Never Say Goodbye: A Review
I'm not going to give this show a rating so much as say this:
Even if you do not like Wao Youka and Hanafusa Mari, even if you do not like the type of character archetypes George and Katherine represent, even if you do not like the entire Takarazuka Revue, you need this show.
Quick Skim Review for those on a schedule:
Never Say Goodbye tells the story of a self-proclaimed foolish woman who meets a fairly arrogant young man. Arrogant Man takes a photo of Foolish Woman, Foolish Woman vows that she will not say goodbye until he returns the film, and then the world goes all to hell for a glorious, glorious musical. NSG features some of the best singing I've ever heard, incredibly deep characterisation, and two actors who own the characters they portray, from gender to personality, from every inch of skin to every wisp of hair, from every syllable uttered to every step danced, from impressively well-designed costume to the spirit of revolution running through their very veins. I'm in love.
Never Say Goodbye: A Review
The reason I urge everyone to own this show, including those who aren't sure they'll like it, is because I too was fairly positive I wouldn't like it. Neither Katherine nor George is the type of character to immediately engage me and the plot is not my usual cup of tea. Even now, I think I would find Katherine in particular annoying in almost any other fictional work. That said, this was amazing. I didn't even have time to find anyone annoying because I was so caught up in how awesome everything was. I can't help but be amazed by how intense the characters are and how intricately their lives - simultaneously very human and very very epic - were brought to us. Though I still don't connect with Katherine and George on a very foundational level, I really like the way they were played out and have to admit that it's inspiring and tearjerking to watch them ride out the flame of a cause that catches and grips them in their very veins.
The Plot:
The only word I can find for this plot is that it's flawless and I do mean that objectively, not just in a fangirl-gush way: there were really, as far as I could tell, zero flaws. It was flawless in conception and flawless in execution. My favourite thing about the plot is that it brought in so many characters but never with a sense of intrusion - instead, always with a segue, always with a feeling of the plot unfurling bit by bit, leaving the audience anxious for more. There was something very Takarazuka in the very bones of this plot - it was epic and shiny, it was intense and dramatic, it was everything that belongs and deserves to belong on a Takarazuka stage, but beneath that glamour it was still serene and dignified and it executed everything with the strictest artistic integrity. Unlike some other plays I've seen, the ultimate conclusion of the plot felt absolutely fitting and very much like the only place to which these characters have been headed all their lives. Overall, I adored it.
George, character:
I can't express how well Wao suits George in every single way. Even though they were strangers coming into someone else's country and telling their rebels how to run their lives... as the rebels agreed with George and listened to him and believed in him, I believed in him too - simply because Wao's charisma made it impossible not to. Wao's George approached everything (except his own love life I suppose) with such unassuming intensity, eager to discover and uncover and be caught up in the flame that is history in the making, that it was impossible not to be caught up in his passion. I'll freely admit that I'm biased, but I really do think Wao is one of the few people who could have pulled him off just so: just mature enough to lead, just young enough to learn, with just enough heart to throw everything he is into his meaning, but not so much heart as to be immaturely hotheaded. He's really rather wonderful and also thankfully mostly pragmatic, which makes him the sort of hero-type I can respect.
Katherine, character:
I'll preface this by saying that Katherine is exactly the type of character who annoys me most. The discussion of her character archetype is neither here nor there, but do take what I say next with my bias in mind.
Having talked about not liking Katherine, I must admit that I can't think of a version of her I'd love more than I loved Hanafusa Mari's: though I can't say she's by any stretch my favourite of Ohana's characters, the sweetness and sincerity Hanafusa brought to Katherine made even me melt. Katherine's journey intrigues me because when we see her, she's so simultaneously passionate and clueless that the only response is to sigh and hug her and say "oh, baby" (or kick her and roll your eyes, depending on whether you think characters like her are endearing or irritating beyond belief.) However, Katherine intrigues me because despite her obstinate nature she opens herself enough to growth that she gets there: by the end of the play she has learned to channel her passion into something worthwhile, without having it necessarily be like she was completely wrong in the first place (just young and hot-headed and needing a real cause). I began to respect Katherine when she decided to stay on with the radio station, and that respect only grew.
