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yukinojouFirst of my long-overdue reviews - Tales of Hoffman (Mirio/Morie version) will be coming up next.
Between the basis for the story and the play digest, I knew that the 2008-2009 smaller-stage Snow outing was one I had to get. It was my birthday present to myself, and it didn't disappoint. Consider yourselves warned for a lot of superlatives in the following review!
General remarks
The story takes only a snapshot of the long Dostoyevsky book, throwing away almost everything except Dmitriy's main plotline, but it gives the actresses a lot of emotional depth to play with. It's those emotions that are the focus of a delirious, hypnotic play. The music underscores it, with strong rhythms and frequent repetitions from an echoing choir. My first impression was that it didn't sound like a Takarazuka score at all, and indeed Terashima Tamiya is an outside composer with many film soundtracks on his slate (including Miyazaki's Tales of the Earthsea), as well as the main theme for El Halcon. His composing style reminds me of Sylvester Levay, the way he takes these strong motifs and weaves them together in various ways.
The sets are functional and barely sketched, which lets the costumes catch the eye. I was impressed by the research that went into them - they're clearly Russian-inspired, but in ways that work for the characters, with a lot of embroidery and dark colours as well as occasional fur. Even the proportions of the coats are true to form, rather than generic Takarazuka. My only objections were to the "folk" costumes of the ensemble dance scenes, but then they're much better than the Revue's attempts at say, Native Americans. On the makeup front, Mizu's scruffy stubble in the final scene fits her surprisingly well, but some of the other beards are rather... awe-inspiring.
All in all, this is mainly a talking and singing show, with a lot of dramatic sequences (and good fight choreography, because it's Mizu after all). There's less dancing, with the exception of the folk dancing and Ivan's Devil, more on whom below. The songs make up for it, because they're damnably catchy.
It's the acting that stands out. Snow Troupe is the balanced one, but here they go all out with the emotions and the madness, no restraints whatsoever. It's similar to El Halcon that way, but with even more focus on the characters' inner turmoil. More Russian that way ;) For all that major parts of the book's plot are cut away, the spirit remains.
Cast
The mark of a good show, for me, is when you can name and remember a dozen background roles that were played just as well as the leads. Here, Ouju Hirari and Isaki Maoto as the prosecutor and defender are the epitome of minor roles that are little character-sketch masterpieces. This was their sayonara show, and they were each given a moment to shine against the top stars, a moment of intensity that even with all else that happens, with all the command performances from Snow Troupe's top tier, remains with you. Isaki Maoto in particular was absolutely adorable.
Oonagi Mao played Pan Musiałowicz, and for all that she isn't promoted lately, she's got a presence and voice and command that makes me think it's a pity. She's another who stands up to Mizu's Dmitriy with dignity and is a very good foil for Tonami. Her Musiałowicz has this fey dignity to him, crossed with pettiness, that's very true to form. I may be in need of a Polish!Sienne icon.
Suzuhana Risa gets a distinguished mention for the mute role of Lizaveta and her own ghost, a perfect counterpoint to Smerdyakov's madness. All the servants likewise managed to be perfect supports, counterpoints without taking over the stage (because it's not theirs to take, alas). Tani Mizuse gets the Creepy award for being, for a moment, a pitch-perfect copy of Takako ~_~ I blame the wig.
Coming to the main roles now, I promise! Nacchan (Ootsuki Sayu) surprised me with her dignity as Katerina. Previously her most memorable role for me was Yvette in Lucifer's Tears, where she was so charming, but in Karamazov she has an upperclassman's dignity and power. Katerina doesn't get the best of lines, but she's quietly pivotal. Her reserve is in contrast to everyone else's wild emotions, which makes it even more striking when she kneels before Ivan of all people. And those two dysfunctional products of high society did manage to make me believe in their connection, or the possibility of one.
Saou Kurama (Koma), in contrast, looks just a little lost as Alyosha. It does seem like all of Dmitriy and Ivan's intensity just scares sweet Alyosha to pieces, but that's a character concept too ;) Alyosha is very young, very huggable, and very much the everyman bystander point-of-view character through whose eyes we see the play. I'd love to see Koma challenge herself like that more :)
Hamako (Mirai Yuuki) was just having the time of her life as Fyodor Karamazov ♥ For once it's a role where she can be gleefully evil and damn the torpedoes. Fyodor's the embodiment of decadence and evil here, in all its everyday decay, the petty villain who twisted all three brothers to the point where they don't really know how to function in society. The glee is blinding.
Yumiko (Ayabuki Mao)'s Ivan is what I've come to regard as the perfect Yumiko role - someone quiet, polite, and hiding a hell of a lot under that calm facade. When she's expostulating about politics and philosophy, there's fire in spades, all under ice. I loved the scene between Ivan and Katerina, with Katerina on her knees and Ivan, with a single gesture, conveying as much as a whole song.
