As I turned the pages of a free magazine in London this summer, a picture of a beaming woman clutching a signed CD and program for the West End musical "Kinky Boots" caught my eye. She was a 27-year-old named Emily who'd seen the show 199 times in the past two years without ever being the least bit bored.

In London, of course, that kind of devotion is nothing new, what with the hit musical "Les Miserables" still running after almost 32 years.

In stark contrast, it's rare for a show in Japan to run for even a month — a week or two is the norm here. Virtually the only exception is a local version of the musical "The Lion King," which Shiki Theatre Company has staged at its own Tokyo theater for 19 years.