Katherine and George, relationship:
I ship it. So much. The chemistry between the characters is impossible to deny and, more importantly, their effect on each other is impossible to deny. I really like what's been done with their relationship because it's subtle, clear, and poignant: that everything in their lives have led them to this point, to meeting each other, that they've been walking down this path their whole lives. That they are finally strong enough and mature enough to walk the path they've found for themselves whilst keeping within sight of each other. That they've found their lives' work (truth) and their lives' meaning (each other). The relationship works on every level and hell, yeah. I ship it.
Vincent and Ellen Parker - characters and actors:
I really wish we'd seen more of the Vincent/Teresa plotline, which had such potential to be just as epic as George/Katherine. Tani really had the strength and sharpness to pull off someone like Vincent, and the - well, the only word I feel suits here is wild abandon - with which Vincent approached everything is applaudable and heartwarming. I really really bought the performance.
Ellen, too, was amazing. For those who know me personally, it should come as no surprise that I perhaps sympathize more with her than with anyone else in the play. Rui's Ellen was mean and in many ways deplorable, but also so very human. I don't applaud her for her snobbery or meanness (can anyone really?) but I applaud the ability of the character - and of Rui, playing her - to own it, to be and to celebrate everything she knows she is. She was so human and so self-possessed in everything she did that I had to love her.
Wao Youka, actor:
One of the things I love most about Wao is that she's by no means 'butch' or even as conventionally-masculine as some of the other otokoyaku; if I had to find a word for her it'd be suave, displaying all those conventionally male and positive qualities without having to slap some sort of one-or-the-other label on it. This played to her advantage here because George was in many ways arrogant but Wao gave him so much humanity - not the strict confines of masculinity or femininity, just humanity, so that he was vivid and three-dimensional and you could be angry at him or love him, you just couldn't pretend not to understand him. Seriously, so delightful.
Hanafusa Mari, actor:
Same with Hanafusa Mari but in reverse: as I've been saying for a while now, what I adore about Ohana is that she doesn't waste time putting on her femininity and putting herself out to be conventionally female: she owns her femininity to a large enough extent that she can portray a character who is obviously female in every sense of the word but is so much more than that, until the audience cannot help but admit that trying to classify any character - or any person - by their gender is a futile and laughable exercise. And Katherine, wow. I never cease to be surprised at how versatile Ohana is and this definitely applies here: all the subtlties she put into the character, her precarious balance between being a little silly and a little crazy and a little too passionate and more than a little awesome, just all laid out there in every movement... excuse me for gushing, but wow. No words could do it justice.
Wao Youka and Hanafusa Mari, stage chemistry of epic proportions:
And the way they look at each other. I make no speculations one way or another about the personal lives of the actresses, but as far as being on stage goes, Wao and Hana have undeniable and incredible chemistry. I think a lot of the relationship between Katherine and George was characterised in the subtlties: the way George slides his eyes away in worry when they talk about something Katherine-related without her around, the way George lays a hand on Katherine's shoulder protectively when he's upset, the way Katherine's eyes just shine with emotion when George is having his talk with Ellen. And I really think Wao and Hana were perfect in this - perfectly subtle and yet on the ball every single moment - pouring so much characterisation into every movement and every lack-of-movement that quite a few times they reminded the audience in tiny, subtle, previously-un-thought-of ways that, every single minute, Katherine and George are thinking about each other.
Dancing and singing:
The dancing in this is probably my favourite after Passion: Jose and Carmen (the latter of which only wins by default because of the overwhelming epicness that was the rope dance). It was very well-choreographed and suited the overall atmosphere very well and whilst I can't talk about it in words that do it justice, it would be worth watching even if it had nothing to do with the plot. The singing, too - the way the leads' voices harmonised so perfectly, the music, the lyrics... everything really came together to make this play cohesive in every way.
In conclusion:
Never Say Goodbye is not the play you want for fluffy love scenes to make you melt. Never Say Goodbye is not the play you want for laughs. (Try Utakana No Koi for the former and Ernest In Love for the latter!) Never Say Goodbye is the play to make you breathless, the play to make you whisper in awe "I can't believe they just did that", the play to make your heart speed up and your blood boil with passion despite yourself, the play to make you exclaim and shout and jump in your seat. It is one of the few plays I've seen - nay, one of the few pieces of art I've seen, period - that manage to combine watchability with such flawless technical execution and deep, poignant meaning. When it comes to recommending NSG, it's not so much about why you should watch it as trying to come up with any reason you shouldn't.
