Takarazuka is a town outside of Osaka that is famous for it’s dance revue, also named Takarazuka. The dance revue Takarazuka is made up of 4 troupes made up of women only. There are a select few who play male roles in each musical that they perform, and they are considered the real stars. They have a huge fan base. There are performances in both Takarazuka and Tokyo and the musicals range from traditional Japanese folklore to translated European musicals. I think there’s a grand finale at the end of every show featuring the stars and the Takarazuka chorus line that has a stricking resemblance to the Rockets. Maria and I saw “Elizabeth,” an Austrian play performed in Japanese by the Snow Troup.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the actual show, but there were many pamphlets, posters, and costume pictures outside the auditorium…
This is an actress transformed into a male and female role.
These are the finale outfits for the star of the show depending on the gender of the role she played.
I had heard a lot about Takarazuka before I came to Japan, so I’m glad I got to see a performance. The show itself was exactly what I expected; it was pretty crazy, but definitely impressive. The stage was really amazing because it had a rotating center. The only thing that surprised me was that there weren’t any obsessive screaming fans. I had heard so much about the cult-like following but I really didn’t see it. I could understand some of the Japanese, but not enough to really know what was going on without the English summary we read beforehand.
No comments:
Post a Comment