S.mile - Tokyo Galaxy Theatre - 9/13/14 & 9/14/14
I saw this concert on both days it was in Tokyo though I did not see the first performance in the afternoon on the first day, I only saw the evening show. I saw cameras on Saturday's evening performance so I suspect that if there is a DVD, it will probably be footage from that night. I also apologize in advance that this might not be entirely in order. I have the program here to use as guidance but as some of the songs are listed only in Japanese, I'm not exactly sure of the order of events nor when exactly she said things, etc. as my memory has faded some since I saw the show. I also don't remember every song listed on here so I'm only going to talk about the ones I do remember.
Osa was my first love when it comes to Takarazuka and I've never stopped loving her so this was a huge deal to me, finally getting to see her live. Her voice is phenomenal and nothing compares to hearing it live. Like it sounds amazing in recordings but in real life its even more impressive. Her voice just filled the entire theater with so much power. I love her so much and I'm so grateful to have had the experience of seeing such a great concert. The concert was about 2 hours long with no intermission and included 25 numbers which were listed on the little handy-dandy program paper seen in the top photo. Though some of these numbers were little dance interludes performed by her back-up dancers/singers. There were 2 girls and 2 guys though I sadly totally do not remember their names. I believe one of the girls' first name was Yuma though? I apologize that I really know nothing about them. The guys I assume Osa probably knew from theater as they both seemed like they probably have worked with her prior and the girls both seemed to be big fans of her and I think one of them may have been in Takarazuka as well? They were both pretty young.
The stage itself was simple but lovely. I didn't realize until the 2nd time seeing it that the platform she stood on was in the shape of an "S". But I was also too busy being in awe of the fact that I was actually seeing my Lady in person. The show opened up with her in the white outfit from the flyer as she suddenly appeared on stage amidst the bright lights. She started out with a long wig on that was a few shades lighter than her real hair. It was cute but to be honest, I was glad when she took it off after the first few songs as she didn't look quite right with it on (I could tell it was a wig) and she looked so much better with her real hair. She even took it off on stage and handed it off to one of the guys, lol. Every time I imagined him being like "...thanks?" The 2nd time I saw the show I even heard a few audience members laugh a little at her taking the wig off.
She opened the show with "There For Me" in Japanese, which was a wonderful and truly pleasant song to start it off with. I knew it felt familiar to me at the time but wasn't sure why but looking it up, I see Sarah Brightman sang the song as well which is probably why I know it. Then she completely changed gears and went straight into "Pop Star" which surprised me. lol I didn't expect her to do such a cute pop song, which I only knew beforehand from hearing it in REON II. XD She was adorable while singing it though and we all clapped along happily.
I'm not sure of the name of the next song but while she was singing, suddenly the noise of a phone ringing goes off and lol the first time this happened, for a brief second I even thought "oh no someone forgot to turn their phone off!" before I realized it was too loud to be in the audience and was coming from the stage on purpose. XD Osa stopped and turned to all the band members and accused it of being their phones. The first night she really got into this, addressing each band member by name and being "Oh ho, is it you~?" while the 2nd day she only asked one of them. I think she was hamming it up during Sat's performance on purpose for the filming aspect. Then she realizes that it was HER phone ringing and ran across the stage to a little set-up they had put up to look like a little living room. She had to take her heels off first and get her slippers on to be properly entering the "house" though and by the time she got the phone...the person hung up. XD Then her cell phone starts ringing and she goes into this adorable dorky conversation that I really wish I knew more Japanese to follow. I know she said something slightly different on each day. I think the 2nd day she actually gave a name to the person she was talking to. But even with my small understanding, I too found the whole little skit hilarious. Then she started singing into the phone with this REALLY adorable little song where she then got up and put an apron on and proceeded to "clean" the "house". It was so nice seeing that despite how much of an elegant lady she has become and presents herself as, she is also still very much a total dork. XD She vacuumed on stage, only to realize it was unplugged and then sat on the couch to watch TV and read a magazine...but then passes out on the couch. lol There was a sound effect of a rooster to indicate the next morning had come and she wakes up and then kinda remembers she's supposed to be doing a concert. XD Then she proceeded to make breakfast while singing a little cute song about it. Just ahhh so cute!
