My One and Only report
This is Sakamoto-kun's latest butai, the broadway musical with songs composed by the infamous Gershwin brothers.
Please click here for a list of the cast:
Masayuki Sakamoto - Captain Billy Buck Chandler
Miho Ohwada - Edith Herbert
Yuga Yamato - Mickey
Soma Suzuki - Prince Nikolai (Nikki)
Jay Kabira - Mr. Magix
The scene opens with the ensemble singing 「邪魔しないで」(I can't be bothered now) and the back curtain lifts up to reveal Billy hanging from a parachute. He sings a few lines and exits to the left. Scene change, and we see a train pulling into the station. Photographers are milling around to catch a glimpse of the showgirls from the new club, "Switch", which is managed by Prince Nikolai, or Nikki as he is preferred to be called. He introduces the showgirls, with the final person to step of the train, the star of Switch, Ms. Edith Herbert. It is at this time that Billy comes to collect his new propeller from the train personnel, and he sees Edith for the first time. Struck by her beauty, he sings 「言葉探して」(Blah Blah Blah), while she is busy striking poses for the photographers. He finishes singing and exits to the left. Edith and the showgirls then sing and dance to 「邪魔しないで」 and the lights dim.
Next, we see Billy rolling into the hangar, in his plane, "Lone Star". Mickey asks him why was he flying erratically earlier, to which Billy just tells her not to worry. She then asks him about the new propeller, which he promptly brings out, as she reads out loud the article in the newspaper that was written about him. It was just a one-liner about a man attempting to fly non-stop from New York to Paris, without even a mention of his name! Billy is upset and he passes the propeller to Mickey, while he grabs the newspaper off her and starts reading. He comes across the article on the interview with Edith. On the right side of the stage, we see Edith re-enacting the interview by the reporter. The reporter says: Ms Herbert, the men readers are absolutely dying to know what your ideal man is. Edith then breaks into the song 「男性求む」 (Boy Wanted) {you can watch the scene from this original performance by Tommy Tune and Twiggy here}. Then Billy sings 「もうすぐ」 (Soon). The song ends and Edith and the reporter exit the stage.
Next is the conversation between Billy & Mickey:
B: Mickey, am I a boring person?
M: No... rather you're just a hick.
B: So, can you say I am cool?
M: Cool... well that is not a word that comes to mind when describing you
B: Ja, what comes to your mind then?
M: Hmm...if we are to describe in terms of smell, burnt.
The Reverend Montgomery enters the scene, and invites Billy to his club, Havana. He tries to get Billy to attend by telling him that Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin will be there, but to no avail. Then he mentions that Edith Herbert will be there, and Billy immediately agrees to go uptown with him. Unfortunately, Billy in his overalls and country bumpkin way falls way below Edith's ideal man, and he starts to fret about meeting her as he is. The Rev. then brings Billy to Mr. Magix Emporium, who will help to polish up Billy.
Mr. Magix gives Billy a make-over, singing to (High Hat / Sweet and Low) and teaches Billy to tap dance. At one point in time, the lights are all dimmed, and what we see are only the luminous white hats, gloves and canes of the ensemble and Billy, tap dancing in the dark. The scene changes, and we see Billy entering the club Havana, asking the Reverend about the celebs who are said to be attending. He is early, as Edith and Prince Nikki will normally only arrive after 11 p.m.
Soon it turns 11, and we see Nikki and Edith entering the club. Holding his top hat in his arms, and speaking in a suave manner, Billy asks Edith to dance. As she turns to look at him, she falls in love with him, and breaks into the song 「言葉探して」(Blah Blah Blah). When she is about to take his hand, Nikki grabs her hand and tells Billy, "Miss Herbert does not dance". Billy then asks, "Does Miss Herbert not speak?", to which Nikki just reiterated that Miss Herbert does not dance. Billy has no choice but to walk away, and he leaves the club dejected.
Edith is angry with Nikki, for not letting her have any fun. Nikki tells her, "Fun is the start to romance", and Edith asks then, "Can I not have a little romance in my life?". Nikki tells her, "if you seek romance, go to the cinema". Edith tells him she is tired of it all and would like to quit the club and leave Nikki. He reminds her that he holds her passport, and he also has incriminating photos of her, taken when she was 17 years old. They argue further, and Edith calls him an asshole and storms out of the club. Nikki follows suit. The scene that follows is about Club Havana choosing its Queen and being raided by the police in the end.
