A crossover of musical, live performance and animation! Girl Revue: Revue Starlight -The LIVE- #1 revival theater report

The stage "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight -The LIVE-" #1 revival was held at AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo in Shibuya from January 6 to 8, 2018.

The "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight" is a large-scale project by Bushiroad and Nerke Planning. The official website describes the concept as "a two-layered girl's revue that spins a musical and an animation." The story of girls who aspire to become "stars" on stage is portrayed through a "musical" and an "animation.

There are many 2.5D stage adaptations of animated films, but the greatest feature of this work is that the cast for the musical and the voice actors for the animated film are the same. The most distinctive feature of this work is that the actors from the musical and the voice actors from the animation are all from the same cast. Suzuko Mimori, well-known for her roles in the "Detective Opera Milky Holmes" series and "Love Live!", Ayasa Ito, Aina Aiba, and other popular voice actors will also appear in the musical. Members with rich stage experience will also serve as voice actors in the anime. The backbone of the cast varies, but all are cast with a strong sense of ability, combining singing, voice, dance, expression, and visuals.

The first performance of "Revue Starlight -The LIVE-" #1 was held in September 2017, and this performance is a reprise of that show, which was well received. In October 2018, a new performance of "Revue Starlight - The LIVE -" will be staged at the Tennozu Ginga Theatre, and the anime and the stage are about to start moving in tandem.

The hot battles between the attractive casts!

The first part of "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight -The LIVE-" is a musical, and the second part is a live performance.

The stage for "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight" is the prestigious Seisho Music Academy. The eight students in the 99th class of the Actor Training Course, including Karen Aishiro (Momoyo Koyama), Shinya Tendo (Maho Tomita), Junna Hoshimi (Hinata Sato), Mahiru Kurosaki (Youo Iwata), Nana Oba (Moeka Koizumi), Claudine Saijo (Aina Aiba), Futaba Ishidou (Teruki Ikuta), and Kako Hanayagi (Ayasa Ito), all studied stage and worked hard together at the school. The story begins when Hikari Kagura (Suzuko Mimori) transfers from a prestigious British drama school to the class of eight students, including Nana Oba (Moeka Koizumi), Claudine Saijo (Ai Aiba), Futaba Ishidou (Teruki Ikuta) and Kako Hanayagi (Ayasa Ito).

The stage girls compete for the glitter of the stage (revue auditions), and each of them is portrayed as a battle with a unique weapon. Ms. Hekiru Shiina plays the role of Sau Souda, the teacher in charge of the auditions and a legendary actress from the same school!　Her overwhelming presence and powerful singing voice are worthy of a legendary actress, and in fact, I personally did not realize that she was playing the role at the time of the first performance. I thought she must be a well-known musical actress, so I looked her up and found the name "Hekiru Shiina," which made me look twice.

When the two stage girls were summoned to the revue audition by a mysterious e-mail and confronted each other, Hashouda said, "The title is 'Jealousy. Show Must Go On!" and the battle begins with a declaration of the theme and the opening of the audition. The battle is represented by the cast's full-scale sword fighting and battle-effect images projected on a transparent screen. When the stage girls exchange weapons, sparks and effects of their techniques are projected on the screen in front of them, creating a spectacular battle with sound effects.

The key to the revue battle depiction are the acting themes of "jealousy" and "loneliness" presented by the runners. One of the main attractions of "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight" is its careful depiction of the relationships among the girls on stage and the subtleties of the hearts of the girls who aspire to become stars.

Hanako Aishiro (Momoyo Koyama) and Hikari Kagura (Suzuko Mimori) are childhood friends who shared a longing for the stage as children, but now that they are reunited, Hikari has rejected Hanako. Mahiru Rusaki (Youo Iwata) is upset when Hikari appears next to her beloved Hanako. Saijo Claudine (Aina Aiba) has a fierce rivalry with Tendo Shinya (Maho Tomita), who is by far the most talented of her peers. Kako Hanayagi (Ayasa Ito) is a genuine young lady, and Futaba Ishidou (Teruki Ikuta) has accompanied her to the school. Junna Hoshimi (Hinata Sato), who is impatient to be in the center of the stage despite the difference in talent, and Nana Oba (Moeka Koizumi), who wants to cherish the stage that her eight friends will create together.

The appearance of Hikari Kagura causes a ripple in the relationship between the eight members. The relationship between the eight and Hikari, a transfer student, and what they hold deep in their hearts are densely portrayed in the extreme circumstances of the revue audition battle. The glimpse of various feelings behind the many battles going on simultaneously on stage is an attraction that only a stage musical can offer.

A very personal review of the highlights of the revival!

Since this is a revival, my impression of the changes since the first performance is that the nine members have become closer in their stage presence and seem to fit together more as a team. At the opening of the first performance, I personally felt that Maho Tomita, one of the leading figures in 2.5D musicals, had a presence that enveloped the stage space, and the skills and expressiveness of the double leads, Momoyo Koyama and Suzuko Mimori, seemed outstanding. Of course, each member of the cast had their own strengths and charms, and I was impressed by Ayasa Ito's light handling of a long sword in a killing stroke that must have taken endless hours of practice.

However, what caught my personal attention the most in the reenactment was the sight of Aina Aiba as Claudine Saijo, who was devouring Maho Tomita's character, Shinya Tendo, as if she was putting her whole being into her. The figure seemed to overlap with Claudine's pursuit of Maya Tendo. I felt that the experience the performers had gained by stepping on the stage for the first time gave a different impression from the second performance, which is something that can only be achieved on a stage that is alive.

I also felt that Momoyo Koyama's singing voice became more appealing with its fullness and elongation while clad in the character of Hanako. There was a definite difference between the first and second performances of the stage, but after the recording and broadcast of the TV anime, one wonders what changes and influences will be present in the next stage. Witnessing these living changes seemed to be another experience unique to "Girls☆Geki Revue Starlight.

After spending an intense time in the first part of the musical, the second part, the live part, began after a short break. On a stage that is an extension of the "Starlight" worldview, the stage girls, freed from the battles and drama, sparkle, sing, and dance in the live performance. In addition to the six songs that were performed in the first performance of "Starlight," including "The Spirit of a Stage Girl," "Wish Becomes Light," "When Passion Awakens," "GANG☆STAR," "Fancy You," and "Star Divine," a new song, "Starlight Theater," will be performed for the first time. Starlight Theater" is a happy and cheerful song filled with the excitement of the opening of the curtain, but as the song changed its tune, it sometimes sounded grandiose, and sometimes showed a sad expression as the time of the stage came to an end.

(Reporting, photography, and text by Kiri Nakazato)