The skit eventually lead into her singing "You've Got A Friend" (the James Taylor song) which she sang in English. There was a slightly melancholy bit to this song though as one of the guys walked in the background and she waved to him, indicating him as the "friend" but he kinda brushes her off during the line "people can be so cold" which made me go "aww :( *sadface*" lol but then it cheered up at the end. Next song was "Smile" which was sung by the whole cast and I figured they'd do a song with that title eventually in this performance. It sounded vaguely similar to the famous English song of the same name but it was in Japanese and slightly different in melody so not sure if it was that song or a different song (maybe I just wanted it to be that song since I love that particular one due to Michael Jackson covering it back in the day lol). I'm not sure if it was before or after this song but she did at some point in the concert do a little talk where she explained the choice of name for the concert. I forget which night she said this as I noticed she said something different the other night. But what I got from my limited Japanese skills is that its of course a play on her name, using the "S" and then "mile" as in making a milestone but of course also means "Smile".
She made several costume changes throughout the show though I can't remember exactly when she changed for each one in the program. I know somewhere around this point she changed from the white outfit to a black one with her hair tied back though I think she had an extension in there since don't think her hair by itself would make quite that long of a ponytail. XD But it was a nice fitted shirt and pants and I found it rather sexy but that might just be me. lol She spent the majority of the show in this particular outfit. I think "Fever" was the first song she sang in this outfit and as that song's got quite a seductive tone to it, it worked very nice. *_* I think the song listed before it on the Program, which is in Japanese must have been the dance number they did so she could change. lol Next after Fever was "Comes Love" which I honestly don't remember much about but I see that it is a Billie Holiday song. I find it interesting how the majority of the songs she did were foreign songs though most of them she sung the lyrics in Japanese. There's only 8 listed in Japanese and two of these are Elisabeth songs.
Then the back-up singers did "When You're Smiling" which was really cute and of course, another Smile themed song. This was once again a distraction song and near the end they even started coming down in the aisles to make sure our attention was solely on them. Then the house lights comes on and...Osa...is standing only like a foot away from me!!! O_O She was standing in the aisle, right next to my row and there was only one person between me and her and OMG I felt my heart stop! Yes I had been hoping she'd be in the aisle at some point but I did NOT expect her to actually be that close. Sadly I was unable to make eye contact with her. She was obviously well rehearsed in how she did this part as both nights she just reached out to people in the exact same seats during this next number so only those people got her attention. She had to have seen me though since I was right there and very obviously not Japanese and in a rather sparkly vest but she was too professional to let it even phase her. XD Oh well. I was too shocked to even try to get her attention anyways and I'm just still in disbelief I got to see her that close. *_* But yeah she did shake a few ladies' hands and sang directly to some of them and I noticed each of them got very excited at that so it was cute. Especially since most of them were adorable little obachans. According to the program she was singing "Quimbara" at this point. I don't really remember her doing Spanish but then again I was too shell shocked at the time to pay attention to what she was singing. I do remember there being a lot of energy so the song sounds right. XD The second night, at my seat further away, I did make sure to watch the back door during the previous number so I could watch her walk out into the aisle which was pretty neat. She stopped at the same place too but I got to see her walk by at least during that night as I was still on the right side of the stage to see her.
