Roman Holiday | Umegei Main Hall | August 12th, 2016
So, as we all know, I'm a huge fan of classic American movies, so I was really looking forward to watching this show. I wasn't disappointed...
For those of you who aren't familiar with the plot, here's a quick breakdown. Roman Holiday follows an Royal Princess who is on a whirlwind tour of Europe, and is about the edge of a mental breakdown from the toll of being constantly on display and running from event to event. Her handlers bring in a doctor to dope her up after she has a fit. When her handlers leave her alone to sleep she sneaks out of her rooms and out of the building, into the city of Rome. She finds her way to a bench just as a wandering American journalist down on his luck wanders by and gets entangled with what he presumes is just another drunk woman. The next morning after he takes her home and puts her to bed on his chair he goes to work to find out the drunk woman he left on his couch is actually is the suddenly taken ill princess.In a fit of inspiration he wheedles a promise of a large sum of money from his boss if he could get a huge scoop. Dragging his photographer friend along for the ride decides to take the unsuspecting Princess on a day trip of Rome she won't forget, and in turn get himself an unforgettable scoop.
This was the perfect type of Takarazuka show for Chigi and Miyu. This show largely revolves around the trio of main characters, Joe Bradley (Chigi), Princess Anna (Miyu) and Bradley's photographer friend Irving Radovich (Shou). The rest of the characters are bit characters and flit in and offstage to provide comic relief as hyjinks ensue. They are background to wonderful chemistry of Chigi and Miyu.
Chigi was perfect in the role of Bradley. Chigi has this charm about her that makes her so appealing in these types of roles. She's equal parts earnest charm and oil to get away with whatever hyjinks her character get's involved with. She also wears a suit like she was born to do it.
Miyu was equally as lovely as Princess Anna. You could see how conscious she was of her body language in attempting to mimic the poise of Audrey Heburn from the film. It was remarkable how well she managed to pull it off, even when her character was doped up to her ears. Miyu is one of those actresses that I always take time to warm up to for some reason. While I liked her opening portrayal of Princess Anna in the reception hall, she didn't blow me away. I found myself wanting more from her, she didn't seem nearly as frustrated as I think the character was. Nor desperate enough for an escape to warrant sneaking out. However, when Chigi entered the picture something about her instantly changed. I think my problem is that I think she needs somebody to play off to really engage me as an audience member. That's the beauty of Chigi or her as a combi. They play of each other so magically. The riding around a vespa and cause havoc was amazing.
That's what makes this show, their chemistry. The moment they start to interact the show goes from cute, fluffy and a touch boring to something magical. They are the power behind this entire production. I tried to imagine other top combi's trying to pull this show off right now, and I don't think there is another that could do it quite like they did. Chigi's strength in my book has always been acting, and Miyu rises to her challenge.
Moments I loved: Bradley shoving Anna into his bathroom with his Pajamas. He turns and on his face is just pure exasperation, but a slight smirk as he hears Anna humming from the bathroom. The scene with the La Bocca della Verità (Hand of Truth), in which they embrace and you can feel the moment the characters realize what they are doing, but neither of them want to let that precious moment go so they just stand there for a few beats. And the final scene *sigh* you could cut their tension with a knife.
In the trio of main characters I included Shou as Irving, which I would consider the nibante role of the producation. Shou was good at what she did, I can't say I was blown away. I think this is all my head because I am now used to seeing Chigi be backed up by somebody who is a better singer than Shou is. I loved her makeup and beard though.
Other prominent roles were held by Hoshino Anri as Irving's Girlfriend. I always forget how dynamite she is since she's fallen off the star track. During the finale dance I realized that if Manase Mira from Cosmos is my #armgoal girl then Anri is def my #thighgoal girl. Thighs to die for. Tsukishiro Kanato was the Italian hairdresser who fell in love with Anna after cutting her hair off. This role fell flat for me, which is no surprise. In a play set in Italy where all the background characters are Italian, I thought the over the top Italian stereotype was a bit too much. Very Ai-chan in Top Hat, but without the charm that was inherent in the flamingly gay Bernadetti. I did however love how she protrayed her constant exasperation at running into Bradley, the dreaded cockblock standing between him and Anna.
