Saori Mine (foreground). Takarazuka CHICAGO. Photo by Stephanie Berger.
By Joshua Rosenblum, ZEALnyc Contributing Writer, July 22, 2016
One of the best and freshest Broadway shows on offer right now is performed entirely in Japanese by an all-female cast. I'm referring, of course, to the well-publicized Lincoln Center Festival production of Chicago by Takarazuka Revue, the immensely popular Japanese theater company. Founded in 1914, Takarazuka has since expanded to five sub-troupes, which present about 900 shows a year in various company-owned theaters. Takarazuka's Chicago is directly adapted from the current, long-running Broadway version of the show, which itself transferred from the City Center Encores! staging in 1996. Walter Bobbie's direction and Ann Reinking's choreography, based in turn on Bob Fosse's work on the original 1975 Broadway production, have been scrupulously recreated by David Hyslop and Gary Chryst, respectively, and the sets, lights, and costumes remain intact. There's something wonderful about seeing these young Japanese women giving a bear-hug embrace to this quintessentially American show and to Fosse, its visionary auteur. Takarazuka members go through a competitive audition process and a lengthy, rigorous training regimen; thus, they bring their own brand of discipline, stylization, and exuberance to the instantly recognizable Fosse moves, and to the enduringly great score by John Kander and Fred Ebb. The David H. Koch Theater positively reverberated with the electricity of triple-threat (singing, dancing, and acting) excellence.
Yoka Wao, who played Velma at the July 21st performance (the principal roles are double- or triple- cast) assured the audience right out of the gate that we were in top-notch hands, with a killer rendition of "All That Jazz." Her resonant smoky belt revealed both character and accomplished vocal technique--a creamy, cushiony sound that she sharpened at will when desired. (English supertitles enabled the audience to appreciate Fred Ebb's masterful lyrics throughout.) Hikaru Asami, playing Roxie, proved to be a thorough charmer shortly thereafter in "Funny Honey," which she delivered with faux naiveté (at least for the first part of the number) from halfway up a ladder on the right side of the stage. Asami has that winning combo of innocence and carnality, which she deployed to maximum advantage in her knockout number "Roxie" and the long monologue that precedes it. For her part, Wao showed remarkable precision and stamina in the razzmatazz "I Can't Do It Alone," but she seemed slightly aloof, rather than desperate to win Roxie's approval. Her more overtly seductive Act II sequence, "When Velma Takes the Stand," delivered to the slick, amoral lawyer Billy Flynn, landed more convincingly. (Her legs were indisputably co-stars in this number.) Asami and Wao sounded magnificent together in "I Am My Own Best Friend," the ode to self-sufficiency that closes Act I, and by the end of the show, appearing together in front of a gold Mylar curtain, they seemed like a dream pairing, delivering synchronized showbiz bliss in Fosse's dazzling "Hot Honey Rag."
Half of the Takarazuka performers are trained to play male roles. (In fact, Asami and Wao, each decidedly feminine, are both returning Takarazuka alumni who played male roles when they were full-time company members.) Billy Flynn was portrayed by Saori Mine, who brought to bear a persuasively male swagger and effortless, confident cool. As Amos, Roxie's nebbishy, cuckolded husband, Chihiro Isono was slightly under pitch in Amos's "Mr. Cellophane" number, but thoroughly sympathetic with her hangdog demeanor. The ensemble numbers were first-rate, and it was easy to believe that the stage was populated equally with male and female dancers. (When Roxie said "I'm gonna get me some boys," no one thought twice about it.) T. Okamoto, the one non-Takarazuka member, sang the cross-dressing Mary Sunshine's "A Little Bit of Good" in a resplendent, polished, quite female-sounding falsetto, making his reveal as an actual man (the only one in the cast) doubly shocking. As Matron "Mama" Morton, Keaki Mori was urbane, suave, and smart, deploying a wide vibrato to strategically comic effect in the signature number "When You're Good to Mama." The six merry murderesses of the "Cell Block Tango" were sleek and sexy, with their monologues somehow even funnier in rapid-fire Japanese. The onstage band--mostly New York freelancers except for the Japanese pianists and drummer--sounded fantastic under the clean, crisp beat of Hideo Hirata, who conducted as if the music were in his blood. Most tempos were noticeably faster than those in the Broadway production, which contributed to the sparkle and vigor of the evening.
After the curtain call Asami and Wao stepped forward to introduce the Takarazuka Encore, a series of nine additional numbers designed to give the audience a sampling of the company's more typical productions. These were quite dazzling, and far more Western-influenced than one might have expected: there was a mambo, a tango, and a Rockette-style chorus line, plus a deliberately cheesy tropical background and flashy, oft-changed costumes (by Jun Arimura) that sometimes elicited applause all by themselves.
Takarazuka Company; photo credit: Stephanie Berger
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Takarazuka Chicago presented July 20-24, 2016 by the Lincoln Center Festival at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center. Running time: 2:45. Lyrics by Fred Ebb, Music by John Kander, Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse. Original Production Directed and Choreographed by Bob Fosse Based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins. Based on the presentation by City Center's Encores! Director of original New York production, Walter Bobbie; re-creation of original production direction by David Hyslop; choreographer of original New York production, Ann Reinking, in the style of Bob Fosse; re-creation of original production choreography by Gary Chryst; scenic design by John Lee Beatty; costume design by William Ivy Long; lighting design by Ken Billington; orchestrations by Ralph Burns; supervising music director, Rob Fisher; dance music arrangements by Peter Howard; script adaptation by David Thompson. Produced by Umeda Arts Theater Co., Ltd., Kyodo Tokyo, Inc., & Tokyo Broadcasting System in association with Barry & Fran Weissler; Executive Producer for Kyodo Tokyo, Inc., Ronnie Lee. Cast: Saori Mine, Yoka Wao, Hikaru Asami, Saki Asaji, Wataru Kozuki, Asato Shizuki, Natsuki Mizu, Yuga Yamato, Jun Hatsukaze, Yuri Hoshina, Keaki Mori, Yuki Aono, Chihiro Isono, T. Okamoto, Haruki Suzu, Kai Makise, Sora Manami, Kazuki Misho, Yuki Kaon, Maito Komi, Shun Yuzumi, Kazusa Tsukio, Izumi Maki, Sei Hayami, Nodoka Maishiro,Yuri Otohana, Kirari Kayo, Yuma Hanazuki Mariya Kitori, Moe Urara.
Joshua Rosenblum is a Contributing Writer for ZEALnyc and writes on classical music performances, as well as theatrical events.
Want to know about other performances that are part of the Lincoln Center Festival? Read our feature: Your Complete Guide to the Lincoln Center Festival: July 13-31, 2016
Find out what else is happening in our feature: Lincoln Center is 'Out of Doors' Again This Year--And All For FREE!
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