Next two songs "Rhythm Of Our World" and "It Had Better Be Tonight" were sung with a slideshow of Osa during her otoko days in Takarazuka being shown behind her on the screen. I'm not familiar with either song and looking them up they both seem to be Jazz numbers. I had assumed they were songs she did while in zuka but am embarrassed to say I did not recognize them so I'm guessing she must have sung them in revue shows so I'll going to try to listen for them any time I watch any of the Osa revues so I can identify what shows they were from. They were both sung in Japanese so I didn't expect the English titles for them. lol Unless I'm wrong and they had no relation to the slideshow at all but that would be a bit odd I think? Especially as after this she then talked about zuka though that could have been more of a lead-in to the next two songs. But anyways on one of the days she talked about first getting into Takarazuka and described when they assigned her as an otoko and her reaction "...o...to...ko?" since she had wanted to be a musume. XD We all laughed with her on that one. I still find it funny considering how good of an otoko she was and the fact that she had one of the longest running careers in zuka and she definitely wouldn't have had that if she had been a musume. I'm glad she stuck with it even if it wasn't the role she was hoping for and she's developed into such an elegant lady, especially these last few years. At first she seemed a little awkward to me and it felt like she was trying too hard to be feminine but she's really grown into it and she's so beautiful and ahhhh such a perfect lady. *_* I'm also glad she's learned to just stick with her deeper lower range instead of trying to force herself to sing in the higher range. Cause you don't have to sing soprano to be feminine. Besides I love a woman who can sing in a deep rich range. *_* I'm not sure what she talked about on the other day as I totally am blanking on it. XD I know one of the nights she mentioned a director's name and can't help but wonder if she was referring to the one I know was in the audience.
Anyway! She then announced she was doing a little mini Takarazuka "medley" and then went into "Home" from Phantom. One of the girls came out to sing Christine's part. I was very happy at this. When I saw the song on the program, I wasn't sure if she'd be singing Phantom's or Christine's part for this one. Even though I had very much enjoyed the previous songs she sang, this is the part of the concert that made me the happiest because it was so nice hearing her deep otoko voice again. I mean yes she did use that voice for the previous songs but they were lighter in tone so didn't quite have that level of deep rich "Osa-ness" that made me fall for her.
And then she did "Saigo no Dansu".
I. I have no words. I almost cried it was so amazing. I had just heard Mirio perform this same song during Elisabeth only a few days earlier and had been impressed with her performance and in awe...but as much as I do like Mirio, I'm sorry but she just can't compare to Osa singing this. But I don't think anyone (except Zunko) can compare to the intensity and power Osa's voice has during this song. Her voice FILLED the entire room and gave me chills. I'm sooooo happy to have heard her sing this live! It was a dream come true. Osa will always be my favorite Der Tod and it was this role that made me first fall in love with her. I'm still sad I never got to see her perform the role but this was definitely the next best thing. At the end of the song she even walked slowly to the back of the stage and did the dramatic turn and ahhhhhhh~ *_* I almost hurt my hands I was clapping so loudly and enthusiastically after that. XD
Next up was "Mad Hatter" but they just did a instrumental of it, once again so Osa could do a costume change. I think it may have been the tango-ish dance number they did that really impressed me with their footwork. At the end of it the girls ran off stage with the guys chasing after them and the first night one of the girls lost a shoe during this. I actually wasn't sure if this was on purpose or not at first because one of the guys had it in his hand while he ran off after her and the way he carried it, made it seem like maybe it was supposed to happen, kinda like Cinderella losing her glass slipper type of thing. So well played there! The 2nd time, the shoe was not in his hand so that confirmed it wasn't supposed to come off. lol Also I could be wrong and this might have been during the first dance number but I think I remember this being later in the show so this time seems right.
Osa came back on stage...in this gorgeous red dress. *_* Mmph! She looked gorgeous. And she sang "Rebecca" from Rebecca das Musical and...oh my god...this song gave me chills! I haven't seen this musical but now I want to. I'm also not sure if Osa said she's going to be doing this role in the near future? Cause I think she said of all her roles, this one is her favorite and I don't remember her doing it already though I could be wrong and she may have just meant she wants to do it or that its her favorite musical. Either way I hope she does get to perform it because her voice was perfect for it and I honestly think this may have been my favorite song she did during the whole concert. Which shocked me considering I didn't think anything could beat Saigo no Dansu! I really hope there's a DVD or at least a recording somewhere eventually of her singing this because I want to listen to it...a lot.
