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Last Play/Heat On Beat review
Last Play
The first time I saw Last Play I really disliked it. Long parts of it were boring, I wasn’t into Asako’s character, and towards the end it just got bizarre. But…that being said, even the first time I couldn’t help but be a little moved by the final scene.
To be completely honest (and probably overly blunt), I had been waiting for Asako to leave. I really, really loved her in Ernest in Love, Magician no Yuutsu, and Me and My Girl, but she’s felt stale and burned out to me the last few years.
But the second time I saw Last Play was the last time I would ever see my beloved Shirosaki Ai as a Takarasienne, and the last time in a long time that I would see Kiriyan live onstage. Plus, and I had spent the previous evening watching “The Great Gatsby” with a friend, and somehow that upped my Asako nostalgia factor. I got into it much, much more the second time around.
There were a couple of really cool ensemble numbers that made good use of otokoyaku in suits and piano motifs (both in the score and visually). Other than that…it’s an okay story. I guess my biggest complaint is that not a lot happens, and I didn’t become emotionally invested until the end. Masatsuka-sensei has done better shows, but I’ve also certainly sat through worse *COUGHA-RexCOUGH*
So maybe this show is dependent on how nostalgic you are about Asako’s retirement? Asako’s character is a little bland, and it’s a middling performance from Asako herself. So the extent that you’re emotionally involved may be the deciding factor.
Other people:
Kiriya Hiromu:
In the absence of a top musumeyaku, Asako and Kiriyan have become something of a combi of their own and they play off of each other very, very well.
Ryuu Masaki: Had a very cute song in English ;) Her role wasn’t that interesting, but I still like watching Masaki on stage, and as I said, her English song really was ridiculously cute.
Shirosaki Ai: A friend had warned me going in that Ai-chan’s role wasn’t great. And it’s true, I wish she had a more complex character. But…even with what little she got, I loved it. She was so sexy and mature and defiant and well, Ai-chan, right up until the very end.
The last scene Kiriyan and Ai-chan hug and walk off together. It got me every time T_____________T
Hazakura Shizuku: The poor girl got even less than Ai-chan T_______T I’m not a fan, but even still I felt bad for her.
Misa Noeru was hilarious as the antique dealer Graham. I feel like a broken record, but I’m really glad that I got to see her on stage.
Ryouga Haruhi and Kiryuu Sonoka played lackeys who were after Kiriyan’s character. They had some funny moments, but I felt bad that Ahi didn’t get a better role in her sayonara show.
Aoki Izumi: For someone with such cute puffy cheeks, Morie makes a surprisingly good villain ;) But since she was out of any background dancing scenes due to her injury, she got maybe 15 minutes of stage time at best. (She wasn’t in the revue at all). Please feel better for Yukariko, Morie! <3
Masatsuka-sensei isn’t great at writing in a great deal of stage time for more than a few characters. I’m not sure what to comment on Magee, Mirio, Koshino Ryuu-san, etc. because their characters didn’t appear much and weren’t fleshed out. Oh, I did like Ranno Hana in her scene, though. To spot her all I had to do was look for the Sumireno Rei clone ;)
So in conclusion…I don’t really know ^^; I still don’t think it’s a particularly great show, but it was really nice to see tsukigumi on stage again.
Heat On Beat
I saw 10.5 shows on my trip and managed to see only one revue ^^; (I split my ticket for the second time of Last Play/Heat on Beat with a friend. Unfortunately I couldn’t see Heat on Beat if I was also going to get to the
Anyway, LOVED IT. Very typical Miki Akio, but in a good way. I never know how to review revues (and this one was so long ago that my memory is foggy -_-;), but this one made me extremely happy.
Uh…trying to remember specific things I liked. Mirio and Masaki daruma made me crack up XD Asako and Kiriyan continue to have good chemistry, even when they’re both playing otokoyaku. I really liked the bit with Magee singing on the ginkyou (I think it was Sonoka up there with her? I really should have bought the Le Cinq, but memory is awful T______T)
The infamous chair dance was ridiculously sexy, even if it occasionally hit "Did they really just do that in Zuka?" levels. (What can I say, the usual suspects, aka Kiriyan + Ai-chan were involved) Speaking of which, I swear that some of the Kiriyan/Ai-chan interactions were put in there specifically to make me cry, especially the part where they both wear purple T__________T
Anyway, it was a very fun revue, and I’m looking forward to eventually seeing Kiriyan’s version.