More than you ever wanted to know about Becca's opinions on Casablanca
The bad:
Getting this out of the way first.
Casablanca’s biggest problem is the pacing. In the original movie, the flashback explaining Rick and Ilsa’s romance goes for maybe 10 minutes. In the Takarazuka version, it’s roughly half an hour and goes into further detail about how they met, etc. By the end of the first act, not a whole lot has actually *happened.* (Honestly, this didn’t even bother me much the first few times I saw the show. It was only after having seen it several times that I started to really feel the drag of the first act.)
In the shinjinkouen version this section is cut out completely, and while I missed being able to see Rick and Ilsa fall in love, it did feel like things moved along at a faster pace.
My other problem with this show is Nono Sumika’s portrayal of Ilsa. For the record, I didn’t condemn Sumika as soon as she was announced as soragumi top. I felt there were older musumeyaku who were more deserving, but she was decent in Kurotokage and Maihime, and I figured I should give her a chance.
I haven’t watched Ooeyama Kaden, but in this role she didn’t impress me. I can forgive Yuuhi for not being Humphrey Bogart because Yuuhi’s interpretation is also valid and makes sense. With Sumika, she’s certainly not Ingrid Bergman, but her interpretation is too whiny and weak for me. I couldn’t imagine that she was married to the leader of a resistance movement and was constantly on the run for her life. Moreover, she lacked the spark to convince me that two men were desperately in love with her. (Obviously your mileage may vary in regards to Sumika)
The result was in comparison to the movie, I didn’t care much about what happened to Rick and Ilsa’s romance. For me it became more of a story about Rick’s personal redemption. That interpretation worked, but it made things like the farewell scenes less poignant.
A few small nitpicks:
- The original “Knock on Wood” is very rhythmic. There are extra syllables in the Japanese translation and it just doesn’t sound as good *pout* But at least Ban-san and the dancing babies are cute.
- They changed the “Louis, this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship” bit T_________T Instead, Renault and Rick have their dialogue, and then it’s Renault who says a similar line and then walks off stage, leaving Yuuhi to reprise the prologue song and walk off alone into the mist. I get the need to have the lead otokoyaku walk solitarily off stage, but that’s such an iconic movie moment and I’m sad to see it cut.
- They change the order of the reveal of Rick and Ilsa’s back story. In this version, Ilsa tells Rick when she first comes to see him late at night at the bar that she thought her husband was dead when she fell in love with him. I liked the way the movie slowly builds up the suspense :P
The good:
Now that those things are out of the way, I can gush. Despite what I wrote above, I really, really adored this show. Even if it’s not a 100% perfect work, there are so many parts I adore and the cast is for the most part fantastic. The first time I saw it, I came out grinning ear to ear.
- To my pleasant surprise, the original music is very, very good. There are lots of really catchy tunes, and all well written to the singer’s range. Yuuhi’s not the best singer in Takarazuka, but she sounded very nice. My favorite song is probably Tomu’s “Ware ware ga ikiteiru” in the second act, but there’s so many that if I started listing them off I’d probably start having to include everything :P
- In the movie, Rick’s Café Americain is such a central set piece. The Takarazuka version makes very good use of the revolving stage to make us feel like Rick’s is a real place. The costumes, lighting, and sets succeed in taking us back to the 1940s.
- There are some really clever allusions to the original movie. A number in the beginning strings together all of those opening dialogue bits (“I’m never going to get out of Casablanca…”, “Please sir, can’t you make it a little more?”)
- I originally worried that Takarazuka’s “Casablanca” would be too dialogue heavy. Instead, there’s a very good ratio of dialogue to song/dance. (And if the show spends too long in the past, then at least it keeps us very entertained while that happens. There’s nothing like an otokoyaku gun dance *g*).
- Part of the appeal of the original Casablanca was how it portrayed the refugees and their desperation. Takarazuka’s Casablanca has a lot of chorus numbers sung by the refugees, and the underclassmen were really, really passionate <3 My favorite was the “We have to get out of Paris!” number sung by the chorus. It has a very “Milch” feel to it, and no one does angsty babies on the ginkyou quite like Koike-sensei.
- Speaking of the underclassmen, there’s always a lot going on in the background of Rick’s Café, some of it very funny. It makes the show very rewatchable and I learned a lot of soragumi underclassmen this way.
- Tomu’s Arabian number in the finale is ridiculously, ridiculously sexy. Before that there’s another fun bit where Mii-chan, Dai-chan, and Kacha sing an upbeat version of “As Time Goes By” on the ginkyou. Oh, and the otokoyaku dance gives me a chance to ogle non-fat suit Micchan XD (Also, Yuuhi and Sumika’s pair dance was pretty)
-By and large, I thought everyone gave really great performances. Here’s my rundown:
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Oozora Yuuhi (Rick, jaded owner of Rick's Cafe Americain in Casablanca): She did it. She became top, and she’s fantastic. This role suits her so, so well. Granted, she’s not Humphrey Bogart, and I’m not really sure if anyone could be. She’s missing some of the biting sarcasm in the movie. But her evolution from bitter and jaded to self-sacrificing is very, very well acted. Her 5 o’clock and 11 o’clock numbers absolutely blew me away.
She did better than I would have personally expected integrating into soragumi. There’s still room to grow, but for her first Daigekijou show after being transferred, I thought the rapport was for the most part pretty okay.
Nono Sumika (Laszlo’s wife, Rick’s former lover who left him without warning): Already covered above.