After that she changed gears and sang "Don't Rain On My Parade" which I found amusing considering I remember someone once referred to her Der Tod as "Barbara Streisand Der Tod" when we were giving nicknames to all the Tods. XD She came into the aisle again for this, going to both sides but she didn't go down as far as she was the first time, just sang to the first few rows. But it was still nice and reminded me of her when she did the LadyOsa number in Enter the Revue. Then we went back to a more somber mood with "This can't be real". One of the guys joined her for this one, doing a lovely duet. Both of these songs were sung in Japanese and were wonderful but then again there wasn't a single song that wasn't wonderful in this concert because its Osa and she's perfect. XD
Then she sang "Watashi Dake ni". I thought it was really awesome that she did two Elisabeth songs, one representing her as Der Tod during Takarazuka and then her as Elisabeth from the Toho performance. And since they never released a DVD for the Toho Elisabeth (grrrrr), this is the closest to seeing Osabeth I'll probably ever get. It was nice seeing both sides of her like this. She also switched to a white dress somewhere around here but I forget if it was before or after this song. I know she only wore it for a brief time though it was very pretty (though I liked her red one more, personally).
Next was "Somos Novios", which I'd like to note that Osa sang as a solo instead of a duet. XD Because she's awesome like that! And this was sung in Spanish which is good because I'm not sure it'd work in Japanese as well. lol I love this song so it made me really happy to hear her sing it, even if I felt a little emotional hearing it. Then she sang "Rose" though I can't remember if she sang it in English or Japanese. Then she changed into the concert t-shirt and jeans and had her hair up again and she looked so super cute! Her back-up singers had the shirt on too and I think they did one final song but its listed in Japanese so unsure of the title. She introduced the band members and the singers during it and the second time I saw the show, she got really into this bit, totally hamming it up and doing extra cheering for each person when she called their name out. It was really super cute! She had so much energy in general during the last part of the show, it was impressive. XD She bounced around all over the place during the curtain call. The first night she was cute too but of course she was putting more energy into it for the final night at Tokyo. We also got to do the raku-style curtain call, with the curtain going up and down multiple times and we gave her a standing ovation of course! Though to be honest, I think I clapped even harder the first night to the points my hands were hurting and had less energy for the final performance. Oops. ^^;; But I still made sure to clap as much as I could with everyone else. And it was so cute seeing Osa literally bounce back and forth each time the curtain came down and each time she got down on one knee to wave at us as it came down.
The second night there was one point where during one of the songs, she was talking and then the lights go down for her to sing but then she stops and looks up and the light comes back on her and she's all "Oh oops, I forgot to introduce the song!" XD Such an adorable dork! And she said different things during her talks on both nights as well as varied her telephone skit some. But other than that, the show was mostly the same both nights.
The first night I saw the show, there was a little talk after the show ended so we all got to sit and stay for that. They stayed in the t-shirts and there was a lady conducting the interview. There was a lot said that went way over my head but I did catch some things. Like the fact that both the girls were big fans of Osa and one of them referred to her as "Kami" (basically calling Osa "her God" XD) and the other agreed, calling her it as well. Gotta agree with them on that one! XD The younger guy seemed a bit out of it as every time they asked him a question, it'd take him a while to respond and everyone made fun of him for that. The other, older guy, was much more professional about it. I think they both talked about how they met Osa but I totally couldn't follow them on that. I'm hoping if there is a DVD (they were in fact recording), that this is included on the DVD so I can try to pay more attention or have someone help me translate but who knows if it will be. I guess it might show up somewhere some day. I'm not sure if the cameras were recording the whole show or just that but they definitely were on for the talk. And if there is a DVD and they do indeed use the footage from that night, you'll probably see my stupid head when Osa went into the aisle. XD;;
I wanted to write something meaningful here at the end but I'm honestly not sure how to wrap this review up. I'm just so happy I got to see her live. I'm still sad I never got to see here in zuka as I'll admit, its not quite the same. But I love my lady no matter what and I'm so glad to see she's happy with what she's doing and still very active. I wish I could follow her better since most of the shows she's in tend to not have any DVD releases or footage put out so I can only go on the tiny preview clips that sometimes get put online and what other fans post but I do try my best to pay attention to what she's doing, the best I can.
~Lyn