Takarazuka: Pride and Prejudice Review
I have like eight million Zuka posts to make, including Remi's ochakai report which I still haven't made! But first things first--I'm back from seeing 2 plays in Tokyo, and Hoshigumi's P&P is sticking out in my mind, so up it goes first.
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Disclaimer: Due to a string of misfortunes I wound up missing the first act. *cries* My review is limited ot act two.
To get this out of the way: Tenshi no Hashigo ain't Pride and Prejudice. Austen is one of the greats because of her extraordinary grasp of human character, and while she was mostly postive about people, she wrote honestly about human flaws as well as virtues.
Suzuki-sensei did not. He took a big bucket o' sop and dripped it over the story. Wickham isn't an opportunistic bastard, he just needs the right woman to straighten him out. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is sweet underneath it all. Darcy is a Zuka-perfect man, no snobbery anywhere.
So DON'T go the this play looking for Pride and Prejudice. Go to see a cutsey romance populated by characters with oddly familiar names. Watched that way, it's a lot of fun.
Its big strength is humor. There are half-a-dozen funny scenes in Act II that cracked up the audience, mostly of Darcy being awkward or Mrs. Bennet being histrionic.
(Best scene: Darcy trying to chat up Lizzie and coming up with increasingly stupid questions to ask so he doesn't have to leave the room. Eventually we got to, "So...how are your parents?")
The music wasn't memorable, but the acting was fabulous. Toyoko's Darcy was, again, very Zuka-perfect, but she gave him a charming awkwardness I loved watching.
Minori's gave a mostly subtle portrayal of Lizzie, a woman torn by indecision and of few words to everyone but Jane, until she'd have an outburst of temper. I didn't know Minori could do subtle, but she was great.
Tomomin...was overboard as Wickham.
Junko-san was a brilliant Mrs. Bennet. Anyone who knows me, and knows how much I loathe otokoyaku as musumeyaku, should know how good she had to be to get me to say that. No one but she could have made the Bennet matriarch so hysterical without making her annoying. Junko-san was the star of all her scenes and is reason enough to see this play.
Yuzumi Mari made Lady Catherine a lovely snob. ^^ More than anything else, I regret missing her showdown with Lizzie in Act I.
Kisaki Airi's Lydia went for broke on the "I am a brainless twit" routine and hit the mark exactly without going overboard. I am impressed as hell. Almost no musumeyaku, even one who blossoms beautifully, hits her stride so early. This is a girl to watch.
As all other parts were so tiny in Act II, there's not much to comment on, but everyone did fine. Miya Rurika got a sweet speech as Bingley and Hishiro Yua had some cute scenes singing inappropriately as Mary (nice voice, actually).
Tenshi no Hashigo is a happy play, an "everyone is decent underneath it all" comedy with really good acting and leads with great chemistry. Save it for a rainy day when you feel crappy and then savor Mrs. Bennet knocking a door over to tackle-glomp one of many new sons-in-law as Darcy steals one of Bingley's love letters to figure out how to propose to Lizzie and then forgets his lines. It's not brilliant, but it's almost guaranteed to make you smile, and that's worth more sometimes. ^^ I am SO buying this DVD when it's out.
(Please, Hankyu. Please let there be a DVD. I'll pay you lots and lots of money. Please, please, please...)
*
Disclaimer: Due to a string of misfortunes I wound up missing the first act. *cries* My review is limited ot act two.
To get this out of the way: Tenshi no Hashigo ain't Pride and Prejudice. Austen is one of the greats because of her extraordinary grasp of human character, and while she was mostly postive about people, she wrote honestly about human flaws as well as virtues.
Suzuki-sensei did not. He took a big bucket o' sop and dripped it over the story. Wickham isn't an opportunistic bastard, he just needs the right woman to straighten him out. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is sweet underneath it all. Darcy is a Zuka-perfect man, no snobbery anywhere.
So DON'T go the this play looking for Pride and Prejudice. Go to see a cutsey romance populated by characters with oddly familiar names. Watched that way, it's a lot of fun.
Its big strength is humor. There are half-a-dozen funny scenes in Act II that cracked up the audience, mostly of Darcy being awkward or Mrs. Bennet being histrionic.
(Best scene: Darcy trying to chat up Lizzie and coming up with increasingly stupid questions to ask so he doesn't have to leave the room. Eventually we got to, "So...how are your parents?")
The music wasn't memorable, but the acting was fabulous. Toyoko's Darcy was, again, very Zuka-perfect, but she gave him a charming awkwardness I loved watching.
Minori's gave a mostly subtle portrayal of Lizzie, a woman torn by indecision and of few words to everyone but Jane, until she'd have an outburst of temper. I didn't know Minori could do subtle, but she was great.
Tomomin...was overboard as Wickham.
Junko-san was a brilliant Mrs. Bennet. Anyone who knows me, and knows how much I loathe otokoyaku as musumeyaku, should know how good she had to be to get me to say that. No one but she could have made the Bennet matriarch so hysterical without making her annoying. Junko-san was the star of all her scenes and is reason enough to see this play.
Yuzumi Mari made Lady Catherine a lovely snob. ^^ More than anything else, I regret missing her showdown with Lizzie in Act I.
Kisaki Airi's Lydia went for broke on the "I am a brainless twit" routine and hit the mark exactly without going overboard. I am impressed as hell. Almost no musumeyaku, even one who blossoms beautifully, hits her stride so early. This is a girl to watch.
As all other parts were so tiny in Act II, there's not much to comment on, but everyone did fine. Miya Rurika got a sweet speech as Bingley and Hishiro Yua had some cute scenes singing inappropriately as Mary (nice voice, actually).
Tenshi no Hashigo is a happy play, an "everyone is decent underneath it all" comedy with really good acting and leads with great chemistry. Save it for a rainy day when you feel crappy and then savor Mrs. Bennet knocking a door over to tackle-glomp one of many new sons-in-law as Darcy steals one of Bingley's love letters to figure out how to propose to Lizzie and then forgets his lines. It's not brilliant, but it's almost guaranteed to make you smile, and that's worth more sometimes. ^^ I am SO buying this DVD when it's out.
(Please, Hankyu. Please let there be a DVD. I'll pay you lots and lots of money. Please, please, please...)