Overall, if you are a fan of Chigi and Miyu as a combi I would recommend you buy this show. Outside of the top combi, I thought the plot was good (being as it was an almost perfect copy of the movie) but the music wasn't memorable and the filler scenes were cute but nobody else really stood out. All the minor characters are just that, minor. And it wasn't just that the music wasn't memorable, it also lacked all the vocal strength of current yukigumi. Most of the vocally inclined underclassmen were sent to the vocally intense Don Juan cast. Not memorable and not strong. That being said, good pronunciation. I won't be purchasing the dvd, but I will watch it once I get a skystage recording of it.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the plot, here's a quick breakdown. Roman Holiday follows an Royal Princess who is on a whirlwind tour of Europe, and is about the edge of a mental breakdown from the toll of being constantly on display and running from event to event. Her handlers bring in a doctor to dope her up after she has a fit. When her handlers leave her alone to sleep she sneaks out of her rooms and out of the building, into the city of Rome. She finds her way to a bench just as a wandering American journalist down on his luck wanders by and gets entangled with what he presumes is just another drunk woman. The next morning after he takes her home and puts her to bed on his chair he goes to work to find out the drunk woman he left on his couch is actually is the suddenly taken ill princess.In a fit of inspiration he wheedles a promise of a large sum of money from his boss if he could get a huge scoop. Dragging his photographer friend along for the ride decides to take the unsuspecting Princess on a day trip of Rome she won't forget, and in turn get himself an unforgettable scoop.
This was the perfect type of Takarazuka show for Chigi and Miyu. This show largely revolves around the trio of main characters, Joe Bradley (Chigi), Princess Anna (Miyu) and Bradley's photographer friend Irving Radovich (Shou). The rest of the characters are bit characters and flit in and offstage to provide comic relief as hyjinks ensue. They are background to wonderful chemistry of Chigi and Miyu.
Chigi was perfect in the role of Bradley. Chigi has this charm about her that makes her so appealing in these types of roles. She's equal parts earnest charm and oil to get away with whatever hyjinks her character get's involved with. She also wears a suit like she was born to do it.
Miyu was equally as lovely as Princess Anna. You could see how conscious she was of her body language in attempting to mimic the poise of Audrey Heburn from the film. It was remarkable how well she managed to pull it off, even when her character was doped up to her ears. Miyu is one of those actresses that I always take time to warm up to for some reason. While I liked her opening portrayal of Princess Anna in the reception hall, she didn't blow me away. I found myself wanting more from her, she didn't seem nearly as frustrated as I think the character was. Nor desperate enough for an escape to warrant sneaking out. However, when Chigi entered the picture something about her instantly changed. I think my problem is that I think she needs somebody to play off to really engage me as an audience member. That's the beauty of Chigi or her as a combi. They play of each other so magically. The riding around a vespa and cause havoc was amazing.
That's what makes this show, their chemistry. The moment they start to interact the show goes from cute, fluffy and a touch boring to something magical. They are the power behind this entire production. I tried to imagine other top combi's trying to pull this show off right now, and I don't think there is another that could do it quite like they did. Chigi's strength in my book has always been acting, and Miyu rises to her challenge.
Moments I loved: Bradley shoving Anna into his bathroom with his Pajamas. He turns and on his face is just pure exasperation, but a slight smirk as he hears Anna humming from the bathroom. The scene with the La Bocca della Verità (Hand of Truth), in which they embrace and you can feel the moment the characters realize what they are doing, but neither of them want to let that precious moment go so they just stand there for a few beats. And the final scene *sigh* you could cut their tension with a knife.
In the trio of main characters I included Shou as Irving, which I would consider the nibante role of the producation. Shou was good at what she did, I can't say I was blown away. I think this is all my head because I am now used to seeing Chigi be backed up by somebody who is a better singer than Shou is. I loved her makeup and beard though.
Other prominent roles were held by Hoshino Anri as Irving's Girlfriend. I always forget how dynamite she is since she's fallen off the star track. During the finale dance I realized that if Manase Mira from Cosmos is my #armgoal girl then Anri is def my #thighgoal girl. Thighs to die for. Tsukishiro Kanato was the Italian hairdresser who fell in love with Anna after cutting her hair off. This role fell flat for me, which is no surprise. In a play set in Italy where all the background characters are Italian, I thought the over the top Italian stereotype was a bit too much. Very Ai-chan in Top Hat, but without the charm that was inherent in the flamingly gay Bernadetti. I did however love how she protrayed her constant exasperation at running into Bradley, the dreaded cockblock standing between him and Anna.
Overall, if you are a fan of Chigi and Miyu as a combi I would recommend you buy this show. Outside of the top combi, I thought the plot was good (being as it was an almost perfect copy of the movie) but the music wasn't memorable and the filler scenes were cute but nobody else really stood out. All the minor characters are just that, minor. And it wasn't just that the music wasn't memorable, it also lacked all the vocal strength of current yukigumi. Most of the vocally inclined underclassmen were sent to the vocally intense Don Juan cast. Not memorable and not strong. That being said, good pronunciation. I won't be purchasing the dvd, but I will watch it once I get a skystage recording of it.