the technical exception of one of the chorus members who retired from Hanagumi in 2015).  @hananomichi and I went to the last four of the six shows although we had only planned for three (we were initially going to skip Saturday’s 8PM show, but basically decided that there wasn’t anything else we’d rather be doing and bought half price tickets in the first ring about thirty minutes before the show haha).

While I looked forward to seeing all of the actresses perform (we missed Mine Saori and Wao Yoka in the main production - apparently Wao struggled but that’s to be expected when you’re apparently performing with a broken rib, so props to her for sticking through it all), I was most looking forward to seeing Mizu Natsuki and Yamato Yuuga.  Mizu is indirectly the reason why I got into Takarazuka in the first place (if @hananomichi hadn’t previously seen a stream of the 2007 Elisabeth we wouldn’t have gone to see it in 2014 and none of this would have happened and I’d probably be a few thousand dollars richer), and we’d seen Tani in the Sailor Moon Musical (like a not insignificant portion of the audience that was there during her shows).  But I was also excited to just see so many former top stars and well known and well loved actresses all on stage together.

We sat in the second row for the first show we went to (7:30 PM on Saturday) in the orchestra right section near the aisle, and I just couldn’t stop grinning.  Mizu was A M A Z I N G.  She was so impressive in every way - her singing, acting, dancing were all just top notch.  The woman is FIT (goddamn her MUSCLES) and just has this incredibly radiant smile that she could tweak to be cute and charming or completely shit-eating.  She also looked amazing in that blonde wig (although I may or may not have a thing for Takarasiennes when they’re blonde idk why).  I’m sad that she only performed in two shows because I could have watched her for all four times and not been upset about it at all, haha.

Tani’s Roxie was just...very Tani.  Like I felt that if Tani herself had been in the same scenario she would have acted pretty much in the same way lmao.  She and Mizu played well off each other and Asaji Saki, who didn’t have as strong of a voice as Shizuki Asato, but I enjoyed the flare and comedy that she brought to the role slightly more than Asato.  Both were very enjoyable to watch.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Asami Hikaru and Kozuki Wataru, although I was looking forward to seeing them both since I knew they were both well known and well loved.  I remember watching a streamed revue with Komu in it some months ago and really enjoying that, but not being more familiar with her I felt that there was a lot of disconnect between what I saw there (not that I remember it especially well) and her role as Roxie in Chicago, perhaps mostly just because of the difference between a traditional Takarazuka otokoyaku role and Roxie.  If I’m completely honest, I didn’t much care for the quality of her voice at first - it seemed like she was trying to speak in this weird falsetto, but I also am completely unfamiliar with her “normal” speaking voice.  It felt sort of forced and aritifical, but by the end of the first act and by the end of the last show I’d gotten used to it.  

I will say that I enjoyed the little flares she brought to the role a little more than Tani - she had a lot of moments that were just really funny, and she and Wataru had a really wonderful chemistry that wasn’t quite achieved with Tani and Mizu.  I really enjoyed Wataru’s Velma even if her dancing wasn’t quite as strong as Mizu’s, she pulled on her otokoyaku voice for a few songs and it was magic.

Overall both casts did a great job, as did all of the chorus members - special shout out to Kaon Yuuki, whom I ended up watching a lot in the background throughout the first show and realized at the end she played Fred Casely.  She was an absolute scream and had this wonderful mix of comedy and sexuality that had me alternately laughing and fanning myself like DAMN GIRL.  (Petitioning Hankyu to style otokoyaku in Chicago-esque costumes more often because I really enjoyed looking at their bare arms and tight pants probably more than I should have BUT I DIGRESS).

The revue was a lovely combination of several staple Takarazuka elements and I loved every piece of it with the exception of the somewhat shrill opening song.  You could tell that it was tailored to appeal to an American audience.  They had everyone (including the musumeyaku) dance in the tailcoat dance (and Mizu/Tani/Komu/Wataru were just in such OTOKOYAKU mode for that one it was amazing), which was fun, and then I cried every single time Hatsukaze Jun sang Sumire no Hana because it was the first time I’d ever heard it live, so I left the theater after every performance emotionally compromised.

Other show highlights include Yuzumi Shun as the judge banging the gavel so hard the head of it broke off on and fell next to the band players on Saturday night and she let out this great shocked “OH!” that was genuine surprise but also still well acted, everyone kind of stared for an extra moment before they went on lmao, and then for senshuuraku like half the theater stayed and clapped and cheered for an extra five to ten minutes before someone came on the loudspeaker and told us to clear out :( :( :( I wish they’d let them keep the senshuuraku traditions since that was something I was hoping to experience, but oh well.

The fan brunch on Sunday was AWESOME!  Thanks again to @zukadiary for coordinating such a wonderful event.  I had the chance to meet fans from all over, including Japan, and we were treated to several wonderful surprises, including a visit from Mitsuya Nao, who was practically regal and sang Ai to Shi no Rondo and Watashi Dake Ni (or rather its German equivalent since she sang it IN GERMAN).  She did a concert in NYC that evening that was sold out, and also is the voice teacher for a few current Takarasiennes, so it was amazing to have her come and spend a few minutes with us.  I wish that I’d had more time to talk with more people, but I have so many wonderful experiences to look forward to as well, I’m just so excited!

