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angelofmusicMusical: Tanz der Vampire
Production: Live
Theatre: Imperial Theatre, Tokyo, Japan
Date: 07/07/2009
here it is: my review of Tanz der Vampire, the Tokyo production. This is the 4th production I've seen in the 4th country in the 4th language (Poland, Hungary and Germany before for the curious), and I was made entirely too giddy by this production from the moment I walked into the theatre.
They had animatronic bats whirling around on the ceiling with frantically flapping wings and glowing eyes. They had posters of every character plastered on the walls (which, afterwards, had fangs pasted onto them). They had videos of various Toho shows blasting on tellies at various parts of the lobby. And the merchandise! It was spiffy as all get out! Plus, when you bought a programme, you got a complimentary TdV fan as well :)
It's no big secret that I also adore Yuichiro Yamaguchi, who I first heard on a Cats recording 10 years ago. I have since heard him on everything from Phantom to Elisabeth, and his voice had been a source of constant squee, so hearing excerpts of him while surrounded by TdV stuff was squee-inducing.
The theatre itself follows the grand Japanese tradition of not-a-bad-seat-in-the-house. Despite being the cheapest seats available (low budget ftw!), we were on the second balcony, in a centre block of seats, and while up high, it meant we had a full, clear view of the stage, which was great. Yay for binoculars, for the close-ups.
Now, to begin at the beginning, what really impressed me about this cast was how much fun they were all having. In Germany, it was sadly a bit hit and miss, depending on cast and theatre, or even just the weather. However, this was about the 3rd day of the summer run and this is clearly a show that all of the Toho performers have a great time doing, and it showed :) It's also the most solid cast I have ever seen for this show. You're rarely able to get the full set of leads who fit together perfectly but here, they did, in spades.
The sets and design have also had a makeover. For one thing, they've upgraded their theatre, moving from a smaller one into the main Imperial one, and you can tell from the improved set designs and arrangements. With stairs and moving platforms and trapdoors, they could do exits, entrances and extensive layouts. While it still can't rival the Hungarian sets and production on design, it's a huge, huge improvement on their original set that looked cobbled together from bits from other shows.
Sequentially, they've kept the play order from the original Viennese production, which means no Roten Stiefel Song or Prayer sequence. They have, however, adjusted the Carpe Noctem sequence, so it more closely resembles the European version, although they keep the seduction and intimacy out of it ;) Plus, Alfred ends up saving the day in it which made me go o.0 I like my vampire nightmare to have nightmarish slaughtering-one's-dream-girl in it.
And alas, flailing vampire dancer is still lurking in the cemetery during Unstillbare, but since Yamaguchi was on stage, I hardly noticed said flailing vampire. All that being said, it's still definitely a big improvement on the first production.
Cast-wise, I have to start at the beginning:
Izumi Yohei as Alfred: I was completely smitten. This has never happened before. I've never been so struck by an Alfred that I've immediately wanted to pick him up and put him in my pocket, but Yohei was perfect. He had the knee-knocking fear counterbalanced by the genuine goodness and wannabe gallantry, and such wonderful facial expressions.
And the impressive thing about him - aside from the cute and the funny - was the voice. He looked like a boyband refugee, but when he opened his mouth, the voice that came out could be fragile and shaky like a schoolboy, or - when passion caught him - it would soar and it was beautiful.
Plus, chemistry :D He was so smitten on Sarah "It's a nice sponge. So..." *looks down and coughs* "er... soft") and yet, so easily almost seduced by Krolock at the end of act one. Then we have Herbert, who quite clearly terrifies him, but who he will indulge for the time being as long as it doesn't lead to blood-loss ;)
And a scene I did love was in "Sie Irren Professor" was when Krolock and Abronsius are having their epic OH NO YOU DIDN'T bitch-off, poor Alfred is desperately fighting Krolock's influence, half-crawling, trying to reach out to Krolock, then pulling back and crying out in pain when Krolock says "Alfred's soul belongs to me", and fighting so, so hard to be free.
And after he's turned (and rolled around indecorously with Sarah for a good few minutes), he and Sarah both fool silly old Abronsius, when Abronsius says "we should go" and they both bow, and follow him out into the world, grinning with their new fangs and ready to devour that world.
Ishikawa Zen as Professor Abronsius: He was just so charming and fantastically eccentric. This is the kind of Professor you would follow to the backside of nowhere, just because you really just want to see how crazy things'll get. Most Alfreds seem so submissive and cowed by Abronsius, but this Abronsius needed Alfred along, so he had his own personal fanboy, seeking approval and adulation at all times.
