Theorizing on inconsequential stuff that leads nowhere at all but is fun anyway
I just felt like blabbering randomly at my flist about my daydreams regarding material that I want to see Takarazuka adaptions of. I mean, where else can I do it, right? X"3
EDIT: Now with casting ideas!! :D
I realized a few days ago that I would DIE for a Takarazuka version of Theodor Storm's "Der Schimmelreiter" ("The Dykemaster"). Specifically a Bow Hall, because the hero isn't exactly your ordinary Takarazuka hero, because the cast wouldn't be all that big, and because they'd need to be creative to avoid having to dig Oscar's pegasus out of storage so Hauke can ride around on his horse.
But I want it. Like burning. For one thing, I think with the right director the atmosphere in this one would be awesomely dark and melancholy and slightly creepy in places, but pretty heart-warming in others.
For the other thing, simply for the fact that I LOVED Hauke (the hero) when we read the book in class in year 9. I got an A on the essay exam that time, because I used the text analysis/Hauke characterization for the excerpt we were given for the exam to fangirl him like crazy, and apparently my teacher at that time was a major Hauke fanboy himself. XD
And just considering who could play him has me reeling, because I can see several people NAILING that role. Morie, Kitarou, Mattsu, Tomochin, Masako... Especially the first three give me the shivers just thinking about it (No Hana or Hoshi here because I'm pretty unfamiliar with both, and of the few people that I know... no. No no no. Sorry. ^^")
Though I realize the material is hardly known outside of German speaking countries. I don't know if a Japanese translation of the book even exists. v__v"
Also, I've been saying it to personal friends pretty much since the MOMENT I discovered Takarazuka: I know it's unrealistic, because they'd either have to re-write a few characters a bit or the cast list would be INSANE, but oh god, a Takarazuka version of "Tanz der Vampire"? Would be the MOST. EPIC. THING. EVER. When I imagined Tsukigumi performing Carpe Noctem, I had to pause for a moment and take a few deep breaths as to not start squeeling and bouncing in place in the middle of the street.
But yeah, I realize the male roles in that one are anything but Takarazuka friendly, what with the only young men in the cast being Alfred and Herbert, and Herbert has not much to do at all. In fact, if you ignore the age of the characters in question, I'd say the ranking of the male characters would most probably look like this: Krolock, Alfred, Abronsius, Chagal, Herbert, Koukol.
... They COULD theoretically put one of the otokoyakus in a dress for Magda, but then there would be no female parts at all except for Sarah and Rebecca, and that's just unfair. :/
.... Maybe they could write a new, additional song for Herbert. *___* ...
... *contemplates*.....
.... Well, ok, let's say we do it the Zuka way and just cut what we don't like and create new stuff where we need it. That way we can take away at least a few of Abronsius's singing parts (we can't really cut him out of the plot, that just wouldn't make any sense at all), and make Herbert's part bigger. Maybe he can start stalking Alfred a little bit while they're still in the village, and we give him a solo somewhere in the second act, and have him hang around in Carpe Noctem... heck, we can make him one of the dancers...(we'll just ignore here that an important gay character in Zuka is pretty much unheard of. This is a daydream anyway.)
... then who the hell would we cast?
I have no choice but to work with Tsuki here, because I'm most familiar with them, and I think you need someone with experience for Krolock. Only other kumi that I'd be nearly familiar enough with would be Yuki, but there's no way I'd give Krolock to Kimu, no matter how much I adore her. Not that I'm complaining, because OMG.
Kiriyan and Marimo as Krolock and Sarah? MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN. <3<3<3
Kiriyan singing Unstillbare Gier? Both of them singing Totale Finsternis? Kiriyan, mysterious and regal and seductive and torn by his vampirism and his desire for human contact? Marimo maybe being a little bit naive in the beginning but in the long run just totally knowing what she wants and taking it without caring about who she leaves in the dust? Just... YES. YES YES YES. *0*
Now, first problem. I can totally see Mirio as Alfred, mooning over Sarah and shaking in his boots all the time and getting smacked down by Abronsius and getting molested by Herbert, but Masaki? Not so much. I mean, I love Masaki, but Alfred is just not really the character I can see her in. Masaki is the person you want to go to for intelligent, ass-kicking characters. Alfred is anything but ass-kicking for pretty much the whole play, and I wouldn't exactly call him the brightest crayon in the box, either. In fact, I think playing him would possibly bore her a little. :/
On the other hand, I can see her VERY MUCH as Krolock in a few years, but in that case I'd have to think about a cast without Kiriyan and Marimo, so no. T__T Let's cross that bridge when we have to, and not before.
