(originals : Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso Musical 2022 Programme)
Ikuta Erika (cast for Miyazono Kaori)
Erika was born in Düsseldorf, Germany. While being active as a core member
of Nogizaka46, she was also performing in plenty of musical stage plays. At
the end of 2021, she graduated from Nogizaka46 after being in the group for
10 years. She continues to be active in various medias, such as becoming the
MC for NHK TV station music program 「Venue101」 from this April (2022).
Some of the notable works she performed in are 「Les Misérables」 (as
Cosette in 2017 and 2019, and as Éponine in 2021), COCOON PRODUCTION 2021
「Shibuya de Aimashou」, 「Whistle Down The Wind ~ Kegarenaki Hitomi」,
「KIREI ~ Kami-sama to Machiawaseshita Onna", "Natasha, Pierre, and The
Great Comet of 1812」, 「Romeo & Juliet」, 「Mozart!」, movie:「The
Confidence Man JP: Episode of the Hero 」 among others. She got a
Commendation Award for 「The 8th Iwatani Tokiko Awards」, and also won「The
44th Kikuta Kazuo Theatre Awards」.
What was your encounter with music that gave such an impact?
Back when I was 5 years old after moving in to a new home, I enrolled to a
music school in the neighborhood not knowing what to expect, and was shocked
to find how it was a very strict music school. It was tough since I had to
practice piano for so many hours a day and even scored in practical
examinations, not to mention about the peer pressure since the others were
such great players too. But I think I can savor musics like how I am today
because of those things. I'm glad to have continued training for 17
years.
What was the moment when you feel the world around you turned very
colorful?
It was seeing how the whole venue is bathed in the colors of penlights,
back when I was part of Nogizaka46. It was Colorful, like literally! The
bright expressions and cheers from the fans got such energies that can
blow away any worries I had in mind. Each occasion felt fresh and
touching. I hope the memories from those precious days will continue to
shine our way.
What was the most memorable thing to you within this one year?
It was year 2020. The very first State of Emergency, Stay Home period,
and the multiple cancellation of performances..... There were pains
I've experienced, yet also the comforts that were given to me. It really
is a year that I will never forget.
(P.S.: In the programme, there is also an interview with Ikuchan and the
two actors for Arima Kosei's role, but there are not many things that come
out from Ikuchan, so I'll pass on translating that for now)
My Personal Notes & Commentary:
(Please be aware that some parts contain spoilers!)
(Please be aware that some parts contain spoilers!)
I planned to go and watch this 「Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso」musical back
in 2020 when it was originally scheduled. Back then I was still in the
university, and it was like now or never since I had no guarantee yet to
continue living in Japan after that, so it was such a shame that the
play got cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. That is why I was
really happy to be able to actually watch it two years later, on the
evening performance in May 10th 2022. Having tasted how a live musical
is by watching the Curtains Musical 2022 just 2 months before it, my eyes and ears
were still hungry for more musical content.
The play was originally scheduled to be held in Brillia Hall,
Ikebukuro, back in 2020, which was pretty close to the place I was
staying. However, the venue was changed to Nissay Theatre in 2022, which
is pretty close to the place I'm currently staying (maybe it was
fate...). The theatre is quite old (opened back in 1963), but seems like
it is maintained quiet well. The interior and seating are styled like
the European opera theatre. It was kind of surprising that there were no
single bouquets or other forms of congratulatory stuff seen in the
theatre, but perhaps they didn't allow it in the first place. That day,
I went with two of my old friends who are fellow Sakamichi fans as
well. We got great seats, I would say.
I believe 「Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso / Your Lie in April」is a pretty
popular work that I assume most of you readers here know about the story.
I have watched the anime version several years ago, probably back in
2016, and I still remember the key moments of the story. That made it
easier to enjoy the songs more, because I already know what is going on
without the need to process too much of what I listened.
On that day, the main casts were Ikuta Erika as Miyazono Kaori
(obviously), Kimura Tatsunari as Arima Kosei,
Teranishi Takuto as Watari Ryota, and Yudzuki Fuuka as
Sawabe Tsubaki. The role for Arima Kosei and Watari Ryota are double
cast, so the actors playing them will be different depending on the
schedule (Koseki Yuta is the other actor for Kosei, and Kouki Mizuta is
the other actor for Watari). It is quite an unusual situation, where the
main character of the story (Arima Kosei) is double cast, while the
leading heroine isn't.
Of course, I didn't know anyone but Ikuchan, so it was quite a fresh
feeling to see how the other cast members performed. Everyone did not
just sings well, but was also singing in full voice and with emotion.
Kimura is apparently quite a veteran in theatre act, having credited in
more works than Ikuchan, including 「Romeo and Juliet 2019」. He knows
the technique to express different emotions while singing, which
is nice since it adds depth to his performance. Teranishi got a strong
vocal power and good pitch control, though he didn't really get to show
much of his vocal prowess given the nature of the songs he
performed, which were all with uplifting tunes. Yudzuki was the biggest
surprise for me. The color of her voice got that anisong artist vibe,
but I think she might be adjusting that way to fit with the original
material. She is also quite a veteran, and was performing in 「Les Misérables」back in 2017 & 2019 with Ikuchan, which made me
believe that she should be able to sing with a more opera / classical
techniques.