And a cute touch was during Wahrheit, after he'd been bashed on the head, they stuck a bandage on his head, to remind everyone of it :)
Azaki Motomu as Chagal: was having a great time with the role, but for once, it was all the girls around him who were running the show. Still, he certainly took great pleasure in his vampiring of Magda ;)
Sylvia Grab as Magda: was a lot of fun and got a lot more choreography, including sitting on top of the dead Chagal and all but lecturing at him about his failings in "Tot zu sein ist comisch". And in the Crypt sequence, she got a lot more to do, which was spiffy. She was a lovely, tough, determined Magda :)
Achiwa Satomi as Rebecca: While she only has a few scenes, she made the most of them, and one of the most touching little additions was when she was gently covering Chagal's body with a sheet. She just paused for a moment, and tenderly touched his face, then kissed him softly, a faithful wife even until the end.
What made it even better was that she showed up later in the vampire chorus. I love that they didn't hide her away, just because she was a bigger lady. She was up there, belting out songs along with the rest of them :)
Ohtsuka Chichiro as Sarah: While I really did like her a lot, I'm afraid she doesn't quite match up to Alfred. Which is another shock for me. But she really is a lovely Sarah. I love her scheming expression when she decides to woo the bath from under Alfred, all coy and playful and beckoning him out of the bathroom, before closing the door on him and practically diving headfirst in :D
Plus, this is a Sarah who does seem to get along with her boyfriend's son, which is lovely. Herbert presented her with great flare and in the finale, they were quite happily dancing off against one another (and that's something else I love about this production - Alfred and Sarah get to be in the finale :D)
Her chemistry with Yamaguchi was also lovely, with the willing seducee. She knows the danger, she sees it all, and then she sees him and quite happily throws everything away to make sure she gets him. And oh, she does :)
Keigo Yoshino as Herbert: Oh, he was love! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Rather than playing the typical gay vampire, he instead seemed to be playing it part Japanese-schoolgirl with giggles and shy hiding behind hands and part dangerous sexual predator, and the most terrifyingly wonderful aspect of this characterisation is that you never know which way he's going to turn at any given moment.
His presentation was like Daddy's Little Princess, with fond cheek-patting and indulgence from daddy, counterpointed by an absolutely filthy gesture as he bent to pick up the luggage and very deliberately gyrated his backside in the near vicinity of the startled Alfred's crotch. Of course, he then played innocent when it didn't work.
The swing between innocent and deadly happened again in Wenn Liebe. One moment, all giggles and coyness in a transparent shirt and a tassled thong and carthweeling like a giddy schoolchild, and all at once snarly savagery, prowling around the bathtub, moving like a dangerous big cat, eyes gleaming and teeth bared.
Yoshino's great at the character flips. I'd love to have a chance to see him in other roles, because he's got that rare timing that makes him so wonderfully and frighteningly unpredictable as Herbert. It's bound to make him a fascinating character performer :)
Yuichiro Yamaguchi as von Krolock: And this is the man I wanted to see the show for. And the minute he came out and started singing, the flights, the hours of travel, the tiredness, the sunburn, the bugbites were all worth it. In an audience of almost all women, the moment he started to sing, there was a communal sigh. Yes, his voice is that good. I didn't think it could be as good as the CDs suggested, but oh. Yes. Yes, it was.
He has clearly watched some of the European DVDs since 2007, because his Krolock is more elegant, more menacing and more wonderfully dignified than ever. Every movement is perfectly choreographed, and he is in utter and complete control of his body and his surroundings.
That is, until Unstillbare when he buckles and sags like a broken man on a tombstone. I think I may have been holding my breath for large portions of that song, simply so I wouldn't disturb the air and ruin the song for anyone. It was electrifying.
I fear I may have to go back to Japan again, just to hear that voice. Plus, the acting. The emoting. The dignity he brought to Krolock was wonderful, and oh, the voice. The voice.
And the icing on the cake of the whole show was having the whole cast, including Krolock, Alfred and Sarah, singing and dancing along to the reprise of Tanz der Vampire. (and apparently, Alfred gets much more flamboyant after he's turned. Who knew? :D) It was a great show and we were all grinning for hours afterwards :)
Production: Live
Theatre: Imperial Theatre, Tokyo, Japan
Date: 07/07/2009
here it is: my review of Tanz der Vampire, the Tokyo production. This is the 4th production I've seen in the 4th country in the 4th language (Poland, Hungary and Germany before for the curious), and I was made entirely too giddy by this production from the moment I walked into the theatre.