Tonami (Shirahane Yuri) also gets a role that suits her to the Ts, as far as it's possible to go from Typical Takarazuka Musumeyaku as possible while still wearing a dress. She's fantastic as the fallen woman, the semi-courtesan, swept on by the tide of the Karamazov passion that crash her against the cliff. I've seen many a show with the lead character brooding drunkenly in a bar, but I think this is the first time it was the top musumeyaku doing the brooding. And the layers - there's a dream Grushenka has, but she doesn't let herself dwell on it. Lovely, lovely woman.
And of course no MizuGumi show can rate as perfect unless Mizu gets to rage and fight and growl at people. To top that off, Dmitriy-Mitya Karamazov gets a sword duel and fist fights and songs that range from boasts through anger to all-stops-out angst. This character's a no-brakes ride, all emotion and no reason (and no, honour does not count). The only way I can sum him up is Russian, really, and very true to the book. The wild centre of a wild, brilliant tale.
Special mentions (you didn't think I forgot them, did you?)
Itsumine Aki is a gem. She's the devil here, the personification of Ivan's madness. Mayumi and Yumiko go a long way back, old Snow hands both, and they have a physical ease with each other that speaks of utter trust. Mayumi's dancing is masterful, the movements lent an androgynous grace. She's definitely Yumiko's partner in this play, and her strength makes her the equal, both of them taking lead at different moments. I could just make a video of clips of Mayumi's dancing here and watch it on an endless loop.
(By May, Mayumi and Susshii will be the only two of Ichiro's dark angels left. So soon? So late?)
And then there is the chief reason (above the Russian, above the music, above the Mizu) I got this DVD. Hiromi (Ayana Oto) managed to accomplish a transcendence, because this is an actress in her tenth year, playing - to date - semi-star-track roles of the noble young man type, taking a role that would challenge a Senka actress and conquering it.
Pavel Smerdyakov is not a star role or a star. He's the twisted dark mirror of the otokoyaku, with the same strength of performance and grace turned to the purpose of captivating and horrifying. Hiromi uses the same means of expression, the same subtlety that would express Jura's angst, to give the audience a moment's glimpse into Pavel's fractured mad world. At times you can see fragments of Mizu and Yumiko's gestures and poses, driving home the fact that Mitya, Ivan and Pavel are half-brothers. And then there's that scene with the guitar, just a moment to break your heart.
Where she was charming before, mature upperclassman Hiromi is astonishing. I can't wait to see where she'll go from here.
Between the basis for the story and the play digest, I knew that the 2008-2009 smaller-stage Snow outing was one I had to get. It was my birthday present to myself, and it didn't disappoint. Consider yourselves warned for a lot of superlatives in the following review!
General remarks
The story takes only a snapshot of the long Dostoyevsky book, throwing away almost everything except Dmitriy's main plotline, but it gives the actresses a lot of emotional depth to play with. It's those emotions that are the focus of a delirious, hypnotic play. The music underscores it, with strong rhythms and frequent repetitions from an echoing choir. My first impression was that it didn't sound like a Takarazuka score at all, and indeed Terashima Tamiya is an outside composer with many film soundtracks on his slate (including Miyazaki's Tales of the Earthsea), as well as the main theme for El Halcon. His composing style reminds me of Sylvester Levay, the way he takes these strong motifs and weaves them together in various ways.
The sets are functional and barely sketched, which lets the costumes catch the eye. I was impressed by the research that went into them - they're clearly Russian-inspired, but in ways that work for the characters, with a lot of embroidery and dark colours as well as occasional fur. Even the proportions of the coats are true to form, rather than generic Takarazuka. My only objections were to the "folk" costumes of the ensemble dance scenes, but then they're much better than the Revue's attempts at say, Native Americans. On the makeup front, Mizu's scruffy stubble in the final scene fits her surprisingly well, but some of the other beards are rather... awe-inspiring.
All in all, this is mainly a talking and singing show, with a lot of dramatic sequences (and good fight choreography, because it's Mizu after all). There's less dancing, with the exception of the folk dancing and Ivan's Devil, more on whom below. The songs make up for it, because they're damnably catchy.
It's the acting that stands out. Snow Troupe is the balanced one, but here they go all out with the emotions and the madness, no restraints whatsoever. It's similar to El Halcon that way, but with even more focus on the characters' inner turmoil. More Russian that way ;) For all that major parts of the book's plot are cut away, the spirit remains.
Cast
The mark of a good show, for me, is when you can name and remember a dozen background roles that were played just as well as the leads. Here, Ouju Hirari and Isaki Maoto as the prosecutor and defender are the epitome of minor roles that are little character-sketch masterpieces. This was their sayonara show, and they were each given a moment to shine against the top stars, a moment of intensity that even with all else that happens, with all the command performances from Snow Troupe's top tier, remains with you. Isaki Maoto in particular was absolutely adorable.