Uh... Uh... >_>" ... OK, I KNOW I will be smacked for that, BUT, since we can't give her a Bow because I want Tanz der Vampire to be a Grand Theater show, because I want it to be as grand and epic as it can possibly get... I now decide she's been borrowed to Sora to play the Elisabeth to Teru's Tod. (I seriously believe Teru!Tod is going to happen next year, if that rumor about NICE GUY being a sayonara show is true. Even though Yuuhi quitting = DO NOT WANT, but oh well.) Don't look at me like that. playing Elisabeth to somebody's Tod is a HUNDRED times better than another round of BeruBara. God, I HATE BeruBara. >___>"""
So. Masaki is now off being extremely awesome and extremely beautiful somewhere else TEMPORARILY. So Mirio is Alfred. And that's that.
Now. We can't cut too much of Abronsius, that really wouldn't work with the plot. So he's still pretty important. But we can cut a little bit at least, say, one or two song reprises here and there, and maybe Hey Ho Professor, because that song always seemed like a filler to me, anyway.
And we'll make Herbert more important, because he's young and fit and hilarious, and otokoyaku groping each other can never be a bad thing.
Honestly, the only person I can see in an Einstein wig with a beard without looking too silly and working best with that kind of humor is Magee. I think Magee would ROCK Abronsius if given the chance. I thought her Parchester was genious, and Abronsius and Parchester are similar in some ways, but still different enough that she should get a challenge out of it.
That means Morie gets Herbert.
OMG HOTNESS PERSONIFIED *_______*
And for once, that would means she's on stage longer than two minutes at a stretch. Especially if we really give Herbert a solo and make him show up in the first act. \O/
He'd be quite a change from the collected, quite stoic military types that she's played lately, but. I've seen a clip of her Death's and Masaki's Rudolf's Mayerling Waltz. She can TOTALLY do it. <3<3<3<3
Now. Chagal goes to Kumichou, that is pretty much a no-brainer. Koukol isn't that big of a role, and a quite ungrateful one at that, without any singing parts, but we can give him to Seri and double cast her as one of the more prominent ensemble vampires in the second act? She'd do a better job with him than if we forced one of the babies into the hunchback, I'd imagine. We can re-use the Grapin costume. XD
With the girls, there's sadly not many roles we can play with. I guess there's not much choice but to give Magda to Rion-chan and double cast Yurino for both Rebecca and a prominent ensemble vampire in the second act to give her enough to do. I guess the other way around would work, too, but do we really have to make Rion-chan Marimo's mother? :/
As for the ensemble, I'm SLOWLY learning to recognise the more prominent shinko-age otokoyakus and those freshly out of that age, but I still tend to confuse them with each other a lot. Don't even ask about the girls, they are even harder, since they get less frequent exposure. So I won't be assigning any specific singing parts in the ensemble numbers or anything, I'm seriously not that deep in yet. X"D
But, I thought maybe the dancing trio in Carpe Noctem could go to Toshi (vampire), Shimon (nightmare Alfred) and Chapi (nightmare Sarah). Toshi really left an impression on me when I watched Dancing Heroes the other day (in fact, I thought she stole Sonoka's show a few times, especially when they sang right after each other...), and I just like all three of them a lot. <3
Speaking of Carpe Noctem. As far as the vampire trio is made of awesome, I want a LOT more ensemble dancing in the Zuka version, and it can be a little less modern and a little bit more ballet-y, too. They have the skills for that, so let them use them! Make them group jump! Make them group spin! Carpe Noctem is FAST, I want ACTION on that stage, damnit! XD
... Oh god, that came out a lot longer than I intended it to... oh, whatever. X"D
And no, I still haven't forgiven Toho for renewing Tanz der Vampire in stupid November when I'm out of the country already. >:(
EDIT: Now with casting ideas!! :D
I realized a few days ago that I would DIE for a Takarazuka version of Theodor Storm's "Der Schimmelreiter" ("The Dykemaster"). Specifically a Bow Hall, because the hero isn't exactly your ordinary Takarazuka hero, because the cast wouldn't be all that big, and because they'd need to be creative to avoid having to dig Oscar's pegasus out of storage so Hauke can ride around on his horse.