They had animatronic bats whirling around on the ceiling with frantically flapping wings and glowing eyes. They had posters of every character plastered on the walls (which, afterwards, had fangs pasted onto them). They had videos of various Toho shows blasting on tellies at various parts of the lobby. And the merchandise! It was spiffy as all get out! Plus, when you bought a programme, you got a complimentary TdV fan as well :)
It's no big secret that I also adore Yuichiro Yamaguchi, who I first heard on a Cats recording 10 years ago. I have since heard him on everything from Phantom to Elisabeth, and his voice had been a source of constant squee, so hearing excerpts of him while surrounded by TdV stuff was squee-inducing.
The theatre itself follows the grand Japanese tradition of not-a-bad-seat-in-the-house. Despite being the cheapest seats available (low budget ftw!), we were on the second balcony, in a centre block of seats, and while up high, it meant we had a full, clear view of the stage, which was great. Yay for binoculars, for the close-ups.
Now, to begin at the beginning, what really impressed me about this cast was how much fun they were all having. In Germany, it was sadly a bit hit and miss, depending on cast and theatre, or even just the weather. However, this was about the 3rd day of the summer run and this is clearly a show that all of the Toho performers have a great time doing, and it showed :) It's also the most solid cast I have ever seen for this show. You're rarely able to get the full set of leads who fit together perfectly but here, they did, in spades.
The sets and design have also had a makeover. For one thing, they've upgraded their theatre, moving from a smaller one into the main Imperial one, and you can tell from the improved set designs and arrangements. With stairs and moving platforms and trapdoors, they could do exits, entrances and extensive layouts. While it still can't rival the Hungarian sets and production on design, it's a huge, huge improvement on their original set that looked cobbled together from bits from other shows.
Sequentially, they've kept the play order from the original Viennese production, which means no Roten Stiefel Song or Prayer sequence. They have, however, adjusted the Carpe Noctem sequence, so it more closely resembles the European version, although they keep the seduction and intimacy out of it ;) Plus, Alfred ends up saving the day in it which made me go o.0 I like my vampire nightmare to have nightmarish slaughtering-one's-dream-girl in it.
And alas, flailing vampire dancer is still lurking in the cemetery during Unstillbare, but since Yamaguchi was on stage, I hardly noticed said flailing vampire. All that being said, it's still definitely a big improvement on the first production.
Cast-wise, I have to start at the beginning:
Izumi Yohei as Alfred: I was completely smitten. This has never happened before. I've never been so struck by an Alfred that I've immediately wanted to pick him up and put him in my pocket, but Yohei was perfect. He had the knee-knocking fear counterbalanced by the genuine goodness and wannabe gallantry, and such wonderful facial expressions.
And the impressive thing about him - aside from the cute and the funny - was the voice. He looked like a boyband refugee, but when he opened his mouth, the voice that came out could be fragile and shaky like a schoolboy, or - when passion caught him - it would soar and it was beautiful.
Plus, chemistry :D He was so smitten on Sarah "It's a nice sponge. So..." *looks down and coughs* "er... soft") and yet, so easily almost seduced by Krolock at the end of act one. Then we have Herbert, who quite clearly terrifies him, but who he will indulge for the time being as long as it doesn't lead to blood-loss ;)
And a scene I did love was in "Sie Irren Professor" was when Krolock and Abronsius are having their epic OH NO YOU DIDN'T bitch-off, poor Alfred is desperately fighting Krolock's influence, half-crawling, trying to reach out to Krolock, then pulling back and crying out in pain when Krolock says "Alfred's soul belongs to me", and fighting so, so hard to be free.
And after he's turned (and rolled around indecorously with Sarah for a good few minutes), he and Sarah both fool silly old Abronsius, when Abronsius says "we should go" and they both bow, and follow him out into the world, grinning with their new fangs and ready to devour that world.
Ishikawa Zen as Professor Abronsius: He was just so charming and fantastically eccentric. This is the kind of Professor you would follow to the backside of nowhere, just because you really just want to see how crazy things'll get. Most Alfreds seem so submissive and cowed by Abronsius, but this Abronsius needed Alfred along, so he had his own personal fanboy, seeking approval and adulation at all times.