Oonagi Mao played Pan Musiałowicz, and for all that she isn't promoted lately, she's got a presence and voice and command that makes me think it's a pity. She's another who stands up to Mizu's Dmitriy with dignity and is a very good foil for Tonami. Her Musiałowicz has this fey dignity to him, crossed with pettiness, that's very true to form. I may be in need of a Polish!Sienne icon.
Suzuhana Risa gets a distinguished mention for the mute role of Lizaveta and her own ghost, a perfect counterpoint to Smerdyakov's madness. All the servants likewise managed to be perfect supports, counterpoints without taking over the stage (because it's not theirs to take, alas). Tani Mizuse gets the Creepy award for being, for a moment, a pitch-perfect copy of Takako ~_~ I blame the wig.
Coming to the main roles now, I promise! Nacchan (Ootsuki Sayu) surprised me with her dignity as Katerina. Previously her most memorable role for me was Yvette in Lucifer's Tears, where she was so charming, but in Karamazov she has an upperclassman's dignity and power. Katerina doesn't get the best of lines, but she's quietly pivotal. Her reserve is in contrast to everyone else's wild emotions, which makes it even more striking when she kneels before Ivan of all people. And those two dysfunctional products of high society did manage to make me believe in their connection, or the possibility of one.
Saou Kurama (Koma), in contrast, looks just a little lost as Alyosha. It does seem like all of Dmitriy and Ivan's intensity just scares sweet Alyosha to pieces, but that's a character concept too ;) Alyosha is very young, very huggable, and very much the everyman bystander point-of-view character through whose eyes we see the play. I'd love to see Koma challenge herself like that more :)
Hamako (Mirai Yuuki) was just having the time of her life as Fyodor Karamazov ♥ For once it's a role where she can be gleefully evil and damn the torpedoes. Fyodor's the embodiment of decadence and evil here, in all its everyday decay, the petty villain who twisted all three brothers to the point where they don't really know how to function in society. The glee is blinding.
Yumiko (Ayabuki Mao)'s Ivan is what I've come to regard as the perfect Yumiko role - someone quiet, polite, and hiding a hell of a lot under that calm facade. When she's expostulating about politics and philosophy, there's fire in spades, all under ice. I loved the scene between Ivan and Katerina, with Katerina on her knees and Ivan, with a single gesture, conveying as much as a whole song.
Tonami (Shirahane Yuri) also gets a role that suits her to the Ts, as far as it's possible to go from Typical Takarazuka Musumeyaku as possible while still wearing a dress. She's fantastic as the fallen woman, the semi-courtesan, swept on by the tide of the Karamazov passion that crash her against the cliff. I've seen many a show with the lead character brooding drunkenly in a bar, but I think this is the first time it was the top musumeyaku doing the brooding. And the layers - there's a dream Grushenka has, but she doesn't let herself dwell on it. Lovely, lovely woman.
And of course no MizuGumi show can rate as perfect unless Mizu gets to rage and fight and growl at people. To top that off, Dmitriy-Mitya Karamazov gets a sword duel and fist fights and songs that range from boasts through anger to all-stops-out angst. This character's a no-brakes ride, all emotion and no reason (and no, honour does not count). The only way I can sum him up is Russian, really, and very true to the book. The wild centre of a wild, brilliant tale.
Special mentions (you didn't think I forgot them, did you?)
Itsumine Aki is a gem. She's the devil here, the personification of Ivan's madness. Mayumi and Yumiko go a long way back, old Snow hands both, and they have a physical ease with each other that speaks of utter trust. Mayumi's dancing is masterful, the movements lent an androgynous grace. She's definitely Yumiko's partner in this play, and her strength makes her the equal, both of them taking lead at different moments. I could just make a video of clips of Mayumi's dancing here and watch it on an endless loop.
(By May, Mayumi and Susshii will be the only two of Ichiro's dark angels left. So soon? So late?)
And then there is the chief reason (above the Russian, above the music, above the Mizu) I got this DVD. Hiromi (Ayana Oto) managed to accomplish a transcendence, because this is an actress in her tenth year, playing - to date - semi-star-track roles of the noble young man type, taking a role that would challenge a Senka actress and conquering it.
Pavel Smerdyakov is not a star role or a star. He's the twisted dark mirror of the otokoyaku, with the same strength of performance and grace turned to the purpose of captivating and horrifying. Hiromi uses the same means of expression, the same subtlety that would express Jura's angst, to give the audience a moment's glimpse into Pavel's fractured mad world. At times you can see fragments of Mizu and Yumiko's gestures and poses, driving home the fact that Mitya, Ivan and Pavel are half-brothers. And then there's that scene with the guitar, just a moment to break your heart.
Where she was charming before, mature upperclassman Hiromi is astonishing. I can't wait to see where she'll go from here.