Okay, now for Ikuchan herself, I guess we already know how great her
vocal is. But to me, the most captivating part from her performance is
her portrayal of Kaori. I don't remember exactly how Kaori behaves in
the anime, but there are many expressions and small gestures here and
there that Ikuchan made which can really made you recall the Kaori in
the anime. She must have been studying the source material a lot, given
how she embodied the character really well. But that being said, at
least for me, there are moments where the true character of Ikuta Erika
herself were shown, which also added originality to the portrayal of
Kaori in this adaptation. I kind of felt it especially when she was
making mischievous or meme-ish expressions, which really reminded me of her in Nogizaka46 shows.
As you may know, in the story Kosei is a pianist and Kaori is
a violinist, both playing classical musics. Now, the actors and actresses
are not necessarily able to play the instruments, so they acted it out
while having the actual music playing in the background. For the
pianists, they managed to hide the fact that it was fake most of the
time, by setting the piano in such angle that the pianist's hands are
hidden from view. However, there is no way to hide the hands when
playing the violin. So, Ikuchan was also acting it out, but what's great
is that she was really trained about the bowing, fingering, and
gestures, that it looked real enough. What gave the fact that it was
fake is when the violin was played with vibrato, and you realized that
Ikuchan's left wrist is not moving at all. However, they were smart to
make the classical music performance scenes short, and they all served
like an interlude before the songs to be sung. This means, in several
scenes Ikuchan sang while making all the gestures of playing violin,
which I believe should make it more difficult for her breathing (she was
moving her entire body and sometimes even the stomach contracts).
One common aspect that I love in musicals is the use of Reprise, in
which a same song can be performed with different arrangements and
lyrics that can completely change the atmosphere of the song while still
keeping a similar theme. It's like a feeling of finding something familiar yet fresh, and also shows the
creative mind of the people behind the songs. One particular song during the show that captured me was 「Eiga Mitai ni
(Eng. title: Just Like a Movie)」. The first version of the song is
about Kosei admiring Kaori from afar, seeing her as someone he will
never be able to reach. The reprise version is about Kaori's parents
seeing how their beloved child is looking really alive when she's get
to be with Kosei, who is actually the person that she has been admiring
since her childhood. The way the parents sang it also added a tone of sadness to the
song, given that they know about Kaori's condition.
The song 「Kimi ga Wakaranai (Eng. title: Who Put You in Charge
Here)」was a duet for Kosei and Kaori, in which Kimura and Ikuchan
performed it in a very cute way. It's not just the song, but their
gestures and facial expressions were probably the most comical when
performing that song (you know how comical Ikuchan can be :D). All the
songs are great, and as I mentioned before, all the performers got
really strong vocal techniques. If anything, the drawback is that the
songs are sounding quite pop-ish, which means they might lack the punch
or character, such that they are not really memorrable. However, given
it is a "slice of life", not to mention about an everyday human life
kind of story, I think it is the right decision to do. I believe it is
also easier for people who are not really into musicals to enjoy
them.
I really enjoyed watching the play. The two years of waiting turned out
to be worthwhile. I'm sure the casts and the team behind the production
were really giving their best in each performances. The wait for them is
even longer than two years, considering that the planning for the show
was started back in 2016. It was quite a surprise to know that the song
composers, arrangers, and lyricists are all non-Japanese. There was
Frank Wildhorn as the componist & lyricist, Tracy Miller and Carly
Robyn Green as the lyricists, and Jason Howland as the arranger.
I would criticize the fact that there were really not much dialog in
the entire play, especially in the first half. For the most part, the
stories are being told through the songs, so we can have like 3 or 4
songs in succession. Such approach is actually quite common for
musicals, even for well-known musicals like「Les Misérables」for example, however personally I think such approach kind of
reducing the coherence of the story. Plus, it is harder to do a
character building only through songs. I would say that having dialogs
between songs also gives the viewers more time to rest their minds, so
that they can feel the excitement once the next song is actually
performed, and can value one and each songs more. But again, those are
just how I would prefer it.
I also think that the climax was a bit wasted given that there were no
scene involving Kosei and Kaori's parents at the very end, just like how
it was in the anime/manga. Having watched the anime myself, I think that
scene was really powerful and put the closing to both Kosei's and
Kaori's character arc and their relationship (through people closest to
Kaori, which were her parents). It's kind of a shame because that can
really be a tearjerker moment even during the live stage play.
Also... did I mention that Ikuchan was getting a piggyback ride by
Kimura in the play? Her gesture when asking for that without even
speaking was really cute 💜 (although it was also kind of a sad scene).
That was my biggest complaint! (JK 😅)
Before the curtain call, Ikuchan and Kimura went out to address the
audience. Ikuchan was kind of sharing her thoughts about how she always
tries to give her all in one and each performance for this play. The
fact that it was delayed was also one of her motivation to push herself
on each performance. She said something like "I might be performing this
play almost everyday, but for you it is something that you can only
enjoy at this very moment, so I want you to really enjoy it." After
that, Kimura was like unable to add a better closing statement (perhaps
somewhat jokingly), such that he just ended it by telling the audience
to stay alert and taking care of their health 😅.
I ended up buying the programme and CD album which contains 11 songs from the play (there
are actually more songs including the reprised versions). Though I think
there is a high chance that the play will be aired on TV someday, the
song collection might not be sold in other form, so I believe it was
worth it. Finally I ended that day by taking photo in front of the only
poster of the play, which was hung near the entrance. Taking a day off
that day just to enjoy the play was worth it. I think I will still look
up for more... 💸
(stills from the play are property of Toho Theatre Department)
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