As the troupe approaches its centennial, Japan’s Takarazuka Revue will be bringing a lavish feast for the eyes and ears, along with its uniformly tantalizing dance steps, to Taiwan for the first time ever. The troupe is set to perform its new musical theater piece Chu Liuxiang, a stage adaptation of Taiwanese author Gu Long’s wuxia novel series New Legend of Chu Liuxiang. Koichi Kobayashi, the group’s director, says that he hopes the group, being Japan’s most remarkable Broadway-style troupe, will show Taiwan how grateful they are for all the aid Taiwan provided Japan following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The Takarazuka Revue was established in 1914. Around 1,000 performers have been affiliated with the theater company since it was first established a century ago. Before becoming a member of the troupe, a young woman must train for two years in music, dance and theater at the Takarazuka Music School. Being an all-female musical theater troupe, height is used to determine whether a person plays a male or female role. With male roles that represent handsome young gentlemen and warm, romantic males, they are closer to Japanese women’s idealized, dream-like notion of males as opposed to the real-life chauvinistic males of Japanese society. For this reason, the troupe is highly popular among women in Japan, and is a cultural must-see for tourists.
Several actors from Takarazuka Revue’s Star Troupe came to Taiwan last week to hold a press conference announcing their upcoming performance, taking on the important responsibility of representing their troupe and offering a brief performance during the visit. The frequently-used large-scale stairs and burlesque feather fans will all be seen during performances at the National Theater from April 6 to 14 next year. Details are available at http://www.kham.com.tw.
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王文麟
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
華麗的聲光饗宴,整齊劃一的撩人舞步,即將創團百年的日本寶塚歌劇團將首度訪台,帶來新創歌舞秀《楚留香》。《楚留香》是根據古龍的《楚留香新傳》而改編舞台劇本。寶塚歌劇團理事長小林公一表示,感謝台灣在去年日本大地震時伸出援手,希望以日本最具特色的寶塚歌劇團感謝台灣。
寶塚歌劇團成立於一九一四年,至今已有千人,團員必須從寶塚音樂學校接受完整兩年的歌、舞以及戲劇訓練後,才能進入寶塚歌劇團。該團清一色由女性組成,以身高來分配究竟是演出男角還是女角,由於劇中男角不是英俊帥氣,就是深情款款,為日本女性構築了甜蜜夢幻的浪漫情境,對照現實世界裡日本大男人主義,該團深受日本女性歡迎,至今也成為日本文化觀光必探之地。
Photo: Wang Wen-lin, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王文麟
寶塚歌劇團星組多位演員上週來台舉行記者會,擔綱這次訪台演出重責大任。寶塚的舞台常見的「大樓梯」跟「大羽毛」,這次都會原汁原味搬上台灣舞台。該團將於明年四月六日到十四日演出,地點在台北國家戲劇院。詳情可洽寬宏藝術http://www.kham.com.tw。
(自由時報記者趙靜瑜)
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