The scene then changes to the cinema. We see Edith going to her seat, and watching the show titled 「モロッコ捕れたの踊り子」 (The dancer captured in Morocco). The story is about how a enslaved dancer girl falls in love with a soldier, but doesn't think she deserves him, and thus begs to be left behind. But the soldier rescues her and the ending sees them kissing. The movie is actually made of still black and white shots, and the dancer and heroine are actually Ohwada Miho and Sakamoto. As Edith watches the movie, Billy walks him and shouts out loud in surprise, "Miss Herbert! Fancy meeting you here! What a small world we live in". Edith asks Billy, "Ne, are you following me?", and he says, "Yes.". She tells him to stop that, and tries to ignore him. He keeps bugging her by offering her peppermint, popcorn, raisins, pistachios and cotton candy. She finally accepts the cotton candy as long as he promises to stay quiet after that. They break into a song 「恋する２人」 (He loves She loves). When the movie ends, as Edith walks away, Billy invites her to dinner. She told him it is not possible and requests that he leaves her alone, and promptly runs out of the cinema.
Billy chases her to outside the cinema, and calls out to her to stop. She then starts to chatter incessantly about how she belongs to another man, and that they can never be. Billy grabs her ad kisses her to shut her up. They then started dancing to represent how they slowly fall for each other. Tap dancing without the tap shoes. Next, we see them walking hand in hand and kissing in Central Park, only to have Nikki see them. He hears Edith asking Billy where he is flying off to next, and if he requires a passport to land in foreign places. He tells her no, and so she asks him to take her along with him to Paris. The plane will not make it to Paris with two people on the plane, he tells her. So she asks for other destinations, like Havana. Even though Billy has planned on flying to Jersey tomorrow, he acquiesces to her request to fly to Havana with her instead. He walks her home, and they promise to meet at the hangar tomorrow morning.
Scene change, and we see Nikki at the hangar. As smokes his cigar, Mickey comes across him, and tells him off for smoking in a place where there are gasoline tanks around. She tells him to get lost, and goes to the back to the stage. Nikki gets a great idea, and he empties out the gasoline tank and refills it with water. Mickey hears sounds and comes back in, thinking it is Billy that has arrived. Nikki hits her over the head with a wrench and ties and gags her up. Billy arrives at the hangar, and not finding Mickey, he tanks up the Lone Star himself. Edith arrives with two big suitcases, telling Billy she wasn't sure what to bring along, and this decided to bring everything. They fly off, only to crash later.
They are stranded on a deserted beach, and start to sing 「S'Wonderful」 (Broadway version here). Edith starts playing with the tide, and soon the two of them are tap dancing in the water. Only to have Mickey and Nikki arrive with the coast guard. Mickey tells Billy about how she was hit on the head, and that the gasoline was switched with water. She suspects it to be the work of Edith, but she protests that it cannot be so, since she herself is getting on the plane. Mickey goes t check out the Lone Star, and Nikki asks Edith to leave with him. She refuses, as she is not on foreign ground and hence he no longer has control over her. He sneers at her and says, "foreign ground? You are on Staten Island, over there is the Statue of Liberty and behind you is Manhattan!" He then tells Billy that Edith is but using him to try and get out of America without a passport. Billy asks her for the truth, and she tells him in the beginning she was using him, but everything she'd said here were the truth. She decides to leave with Nikki, as he still holds the photos from her past. Disappointed, Billy vows to pursue his dream of being the first person to fly non-stop to Paris, singing 「響け バンド」 (Strike up the Band). End of Act I.
Act II opens with the showgirls at Switch practising their new routine. They finish their practise, and Edith comes running in. Nikki asks her for the reason behind her being late, to which she answers offhandedly, "I was too full". Nikki grabs her and gives her a hug, and asks her to return back to the way she was. She pushes him away, shouting, "Get your hands off me, asshole!". Nikki flies into a rage, reprimanding her for calling him an asshole, twice. Ever since she laid eyes on Billy, she thinks of him as dirt. He then tells her, "For your own good, get your act together, and revert to the way you were before" and he storms off. She starts to sing, 「出来たら上出たら」 (Nice Work if You Can Get It).