But I want it. Like burning. For one thing, I think with the right director the atmosphere in this one would be awesomely dark and melancholy and slightly creepy in places, but pretty heart-warming in others.
For the other thing, simply for the fact that I LOVED Hauke (the hero) when we read the book in class in year 9. I got an A on the essay exam that time, because I used the text analysis/Hauke characterization for the excerpt we were given for the exam to fangirl him like crazy, and apparently my teacher at that time was a major Hauke fanboy himself. XD
And just considering who could play him has me reeling, because I can see several people NAILING that role. Morie, Kitarou, Mattsu, Tomochin, Masako... Especially the first three give me the shivers just thinking about it (No Hana or Hoshi here because I'm pretty unfamiliar with both, and of the few people that I know... no. No no no. Sorry. ^^")
Though I realize the material is hardly known outside of German speaking countries. I don't know if a Japanese translation of the book even exists. v__v"
Also, I've been saying it to personal friends pretty much since the MOMENT I discovered Takarazuka: I know it's unrealistic, because they'd either have to re-write a few characters a bit or the cast list would be INSANE, but oh god, a Takarazuka version of "Tanz der Vampire"? Would be the MOST. EPIC. THING. EVER. When I imagined Tsukigumi performing Carpe Noctem, I had to pause for a moment and take a few deep breaths as to not start squeeling and bouncing in place in the middle of the street.
But yeah, I realize the male roles in that one are anything but Takarazuka friendly, what with the only young men in the cast being Alfred and Herbert, and Herbert has not much to do at all. In fact, if you ignore the age of the characters in question, I'd say the ranking of the male characters would most probably look like this: Krolock, Alfred, Abronsius, Chagal, Herbert, Koukol.
... They COULD theoretically put one of the otokoyakus in a dress for Magda, but then there would be no female parts at all except for Sarah and Rebecca, and that's just unfair. :/
.... Maybe they could write a new, additional song for Herbert. *___* ...
... *contemplates*.....
.... Well, ok, let's say we do it the Zuka way and just cut what we don't like and create new stuff where we need it. That way we can take away at least a few of Abronsius's singing parts (we can't really cut him out of the plot, that just wouldn't make any sense at all), and make Herbert's part bigger. Maybe he can start stalking Alfred a little bit while they're still in the village, and we give him a solo somewhere in the second act, and have him hang around in Carpe Noctem... heck, we can make him one of the dancers...(we'll just ignore here that an important gay character in Zuka is pretty much unheard of. This is a daydream anyway.)
... then who the hell would we cast?
I have no choice but to work with Tsuki here, because I'm most familiar with them, and I think you need someone with experience for Krolock. Only other kumi that I'd be nearly familiar enough with would be Yuki, but there's no way I'd give Krolock to Kimu, no matter how much I adore her. Not that I'm complaining, because OMG.
Kiriyan and Marimo as Krolock and Sarah? MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN. <3<3<3
Kiriyan singing Unstillbare Gier? Both of them singing Totale Finsternis? Kiriyan, mysterious and regal and seductive and torn by his vampirism and his desire for human contact? Marimo maybe being a little bit naive in the beginning but in the long run just totally knowing what she wants and taking it without caring about who she leaves in the dust? Just... YES. YES YES YES. *0*
Now, first problem. I can totally see Mirio as Alfred, mooning over Sarah and shaking in his boots all the time and getting smacked down by Abronsius and getting molested by Herbert, but Masaki? Not so much. I mean, I love Masaki, but Alfred is just not really the character I can see her in. Masaki is the person you want to go to for intelligent, ass-kicking characters. Alfred is anything but ass-kicking for pretty much the whole play, and I wouldn't exactly call him the brightest crayon in the box, either. In fact, I think playing him would possibly bore her a little. :/
On the other hand, I can see her VERY MUCH as Krolock in a few years, but in that case I'd have to think about a cast without Kiriyan and Marimo, so no. T__T Let's cross that bridge when we have to, and not before.