♥
Even if you do not like Wao Youka and Hanafusa Mari, even if you do not like the type of character archetypes George and Katherine represent, even if you do not like the entire Takarazuka Revue, you need this show.
Quick Skim Review for those on a schedule:
Never Say Goodbye tells the story of a self-proclaimed foolish woman who meets a fairly arrogant young man. Arrogant Man takes a photo of Foolish Woman, Foolish Woman vows that she will not say goodbye until he returns the film, and then the world goes all to hell for a glorious, glorious musical. NSG features some of the best singing I've ever heard, incredibly deep characterisation, and two actors who own the characters they portray, from gender to personality, from every inch of skin to every wisp of hair, from every syllable uttered to every step danced, from impressively well-designed costume to the spirit of revolution running through their very veins. I'm in love.
Never Say Goodbye: A Review
The reason I urge everyone to own this show, including those who aren't sure they'll like it, is because I too was fairly positive I wouldn't like it. Neither Katherine nor George is the type of character to immediately engage me and the plot is not my usual cup of tea. Even now, I think I would find Katherine in particular annoying in almost any other fictional work. That said, this was amazing. I didn't even have time to find anyone annoying because I was so caught up in how awesome everything was. I can't help but be amazed by how intense the characters are and how intricately their lives - simultaneously very human and very very epic - were brought to us. Though I still don't connect with Katherine and George on a very foundational level, I really like the way they were played out and have to admit that it's inspiring and tearjerking to watch them ride out the flame of a cause that catches and grips them in their very veins.
The Plot:
The only word I can find for this plot is that it's flawless and I do mean that objectively, not just in a fangirl-gush way: there were really, as far as I could tell, zero flaws. It was flawless in conception and flawless in execution. My favourite thing about the plot is that it brought in so many characters but never with a sense of intrusion - instead, always with a segue, always with a feeling of the plot unfurling bit by bit, leaving the audience anxious for more. There was something very Takarazuka in the very bones of this plot - it was epic and shiny, it was intense and dramatic, it was everything that belongs and deserves to belong on a Takarazuka stage, but beneath that glamour it was still serene and dignified and it executed everything with the strictest artistic integrity. Unlike some other plays I've seen, the ultimate conclusion of the plot felt absolutely fitting and very much like the only place to which these characters have been headed all their lives. Overall, I adored it.
George, character:
I can't express how well Wao suits George in every single way. Even though they were strangers coming into someone else's country and telling their rebels how to run their lives... as the rebels agreed with George and listened to him and believed in him, I believed in him too - simply because Wao's charisma made it impossible not to. Wao's George approached everything (except his own love life I suppose) with such unassuming intensity, eager to discover and uncover and be caught up in the flame that is history in the making, that it was impossible not to be caught up in his passion. I'll freely admit that I'm biased, but I really do think Wao is one of the few people who could have pulled him off just so: just mature enough to lead, just young enough to learn, with just enough heart to throw everything he is into his meaning, but not so much heart as to be immaturely hotheaded. He's really rather wonderful and also thankfully mostly pragmatic, which makes him the sort of hero-type I can respect.
Katherine, character:
I'll preface this by saying that Katherine is exactly the type of character who annoys me most. The discussion of her character archetype is neither here nor there, but do take what I say next with my bias in mind.
Having talked about not liking Katherine, I must admit that I can't think of a version of her I'd love more than I loved Hanafusa Mari's: though I can't say she's by any stretch my favourite of Ohana's characters, the sweetness and sincerity Hanafusa brought to Katherine made even me melt. Katherine's journey intrigues me because when we see her, she's so simultaneously passionate and clueless that the only response is to sigh and hug her and say "oh, baby" (or kick her and roll your eyes, depending on whether you think characters like her are endearing or irritating beyond belief.) However, Katherine intrigues me because despite her obstinate nature she opens herself enough to growth that she gets there: by the end of the play she has learned to channel her passion into something worthwhile, without having it necessarily be like she was completely wrong in the first place (just young and hot-headed and needing a real cause). I began to respect Katherine when she decided to stay on with the radio station, and that respect only grew.