The scene changes, and we see Billy going back to Mr. Magix, seeking his advice. He asks Mr. Magix how he should go round winning back Edith because he loves her even though she has a past. Mr. Magix and Billy tap dance and sing 「My One and Only」. Mr. Magix tells Billy, "you are trying to be her One and Only, but you should be telling her that she is your One and Only". Inspired, Billy tries to locate Edith, only to find out that Switch has closed down and the girls are all leaving on the 12:10 train. He rushes to the station, but he doesn't see Edith, only the rest of the showgirls. When he asks them for her whereabouts, they are all angry and couldn't be bothered. Seems Edith left, and so Nikki thinks that no one will come to Switch without Edith and thus decides to close down the show and let the girls go. As the train pulls out of the station, finally one of the showgirls tells Billy, "Edith has gone to Morocco".
Nikki goes to the hangar, and points a gun at Mickey, demanding to know the whereabouts of Edith. Mickey knows nothing, but she tells him that Billy has requested her to fill up the Lone Star. He must be going after Edith, but she knows not where. Billy runs into the hangar, and as Nikki turns to look at him, Mickey draws out her gun and shoots him. Billy is shocked that Mickey has shot the Prince, but as Mickey reveals. Nikki is not a Prince, but actually a Russian spy. Mickey herself is actually FBI agent Lucy Ann Ferguson, and she has been assigned to look after Billy, since Nikki's target are the American pilots. Billy apologises for not having the time to listen to Mickey, as he rushes to fly off to Morocco. Nikki gives Edith's old photos to Billy, and looking at them, Billy suddenly breaks into a grin and goes, "these are great!" and flies away. Mickey tends to Nikki's wound, and she admits that she has fallen in love with him, while learning all about him in her pursuit of him. They sing 「Funny Face」 and the stage dims.
Next we see a Moroccan bar, where the soldiers are all excited over the belly dancing girls. Billy arrives and tries to identify Edith, but he can't as they are all veiled up. So he sings 「My One and Only」, tap dancing to their belly dancing, as he tries to find out which one amongst them is Edith. Halfway through the song, they hear on radio, that Charles Lindbergh had flown non-stop to Paris. Everyone walks off to celebrate, while Edith unveils herself and offers her sympathy to Billy. He is not that affected, as he had flown non-stop from New York to Morocco, but it's just that no one knows of it. As per what Edith once told him, it is good enough that he knows, and if he is lucky, then his other half will be there to share the good news too. Billy proposes to Edith. She refuses by stealing a line from the movie, "This is where I belong and this is where I shall stay". He convinces her to marry him, and as a finale, we see them getting married back in New York.
The End.
Please click here for a list of the cast:
Masayuki Sakamoto - Captain Billy Buck Chandler
Miho Ohwada - Edith Herbert
Yuga Yamato - Mickey
Soma Suzuki - Prince Nikolai (Nikki)
Jay Kabira - Mr. Magix
The scene opens with the ensemble singing 「邪魔しないで」(I can't be bothered now) and the back curtain lifts up to reveal Billy hanging from a parachute. He sings a few lines and exits to the left. Scene change, and we see a train pulling into the station. Photographers are milling around to catch a glimpse of the showgirls from the new club, "Switch", which is managed by Prince Nikolai, or Nikki as he is preferred to be called. He introduces the showgirls, with the final person to step of the train, the star of Switch, Ms. Edith Herbert. It is at this time that Billy comes to collect his new propeller from the train personnel, and he sees Edith for the first time. Struck by her beauty, he sings 「言葉探して」(Blah Blah Blah), while she is busy striking poses for the photographers. He finishes singing and exits to the left. Edith and the showgirls then sing and dance to 「邪魔しないで」 and the lights dim.
Next, we see Billy rolling into the hangar, in his plane, "Lone Star". Mickey asks him why was he flying erratically earlier, to which Billy just tells her not to worry. She then asks him about the new propeller, which he promptly brings out, as she reads out loud the article in the newspaper that was written about him. It was just a one-liner about a man attempting to fly non-stop from New York to Paris, without even a mention of his name! Billy is upset and he passes the propeller to Mickey, while he grabs the newspaper off her and starts reading. He comes across the article on the interview with Edith. On the right side of the stage, we see Edith re-enacting the interview by the reporter. The reporter says: Ms Herbert, the men readers are absolutely dying to know what your ideal man is. Edith then breaks into the song 「男性求む」 (Boy Wanted) {you can watch the scene from this original performance by Tommy Tune and Twiggy here}. Then Billy sings 「もうすぐ」 (Soon). The song ends and Edith and the reporter exit the stage.
Next is the conversation between Billy & Mickey:
B: Mickey, am I a boring person?
M: No... rather you're just a hick.
B: So, can you say I am cool?
M: Cool... well that is not a word that comes to mind when describing you
B: Ja, what comes to your mind then?
M: Hmm...if we are to describe in terms of smell, burnt.
The Reverend Montgomery enters the scene, and invites Billy to his club, Havana. He tries to get Billy to attend by telling him that Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin will be there, but to no avail. Then he mentions that Edith Herbert will be there, and Billy immediately agrees to go uptown with him. Unfortunately, Billy in his overalls and country bumpkin way falls way below Edith's ideal man, and he starts to fret about meeting her as he is. The Rev. then brings Billy to Mr. Magix Emporium, who will help to polish up Billy.
Mr. Magix gives Billy a make-over, singing to (High Hat / Sweet and Low) and teaches Billy to tap dance. At one point in time, the lights are all dimmed, and what we see are only the luminous white hats, gloves and canes of the ensemble and Billy, tap dancing in the dark. The scene changes, and we see Billy entering the club Havana, asking the Reverend about the celebs who are said to be attending. He is early, as Edith and Prince Nikki will normally only arrive after 11 p.m.
Soon it turns 11, and we see Nikki and Edith entering the club. Holding his top hat in his arms, and speaking in a suave manner, Billy asks Edith to dance. As she turns to look at him, she falls in love with him, and breaks into the song 「言葉探して」(Blah Blah Blah). When she is about to take his hand, Nikki grabs her hand and tells Billy, "Miss Herbert does not dance". Billy then asks, "Does Miss Herbert not speak?", to which Nikki just reiterated that Miss Herbert does not dance. Billy has no choice but to walk away, and he leaves the club dejected.
Edith is angry with Nikki, for not letting her have any fun. Nikki tells her, "Fun is the start to romance", and Edith asks then, "Can I not have a little romance in my life?". Nikki tells her, "if you seek romance, go to the cinema". Edith tells him she is tired of it all and would like to quit the club and leave Nikki. He reminds her that he holds her passport, and he also has incriminating photos of her, taken when she was 17 years old. They argue further, and Edith calls him an asshole and storms out of the club. Nikki follows suit. The scene that follows is about Club Havana choosing its Queen and being raided by the police in the end.
The scene then changes to the cinema. We see Edith going to her seat, and watching the show titled 「モロッコ捕れたの踊り子」 (The dancer captured in Morocco). The story is about how a enslaved dancer girl falls in love with a soldier, but doesn't think she deserves him, and thus begs to be left behind. But the soldier rescues her and the ending sees them kissing. The movie is actually made of still black and white shots, and the dancer and heroine are actually Ohwada Miho and Sakamoto. As Edith watches the movie, Billy walks him and shouts out loud in surprise, "Miss Herbert! Fancy meeting you here! What a small world we live in". Edith asks Billy, "Ne, are you following me?", and he says, "Yes.". She tells him to stop that, and tries to ignore him. He keeps bugging her by offering her peppermint, popcorn, raisins, pistachios and cotton candy. She finally accepts the cotton candy as long as he promises to stay quiet after that. They break into a song 「恋する２人」 (He loves She loves). When the movie ends, as Edith walks away, Billy invites her to dinner. She told him it is not possible and requests that he leaves her alone, and promptly runs out of the cinema.
Billy chases her to outside the cinema, and calls out to her to stop. She then starts to chatter incessantly about how she belongs to another man, and that they can never be. Billy grabs her ad kisses her to shut her up. They then started dancing to represent how they slowly fall for each other. Tap dancing without the tap shoes. Next, we see them walking hand in hand and kissing in Central Park, only to have Nikki see them. He hears Edith asking Billy where he is flying off to next, and if he requires a passport to land in foreign places. He tells her no, and so she asks him to take her along with him to Paris. The plane will not make it to Paris with two people on the plane, he tells her. So she asks for other destinations, like Havana. Even though Billy has planned on flying to Jersey tomorrow, he acquiesces to her request to fly to Havana with her instead. He walks her home, and they promise to meet at the hangar tomorrow morning.
Scene change, and we see Nikki at the hangar. As smokes his cigar, Mickey comes across him, and tells him off for smoking in a place where there are gasoline tanks around. She tells him to get lost, and goes to the back to the stage. Nikki gets a great idea, and he empties out the gasoline tank and refills it with water. Mickey hears sounds and comes back in, thinking it is Billy that has arrived. Nikki hits her over the head with a wrench and ties and gags her up. Billy arrives at the hangar, and not finding Mickey, he tanks up the Lone Star himself. Edith arrives with two big suitcases, telling Billy she wasn't sure what to bring along, and this decided to bring everything. They fly off, only to crash later.