Uh... Uh... >_>" ... OK, I KNOW I will be smacked for that, BUT, since we can't give her a Bow because I want Tanz der Vampire to be a Grand Theater show, because I want it to be as grand and epic as it can possibly get... I now decide she's been borrowed to Sora to play the Elisabeth to Teru's Tod. (I seriously believe Teru!Tod is going to happen next year, if that rumor about NICE GUY being a sayonara show is true. Even though Yuuhi quitting = DO NOT WANT, but oh well.) Don't look at me like that. playing Elisabeth to somebody's Tod is a HUNDRED times better than another round of BeruBara. God, I HATE BeruBara. >___>"""
So. Masaki is now off being extremely awesome and extremely beautiful somewhere else TEMPORARILY. So Mirio is Alfred. And that's that.
Now. We can't cut too much of Abronsius, that really wouldn't work with the plot. So he's still pretty important. But we can cut a little bit at least, say, one or two song reprises here and there, and maybe Hey Ho Professor, because that song always seemed like a filler to me, anyway.
And we'll make Herbert more important, because he's young and fit and hilarious, and otokoyaku groping each other can never be a bad thing.
Honestly, the only person I can see in an Einstein wig with a beard without looking too silly and working best with that kind of humor is Magee. I think Magee would ROCK Abronsius if given the chance. I thought her Parchester was genious, and Abronsius and Parchester are similar in some ways, but still different enough that she should get a challenge out of it.
That means Morie gets Herbert.
OMG HOTNESS PERSONIFIED *_______*
And for once, that would means she's on stage longer than two minutes at a stretch. Especially if we really give Herbert a solo and make him show up in the first act. \O/
He'd be quite a change from the collected, quite stoic military types that she's played lately, but. I've seen a clip of her Death's and Masaki's Rudolf's Mayerling Waltz. She can TOTALLY do it. <3<3<3<3
Now. Chagal goes to Kumichou, that is pretty much a no-brainer. Koukol isn't that big of a role, and a quite ungrateful one at that, without any singing parts, but we can give him to Seri and double cast her as one of the more prominent ensemble vampires in the second act? She'd do a better job with him than if we forced one of the babies into the hunchback, I'd imagine. We can re-use the Grapin costume. XD
With the girls, there's sadly not many roles we can play with. I guess there's not much choice but to give Magda to Rion-chan and double cast Yurino for both Rebecca and a prominent ensemble vampire in the second act to give her enough to do. I guess the other way around would work, too, but do we really have to make Rion-chan Marimo's mother? :/
As for the ensemble, I'm SLOWLY learning to recognise the more prominent shinko-age otokoyakus and those freshly out of that age, but I still tend to confuse them with each other a lot. Don't even ask about the girls, they are even harder, since they get less frequent exposure. So I won't be assigning any specific singing parts in the ensemble numbers or anything, I'm seriously not that deep in yet. X"D
But, I thought maybe the dancing trio in Carpe Noctem could go to Toshi (vampire), Shimon (nightmare Alfred) and Chapi (nightmare Sarah). Toshi really left an impression on me when I watched Dancing Heroes the other day (in fact, I thought she stole Sonoka's show a few times, especially when they sang right after each other...), and I just like all three of them a lot. <3
Speaking of Carpe Noctem. As far as the vampire trio is made of awesome, I want a LOT more ensemble dancing in the Zuka version, and it can be a little less modern and a little bit more ballet-y, too. They have the skills for that, so let them use them! Make them group jump! Make them group spin! Carpe Noctem is FAST, I want ACTION on that stage, damnit! XD
Click to view... Oh god, that came out a lot longer than I intended it to... oh, whatever. X"D
And no, I still haven't forgiven Toho for renewing Tanz der Vampire in stupid November when I'm out of the country already. >:(