Tag - musicals

 
 

MUSICALS

Director Dean Johnson wanted to strip back the staging of “Once – In Concert” in a way that honored the film. The production had a limited run at the London Palladium earlier this year and Johnson notes the Tokyu Orb Theater has a similar set up.
CULTURE / Stage
Jul 31, 2023
'Once' speaks the universal languages of music and love
Award-winning Irish theatrical production brings its dry wit and catchy songs to Tokyo for a midsummer musical experience.
Japan Times
Events / Stage
Jul 11, 2023
'Once' comes to Tokyo speaking the universal languages of music and love
Award-winning Irish theatrical production brings its dry wit and catchy songs to Tokyo for a midsummer musical experience.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 10, 2020
Yoshitaka Hori: The man on a mission to export Japanese musicals
HoriPro Inc. CEO and Chairman, Yoshitaka Hori, wants to take Japanese musicals out to the world and compete with the likes of Broadway and the West End.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage / 2019 in Review
Dec 20, 2019
The year that musicals took on Japanese stages
While song and dance kept audiences flocking to theaters in Japan in 2019, the non-musical side was kept afloat by established dramatists rather than new faces
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Jan 22, 2019
The 'King' returns and theaters look to Russia for 2019
Whether it's regular theater that gets you going these days — or you're skipping along more to musicals — as 2019's curtains rise, variety will be the spice of live stages this coming year.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Dec 11, 2018
2018 was the year in Japan that saw the stage sing, while contemporary drama barely made a squeak
Musicals have flourished in 2018, with many young stars also helping to sell out straight plays in which they appeared. However, the contemporary drama scene in Japan has been unusually quiet this year in terms of new works and writers.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 13, 2018
Akinori Nakagawa captures Frankie Valli's voice in 'Jersey Boys'
Nothing sounds quite like the early 1960s more than the vocals of Frankie Valli. As lead singer of The Four Seasons, his falsetto remains an unmistakable part of classic tunes such as "Sherry" and "Big Girls Don't Cry," though it's also his remarkable voice, in a lower register, behind hits like "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Dec 6, 2017
'52Hz, I Love You' upends the stereotype that Asian cinema can't do romantic musicals
Once upon a time (a decade ago), the unspoken consensus in the movie world seemed to be that Asians couldn't do love stories, much less musical love stories. Happy, soaring, blockbuster types that would send audiences home with goofy smiles and humming a tune from the soundtrack? Not happening.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Sep 5, 2017
Billy Harrigan Tighe brings life to the man behind 'Peter Pan' in the play 'Finding Neverland'
"All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust." In those few words the Scottish novelist and playwright James M. Barrie conjured from the mouth of Peter Pan, the mischievous young boy in his 1904 play of the same name, his own childlike outlook on life, whatever disappointments and betrayals it serves up.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 30, 2017
'Glorious feelings' are in the forecast as 'Singin' in the Rain' returns to a Tokyo stage
When Adam Cooper launched into the first verse of "Singin' in the Rain" on the stage of Tokyu Theatre Orb back in 2014, a palpable ripple of excitement ran through the Tokyo audience — and this writer, who was there, certainly felt it, too.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Feb 23, 2017
From the 'Queen of Boogie' to 'The Lion King,' Japanese audiences are always up for a good musical
Few Japanese will dispute that we are a nation of dedicated music fans and, though it may not seem like it at first, this goes for musicals, too.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Apr 30, 2015
Japan actor Watanabe honored over Tony nomination
Japanese actor Ken Watanabe said Wednesday he felt honored after being nominated the previous day for a Tony Award for his role in the Broadway musical "The King and I."
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Mar 31, 2015
'Tenimyu' 2.5-D shows net over 2 million tickets sold
There's kabuki, noh, butoh, bunraku, regular plays, glitzy musicals and Japan's unique all-female Takarazuka musical theater troupe — but another home-grown performance-art genre has for some time been carving a niche in this country's diverse entertainment world in the shape of so-called 2.5-D musicals.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2015
Imagery that sings the praises of the musical
"They're Wooin' and Doin' the Things Boys and Girls Like to Do . . . ." This is the message of many of the posters made for Hollywood musicals currently being exhibited at the National Film Center in Tokyo. Liza Minnelli, Mitzi Gaynor and Gwen Verdon, among others, titillate with unfeasibly thin waists, long legs, accentuated breasts and catch lines like "I'll see you in my dreams" and "Les Girls (Rhymes With 'Playgirls')." This is surprising for a genre that is more usually considered light family entertainment, but it goes to show that the musical can be quite a flexible format.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 11, 2013
Producers of musicals take shows overseas
As the population shrinks and competition from overseas stiffens, even the most popular local theater troupes are finding it increasingly difficult to attract new fans at home. So now they're taking their shows abroad.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores