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The Takarazuka Revue will be making one of its productions available via streaming to an international audience.
Takarazuka is a Japan-based all-female theater troupe. The streaming announcement delighted global Takarazuka fans, who have found it hard to experience the troupe’s shows outside of Japan. Many hope that this will not be a one-off occasion and that the troupe will air more international subtitled streams.
My Name is Bond
The online streaming service Beyond LIVE will host the stream on June 11, 2023 at 1:30 PM Japanese Standard Time / 12:30 AM Eastern Standard Time / 4:30 AM Greenwich Mean Time. A second, non-live, Re-Streaming Event will occur on June 26, 2023 at 4:00 AM JST / 3:00 PM EST / 7:00 PM GMT.
A digital ticket for the live-streaming event costs $27 USD. Subtitles will be available in English, Korean, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Thai.
The production chosen to stream is the Cosmos Troupe (Soragumi)’s performance of Casino Royale – My Name Is Bond, a Takarazuka original show inspired by the internationally popular James Bond book and film series. The troupe will stream from the Takarazuka Theater in Tokyo.
This will be the Cosmos Troupe’s final performance of Casino Royale before the show’s closure. Due to copyright reasons, the after-show or “Sayonara Show,” a special presentation during which the Takarazuka troupe thanks their audience for attending, will not be streamed.
Longtime Takarazuka collaborator Koike Shuichiro wrote and directed Casino Royale -My Name Is Bond-. It draws inspiration from several James Bond stories, primarily the titular Casino Royale. It stars current Cosmos Troupe top star Makaze Suzuho as James Bond. Casino Royale is Mazake’s last show before leaving the Takarazuka Revue. Fans can purchase tickets for this event via Beyond LIVE’s Web site here. [1]
A major step forward for Takarazuka
The Takarazuke Revue was founded in 1913 in the town of Takarazuka in Hyogo Prefecture. It was created as an alternative to the all-male kabuki tradition, which was increasingly seen as elitist. Since then, the all-female group has become one of Japan’s most popular theatrical entertainments.
Today, Takarazuka features five troupes – Cosmos, Flower, Moon, Snow, and Star – and performs in theaters all across Japan as well as (occasionally) internationally.
Takarazuka’s repertoire includes original Japanese stories, translated Broadway and West End musicals, adaptations of manga, films, books, and much more. Arguably the Revue’s best-known work is The Rose of Versailles, an adaptation of the manga by Ikeda Riyoko. Other shows they have performed include Romeo and Juliet, Casablanca, The Sound of Music, Elisabeth, and original adaptations of Edogawa Ranpo’s Akechi Kogoro stories and the video game series Ace Attorney.
Although some Takarazuka troupes have toured abroad, most notably in Europe, the troupe’s performances are generally limited to Japan. International Takarazuka fans have found it difficult or impossible to view performances without traveling to Japan. Over the past several years, due to restrictions on travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this has become even more frustrating.
Online response to Beyond LIVE’s event has been extremely positive, and many hope that they will continue to offer subtitled Takarazuka streams in the future.
What to read next
The Forgotten Era of Japan’s Musical Comedy Films
Sources
[1] Beyond LIVE official Web site. https://beyondlive.com/contents/241
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