Robert Capa Review
I went to see Robert Capa today. Hmm... I don't really know what to say. It somehow felt a bit like the first half and the second half of this show were two entirely different shows.
Act 1
I admit I didn't like the first half very much. It started at the very end of the story, with Robert Capa's death. I've been preparing myself for an emotional death scene, but instead Capa got killed in the very first minute of the show, when really no one cared about this character yet, and I thought it was a very strange decision to stage the main character's death in this way. (In the end it made a lot of sense, but that wasn't helping me during Act 1.)
After Capa's death we went back in time and met young Robert (or Endre Friedmann back then) who was about to leave Berlin because of the Nazis and move to Paris. And the rest of Act 1 was about him being a photojournalist in Paris, meeting other photographers, hanging out with Picasso, making some enemies, and becoming business partners with Gerda. There was a lot of talk and hardly any action. We learned about why he changed his name from Endre Friedmann to Robert Capa, why he wanted to be a photojournalist, and how fascism was taking over in Europe.
Maybe the fact that my Japanese isn't that good and that I was very tired made it seem worse, but I thought the first half of this show was quite boring. There wasn't anything at stake yet, no real conflict or drama. People were just hanging out and talking about their views. But to be honest, no matter how beautiful a speech about freedom is, to me it always feels a bit like empty words. Anyone can talk about improving things, but when it comes to actually doing something about it, a lot of people forget all their beautiful words. The result was, I wasn't invested emotionally at all in this show for the entire first hour.
However, kudos to Kazari Jin and Aihana Chisaki, who were the comic relief as Pablo Picasso and his lover. Basically, Picasso was doing lots of portraits of his lover who ended up being very insulted by his modern way of painting her. Understandably... Cubism isn't exactly flattering.
Act 2
After the break we almost immediately plunged into the Spanish Civil War. And from one moment to the next, I was wide-awake, holding my breath, and feeling deeply for the characters on stage. If someone hold a speech about freedom now, it felt completely different. Because now, people were dying for it. And please don't believe that I think violence is a better means to accomplish something than talking. That is not what I am trying to say here. I hate the very idea of war, but putting the characters into a war meant that suddenly the stakes were raised so much. As said before, it's very easy to hold nice speeches when comfortably sitting in a café in peaceful Paris, but when you are in the middle of a war, choosing a side may easily kill you. So when people are ready to risk death in order to protect their country from fascism, I am a lot more impressed and emotionally invested. And that's why I loved Act 2 a lot. (And I particularly liked Houju Ichi, who sadly got killed by enemy fire, but not before doing some really great singing and dancing.)
Also during these scenes, Capa and Gerda finally came closer and kissed. I think Reimi Urara is still very young and there is room for improvement, but during her kiss scene with Kaname, I admit I got goosebumps and my heart skipped some beats. The way they looked at each other was just that passionate.
The show didn't end with Capa's death. It ended with Capa hearing about Gerda's death. And the way Kaname broke down at this news was just so so sad. A lot of people sitting close to me were crying. That scene basically ripped out everyones heart and after that no one would have had any energy left to feel much for Capa's death. Which is why it now made sense why they started the show with Capa dying and have Gerda's death as the big emotional final.
So I guess my final verdict is: Act 2 is great, while Act 1 is a bit boring. Unfortunately, you need Act 1 for Act 2 to make sense.
After the show Mikaze Maira hosted a mini-talkshow with Ouki Kaname, Kazari Jin, Harukaze Misato, Hasumi Yuuya and Reimi Urara. It was quite funny. Apparently Harada-sensei consistently confused Mii-chan with Chii-chan during rehearsals. Also, everyone wanted to be Gerda during the kiss scene. Sadly, I don't remember much else of their talk. And this concludes my review of Robert Capa. XD
Act 1
I admit I didn't like the first half very much. It started at the very end of the story, with Robert Capa's death. I've been preparing myself for an emotional death scene, but instead Capa got killed in the very first minute of the show, when really no one cared about this character yet, and I thought it was a very strange decision to stage the main character's death in this way. (In the end it made a lot of sense, but that wasn't helping me during Act 1.)
After Capa's death we went back in time and met young Robert (or Endre Friedmann back then) who was about to leave Berlin because of the Nazis and move to Paris. And the rest of Act 1 was about him being a photojournalist in Paris, meeting other photographers, hanging out with Picasso, making some enemies, and becoming business partners with Gerda. There was a lot of talk and hardly any action. We learned about why he changed his name from Endre Friedmann to Robert Capa, why he wanted to be a photojournalist, and how fascism was taking over in Europe.
Maybe the fact that my Japanese isn't that good and that I was very tired made it seem worse, but I thought the first half of this show was quite boring. There wasn't anything at stake yet, no real conflict or drama. People were just hanging out and talking about their views. But to be honest, no matter how beautiful a speech about freedom is, to me it always feels a bit like empty words. Anyone can talk about improving things, but when it comes to actually doing something about it, a lot of people forget all their beautiful words. The result was, I wasn't invested emotionally at all in this show for the entire first hour.
However, kudos to Kazari Jin and Aihana Chisaki, who were the comic relief as Pablo Picasso and his lover. Basically, Picasso was doing lots of portraits of his lover who ended up being very insulted by his modern way of painting her. Understandably... Cubism isn't exactly flattering.
Act 2
After the break we almost immediately plunged into the Spanish Civil War. And from one moment to the next, I was wide-awake, holding my breath, and feeling deeply for the characters on stage. If someone hold a speech about freedom now, it felt completely different. Because now, people were dying for it. And please don't believe that I think violence is a better means to accomplish something than talking. That is not what I am trying to say here. I hate the very idea of war, but putting the characters into a war meant that suddenly the stakes were raised so much. As said before, it's very easy to hold nice speeches when comfortably sitting in a café in peaceful Paris, but when you are in the middle of a war, choosing a side may easily kill you. So when people are ready to risk death in order to protect their country from fascism, I am a lot more impressed and emotionally invested. And that's why I loved Act 2 a lot. (And I particularly liked Houju Ichi, who sadly got killed by enemy fire, but not before doing some really great singing and dancing.)
Also during these scenes, Capa and Gerda finally came closer and kissed. I think Reimi Urara is still very young and there is room for improvement, but during her kiss scene with Kaname, I admit I got goosebumps and my heart skipped some beats. The way they looked at each other was just that passionate.
The show didn't end with Capa's death. It ended with Capa hearing about Gerda's death. And the way Kaname broke down at this news was just so so sad. A lot of people sitting close to me were crying. That scene basically ripped out everyones heart and after that no one would have had any energy left to feel much for Capa's death. Which is why it now made sense why they started the show with Capa dying and have Gerda's death as the big emotional final.
So I guess my final verdict is: Act 2 is great, while Act 1 is a bit boring. Unfortunately, you need Act 1 for Act 2 to make sense.
After the show Mikaze Maira hosted a mini-talkshow with Ouki Kaname, Kazari Jin, Harukaze Misato, Hasumi Yuuya and Reimi Urara. It was quite funny. Apparently Harada-sensei consistently confused Mii-chan with Chii-chan during rehearsals. Also, everyone wanted to be Gerda during the kiss scene. Sadly, I don't remember much else of their talk. And this concludes my review of Robert Capa. XD