They are stranded on a deserted beach, and start to sing 「S'Wonderful」 (Broadway version here). Edith starts playing with the tide, and soon the two of them are tap dancing in the water. Only to have Mickey and Nikki arrive with the coast guard. Mickey tells Billy about how she was hit on the head, and that the gasoline was switched with water. She suspects it to be the work of Edith, but she protests that it cannot be so, since she herself is getting on the plane. Mickey goes t check out the Lone Star, and Nikki asks Edith to leave with him. She refuses, as she is not on foreign ground and hence he no longer has control over her. He sneers at her and says, "foreign ground? You are on Staten Island, over there is the Statue of Liberty and behind you is Manhattan!" He then tells Billy that Edith is but using him to try and get out of America without a passport. Billy asks her for the truth, and she tells him in the beginning she was using him, but everything she'd said here were the truth. She decides to leave with Nikki, as he still holds the photos from her past. Disappointed, Billy vows to pursue his dream of being the first person to fly non-stop to Paris, singing 「響け バンド」 (Strike up the Band). End of Act I.
Act II opens with the showgirls at Switch practising their new routine. They finish their practise, and Edith comes running in. Nikki asks her for the reason behind her being late, to which she answers offhandedly, "I was too full". Nikki grabs her and gives her a hug, and asks her to return back to the way she was. She pushes him away, shouting, "Get your hands off me, asshole!". Nikki flies into a rage, reprimanding her for calling him an asshole, twice. Ever since she laid eyes on Billy, she thinks of him as dirt. He then tells her, "For your own good, get your act together, and revert to the way you were before" and he storms off. She starts to sing, 「出来たら上出たら」 (Nice Work if You Can Get It).
The scene changes, and we see Billy going back to Mr. Magix, seeking his advice. He asks Mr. Magix how he should go round winning back Edith because he loves her even though she has a past. Mr. Magix and Billy tap dance and sing 「My One and Only」. Mr. Magix tells Billy, "you are trying to be her One and Only, but you should be telling her that she is your One and Only". Inspired, Billy tries to locate Edith, only to find out that Switch has closed down and the girls are all leaving on the 12:10 train. He rushes to the station, but he doesn't see Edith, only the rest of the showgirls. When he asks them for her whereabouts, they are all angry and couldn't be bothered. Seems Edith left, and so Nikki thinks that no one will come to Switch without Edith and thus decides to close down the show and let the girls go. As the train pulls out of the station, finally one of the showgirls tells Billy, "Edith has gone to Morocco".
Nikki goes to the hangar, and points a gun at Mickey, demanding to know the whereabouts of Edith. Mickey knows nothing, but she tells him that Billy has requested her to fill up the Lone Star. He must be going after Edith, but she knows not where. Billy runs into the hangar, and as Nikki turns to look at him, Mickey draws out her gun and shoots him. Billy is shocked that Mickey has shot the Prince, but as Mickey reveals. Nikki is not a Prince, but actually a Russian spy. Mickey herself is actually FBI agent Lucy Ann Ferguson, and she has been assigned to look after Billy, since Nikki's target are the American pilots. Billy apologises for not having the time to listen to Mickey, as he rushes to fly off to Morocco. Nikki gives Edith's old photos to Billy, and looking at them, Billy suddenly breaks into a grin and goes, "these are great!" and flies away. Mickey tends to Nikki's wound, and she admits that she has fallen in love with him, while learning all about him in her pursuit of him. They sing 「Funny Face」 and the stage dims.
Next we see a Moroccan bar, where the soldiers are all excited over the belly dancing girls. Billy arrives and tries to identify Edith, but he can't as they are all veiled up. So he sings 「My One and Only」, tap dancing to their belly dancing, as he tries to find out which one amongst them is Edith. Halfway through the song, they hear on radio, that Charles Lindbergh had flown non-stop to Paris. Everyone walks off to celebrate, while Edith unveils herself and offers her sympathy to Billy. He is not that affected, as he had flown non-stop from New York to Morocco, but it's just that no one knows of it. As per what Edith once told him, it is good enough that he knows, and if he is lucky, then his other half will be there to share the good news too. Billy proposes to Edith. She refuses by stealing a line from the movie, "This is where I belong and this is where I shall stay". He convinces her to marry him, and as a finale, we see them getting married back in New York.
The End.