Ranju Tomu (Victor Laszlo, leader of the resistance against the Nazis and Ilsa’s husband): In some ways I actually like Tomu better than Paul Henreid. Her charisma level is simply out of this world. It’s very easy to believe that her Laszlo is such a legendary figure. But more than that, her scenes with Sumika are very, very sweet and tender. Laszlo very sincerely loves his wife, and it makes the love triangle all the more tragic.
You could say that this isn’t anything Tomu hasn’t done before. But she does it really, really well. There’s a number called “Ware ware wa ikiteiru” at the beginning of the second act in which she leads a resistance meeting, and it’s one of my favorite moments of the show.
Hokushou Kairi (Louis Renault, corrupt French official): Okay, I’m biased here, but I’m really, really proud of Micchan for pulling off this role. Renault is *completely* different from anything she’s done before. For anyone who hasn’t seen pictures, she has stomach padding. She also has a graying wig and a moustache. She’s still recognizable as Micchan, but the physical transformation is impressive.
As a Micchan fan, it was really fun to see her in such a slimy role. She plays the role a bit more comical than the movie, but if I’m not going to hold Yuuhi to playing Rick like Humphrey Bogart, then I’m not going to hold Micchan to playing Renault like Claude Rains. Her interpretation wasn’t exactly the same, but it worked very nicely and she has some really funny moments <3
The downside is that she only gets to sing once. (Well, at least as herself. I found out at the ochakai that she was in the kage chorus, singing soprano of all things). Singing is Micchan’s forte and while it’s too bad she didn’t get more of it, compared to other recent shows she gets a lot of stage time and this made me very happy.
My other complaint would be that she and Yuuhi don’t have *quite* the level of chemistry that Humphrey Bogart and Claude Rains do in the movie. But since I’ve been trying not to hold people to their movie counterparts, I can forgive Micchan and Yuuhi.
Yuumi Hiro (Strausser, Nazi officer): The scenes that Tomochin appeared in were largely also scenes with Micchan, so I often found myself distracted >.> But Tomochin is very, very good at villain roles, and this is no exception.
Ban Akira (Sam, piano player at Ricks’ Café Americain): It’s really sad that Ban-san is retiring, but this is an excellent, excellent role for her to go out on. Like in the original movie, Ban-san makes Sam a very memorable role. Her singing is as good as ever, and she’s kakkoii until the end. Moreover, the bit where Sam has to drag Rick onto the train at the end of the flashback is very sweet. She always got lots of applause at bows every time I saw the show <3
Isono Chihiro (Signor Ferrari, owner of a rival bar and a figure in the Casablanca black market): A typical senka role, but Isono-san does a good job with being sleezy.
The staff of Rick’s:
I loved the staff so, so much. They were always so entertaining to watch! Kotobuki Tsukasa’s Carl is very typical Susshii-san, but in the best of ways. She gets some really funny moments, but also has sweet sincerity in the resistance movement scenes. My love for Harukaze Misato only continues to grow. Like Susshii-san, she had some really funny moments (like declaring her love to Rick’s ex with a bit too much enthusiasm), but was also passionate in her scenes with Laszlo and the resistance movement. Nanami Hiroki got a bigger role than I had thought as one of the waiters. She’s so cute and earnest <333 Poor Hasami Yuuya didn’t get as much stage time, which is too bad since she has such a pretty voice.
Kazahane Reia, Ayase Akina, Chisuzu Mayu, and Houju Ichi were all very cute as the native members of Rick’s staff. Ayase Akina and Chisuzu Mayu in particular always got really into dancing to “Knock On Wood.”
The staff get a comical number in the second act. (Renault’s men come to search Rick’s for the letters of transit, and the staff attempt badly to defend their boss) It’s pretty extraneous, but it’s one of my favorite moments of the show.
The refugees:
Nagina Ruumi and Hanakage Arisu play Jan and Annina, a Bulgarian couple trapped in Casablanca without a visa. Outside of the opening refugee number they may not have a lot of lines on stage, but their presence is critical in conveying the desperation and passion of the refugees. Kacha was very cute in her naivite, and it was always fun to watch her screwing up roulette. Alice plays Annina more desperate than her movie counterpart, but it’s just as effective.
Other people:
Toki Irisu (Mr. Curtis, clueless American tourist/Cesar, Rick’s old friend who fought against the fascists): Masako was one of my favorite people to watch in the background. She’s so adorably clueless as Mr. Curtis. Cesar is a small role, but a memorable one, and Masako looks ridiculously sexy in her eye patch <3
Amou Tamakai’s role as Ugarte didn’t have a lot of stage time, but deliciously slimy. Mikaze Maira had some funny moments as Masako’s wife (like when she got annoyed at the dancer in the bazaar flirting with her husband) Oomi Ako got a chance to shine in the first act with a nightclub solo all of her own <3
I’d also like to give a shout-out to Tenrei Mion, Hoshibuki Ayato (yes, Julie taught me these two :P), Fujisaki Eri, and Mitsuki Haruka. They didn’t have big parts, but were really fun to watch in the background. ETA: I almost forgot to mention Sumireno Rei! She played a flower seller who secretly passes information for the resistance. It's a small role, but she brought a presence to it that made it noticable.
I could keep on going down the list of absolutely everyone who had a role in this show, but for the sake of not blabbering on forever I’ll leave it there ;)
So in conclusion…no, it’s not an absolutely perfect show. But I really, really love it anyway, and I really recommend that everyone see it