Katherine and George, relationship:
I ship it. So much. The chemistry between the characters is impossible to deny and, more importantly, their effect on each other is impossible to deny. I really like what's been done with their relationship because it's subtle, clear, and poignant: that everything in their lives have led them to this point, to meeting each other, that they've been walking down this path their whole lives. That they are finally strong enough and mature enough to walk the path they've found for themselves whilst keeping within sight of each other. That they've found their lives' work (truth) and their lives' meaning (each other). The relationship works on every level and hell, yeah. I ship it.
Vincent and Ellen Parker - characters and actors:
I really wish we'd seen more of the Vincent/Teresa plotline, which had such potential to be just as epic as George/Katherine. Tani really had the strength and sharpness to pull off someone like Vincent, and the - well, the only word I feel suits here is wild abandon - with which Vincent approached everything is applaudable and heartwarming. I really really bought the performance.
Ellen, too, was amazing. For those who know me personally, it should come as no surprise that I perhaps sympathize more with her than with anyone else in the play. Rui's Ellen was mean and in many ways deplorable, but also so very human. I don't applaud her for her snobbery or meanness (can anyone really?) but I applaud the ability of the character - and of Rui, playing her - to own it, to be and to celebrate everything she knows she is. She was so human and so self-possessed in everything she did that I had to love her.
Wao Youka, actor:
One of the things I love most about Wao is that she's by no means 'butch' or even as conventionally-masculine as some of the other otokoyaku; if I had to find a word for her it'd be suave, displaying all those conventionally male and positive qualities without having to slap some sort of one-or-the-other label on it. This played to her advantage here because George was in many ways arrogant but Wao gave him so much humanity - not the strict confines of masculinity or femininity, just humanity, so that he was vivid and three-dimensional and you could be angry at him or love him, you just couldn't pretend not to understand him. Seriously, so delightful.
Hanafusa Mari, actor:
Same with Hanafusa Mari but in reverse: as I've been saying for a while now, what I adore about Ohana is that she doesn't waste time putting on her femininity and putting herself out to be conventionally female: she owns her femininity to a large enough extent that she can portray a character who is obviously female in every sense of the word but is so much more than that, until the audience cannot help but admit that trying to classify any character - or any person - by their gender is a futile and laughable exercise. And Katherine, wow. I never cease to be surprised at how versatile Ohana is and this definitely applies here: all the subtlties she put into the character, her precarious balance between being a little silly and a little crazy and a little too passionate and more than a little awesome, just all laid out there in every movement... excuse me for gushing, but wow. No words could do it justice.
Wao Youka and Hanafusa Mari, stage chemistry of epic proportions:
And the way they look at each other. I make no speculations one way or another about the personal lives of the actresses, but as far as being on stage goes, Wao and Hana have undeniable and incredible chemistry. I think a lot of the relationship between Katherine and George was characterised in the subtlties: the way George slides his eyes away in worry when they talk about something Katherine-related without her around, the way George lays a hand on Katherine's shoulder protectively when he's upset, the way Katherine's eyes just shine with emotion when George is having his talk with Ellen. And I really think Wao and Hana were perfect in this - perfectly subtle and yet on the ball every single moment - pouring so much characterisation into every movement and every lack-of-movement that quite a few times they reminded the audience in tiny, subtle, previously-un-thought-of ways that, every single minute, Katherine and George are thinking about each other.
Dancing and singing:
The dancing in this is probably my favourite after Passion: Jose and Carmen (the latter of which only wins by default because of the overwhelming epicness that was the rope dance). It was very well-choreographed and suited the overall atmosphere very well and whilst I can't talk about it in words that do it justice, it would be worth watching even if it had nothing to do with the plot. The singing, too - the way the leads' voices harmonised so perfectly, the music, the lyrics... everything really came together to make this play cohesive in every way.
In conclusion:
Never Say Goodbye is not the play you want for fluffy love scenes to make you melt. Never Say Goodbye is not the play you want for laughs. (Try Utakana No Koi for the former and Ernest In Love for the latter!) Never Say Goodbye is the play to make you breathless, the play to make you whisper in awe "I can't believe they just did that", the play to make your heart speed up and your blood boil with passion despite yourself, the play to make you exclaim and shout and jump in your seat. It is one of the few plays I've seen - nay, one of the few pieces of art I've seen, period - that manage to combine watchability with such flawless technical execution and deep, poignant meaning. When it comes to recommending NSG, it's not so much about why you should watch it as trying to come up with any reason you shouldn't.
♥