Also, since this show took place in NYC and NOT Japan, many of us took advantage of not having to adhere to some of the stricter guidelines when it came to stage door, and since only a handful of OGs had organized fan club meet ups, it freed up the opportunity to interact with them one on one.  I’m still reeling a little that I spoke with four OGs (to varying degrees of embarrassment lmao).  King had attended the final performance, and with the help of a new friend I approached her in the lobby and said Hi and managed to ask her how she liked New York and told her I followed her on Instagram without completely falling to pieces or entirely fucking up my Japanese, and she was kind enough to take a photo with me that I’m too embarrassed to look at myself because she’s so so stunning in person and I look like an awful scrub next to her.  I realized later that she was the first Takarasienne I ever exchanged words with and I’m grateful she was such a good sport about it lmao.

Holy crap she was beautiful.

And then we waited by the stage door for Mizu and @hananomichi got up the courage to go ask her for a signature and I went with to try and communicate that she’s the reason why we became interested in Takarazuka.  About an hour later I realized I might have used the wrong grammar and spent the first two hours on the bus home worrying that I had been unforgivably rude because I flubbed my Japanese lmao (after watching a recent Cafe Break though and looking at more example sentences of the grammar structure I think I used I THINK IT STILL WORKS so hopefully she doesn’t think I’m a terrible person).

A few minutes later Yuuki came out and we chatted with her for a solid five minutes.  She was super, super nice!  I just really wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed watching her.  I wish I’d asked her more questions, like what kinds of things she wanted to do before she left NYC (apparently it included shopping and eating Oysters with King and some other OGs), but didn’t want to entirely monopolize her time.  It was probably my favorite interaction of the whole weekend.  We got a photo with her and I hope we’ll have the chance to see her perform again sometime <3

We also briefly caught Komu and I can’t remember what two words I said to her but it was enough to get 日本語上手ですね！ (Mizu also said the same lmao and and Yuuki was like 日本語うまい！ But I mean I’ll take it lmao).  Her fan club rep actually ushered us closer to say hello before she went to do stuff with her actual club.  Tani we had caught briefly after the show on Friday night, so one of our playbills is now decorated with several signatures of so many great performers and probably needs to go in a frame or something, haha.

It’s funny, but watching the show made me really miss seeing Hanagumi.  It was so awesome to see so many loved OGs and to be able to SHOUT AND SCREAM (god I wish that was acceptable at all performances in Japan), but I just kept thinking how much I wanted to watch my favorite troupe too.  We’re going to see the National Tour show Romanesque Mask in September, but we’ll only go the one time and it won’t be the whole troupe (by the end of this trip we’ll have seen Hoshigumi about three times as much as we’ve seen Hanagumi and I love Hokusho Kairi to pieces but I wanna see my troupe over and over and over again ok).

tl;dr I’m just really emotional about everything Takarazuka these past few days.

Special shout out to everyone I met last weekend!!! So awesome to meet more western fans in person and I’m super super excited to see many of you again in the near-ish future already!

[zukadiary]

Takarazuka+ 2-week roundup 11.15.19

VISUALS! The Red & The Black, Taka Special, Haikarasan 2.0, Chinatsu’s alien show. Tamaki’s wig needs help. We have two 95th tops and three 93rd nibantes for some reason. I’m not sure if Haikarasan was even re-shot. Chinatsu’s thing looks lit.

Show turnover in Takarazuka: I AM FROM AUSTRIA ended on Monday, Señor Samurai/Daisuke’s Whiskey Dream!! started today. The Soragumi cocktail is White Horse Fine Old Whiskey, a violet and rose flavored deep purple liquor called Parfait D’amour, and soda. That’s sure a thing.

Kazuki Sora got to come down the stairs by herself for the first time and yours truly is in a state

Rehearsals for Once Upon a Time in America started. Maisaki Rin, Sahana Mako, and Mika Monami will be retiring with the show. The former two have been around since Komu and that’s a deep cut for me.

Todoroki Yuu is doing another as of yet untitled dinner show

Kisaki Airi will be joining Kurenai Yuzuru for her on-location Takarazuka Premiere taidan special on WOWOW!

Ichiro Maki, Asaka Manato, and Misaki Rion will all be appearing in Toho’s Thoroughly Modern Millie in April 2020

A poster was unveiled for Nanami Hiroki’s upcoming musical, Red & Bear. Kai sure said she wanted to do stage work as herself and Taso sure said let’s make that happen!

Kisaragi Ren started an instagram, hashtag #RENSTAGRAM (her words not mine). There’s a twitter too!

And speaking of instagram, please watch Mao Yuuki’s NYC adventure stories

[zukadiary]

Takarazuka Halloween in NYC was a huge success :D