And a cute touch was during Wahrheit, after he'd been bashed on the head, they stuck a bandage on his head, to remind everyone of it :)
Azaki Motomu as Chagal: was having a great time with the role, but for once, it was all the girls around him who were running the show. Still, he certainly took great pleasure in his vampiring of Magda ;)
Sylvia Grab as Magda: was a lot of fun and got a lot more choreography, including sitting on top of the dead Chagal and all but lecturing at him about his failings in "Tot zu sein ist comisch". And in the Crypt sequence, she got a lot more to do, which was spiffy. She was a lovely, tough, determined Magda :)
Achiwa Satomi as Rebecca: While she only has a few scenes, she made the most of them, and one of the most touching little additions was when she was gently covering Chagal's body with a sheet. She just paused for a moment, and tenderly touched his face, then kissed him softly, a faithful wife even until the end.
What made it even better was that she showed up later in the vampire chorus. I love that they didn't hide her away, just because she was a bigger lady. She was up there, belting out songs along with the rest of them :)
Ohtsuka Chichiro as Sarah: While I really did like her a lot, I'm afraid she doesn't quite match up to Alfred. Which is another shock for me. But she really is a lovely Sarah. I love her scheming expression when she decides to woo the bath from under Alfred, all coy and playful and beckoning him out of the bathroom, before closing the door on him and practically diving headfirst in :D
Plus, this is a Sarah who does seem to get along with her boyfriend's son, which is lovely. Herbert presented her with great flare and in the finale, they were quite happily dancing off against one another (and that's something else I love about this production - Alfred and Sarah get to be in the finale :D)
Her chemistry with Yamaguchi was also lovely, with the willing seducee. She knows the danger, she sees it all, and then she sees him and quite happily throws everything away to make sure she gets him. And oh, she does :)
Keigo Yoshino as Herbert: Oh, he was love! LOVE LOVE LOVE! Rather than playing the typical gay vampire, he instead seemed to be playing it part Japanese-schoolgirl with giggles and shy hiding behind hands and part dangerous sexual predator, and the most terrifyingly wonderful aspect of this characterisation is that you never know which way he's going to turn at any given moment.
His presentation was like Daddy's Little Princess, with fond cheek-patting and indulgence from daddy, counterpointed by an absolutely filthy gesture as he bent to pick up the luggage and very deliberately gyrated his backside in the near vicinity of the startled Alfred's crotch. Of course, he then played innocent when it didn't work.
The swing between innocent and deadly happened again in Wenn Liebe. One moment, all giggles and coyness in a transparent shirt and a tassled thong and carthweeling like a giddy schoolchild, and all at once snarly savagery, prowling around the bathtub, moving like a dangerous big cat, eyes gleaming and teeth bared.
Yoshino's great at the character flips. I'd love to have a chance to see him in other roles, because he's got that rare timing that makes him so wonderfully and frighteningly unpredictable as Herbert. It's bound to make him a fascinating character performer :)
Yuichiro Yamaguchi as von Krolock: And this is the man I wanted to see the show for. And the minute he came out and started singing, the flights, the hours of travel, the tiredness, the sunburn, the bugbites were all worth it. In an audience of almost all women, the moment he started to sing, there was a communal sigh. Yes, his voice is that good. I didn't think it could be as good as the CDs suggested, but oh. Yes. Yes, it was.
He has clearly watched some of the European DVDs since 2007, because his Krolock is more elegant, more menacing and more wonderfully dignified than ever. Every movement is perfectly choreographed, and he is in utter and complete control of his body and his surroundings.
That is, until Unstillbare when he buckles and sags like a broken man on a tombstone. I think I may have been holding my breath for large portions of that song, simply so I wouldn't disturb the air and ruin the song for anyone. It was electrifying.
I fear I may have to go back to Japan again, just to hear that voice. Plus, the acting. The emoting. The dignity he brought to Krolock was wonderful, and oh, the voice. The voice.
And the icing on the cake of the whole show was having the whole cast, including Krolock, Alfred and Sarah, singing and dancing along to the reprise of Tanz der Vampire. (and apparently, Alfred gets much more flamboyant after he's turned. Who knew? :D) It was a great show and we were all grinning for hours afterwards :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-16 06:35 pm (UTC)I saw it in Hamburg and in Warsaw (I'm Polish).
I love musicals, Mozart! is my another favorite from Michael Kunze.
Anyway, I subscribed to your journal for the meme you are doing (hope you don't mind), I can't wait to see your answers :)
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-16 06:42 pm (UTC)And you're welcome to subscribe! I always like more musical fans around :)