Word: takarazuka
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...adulthood, she has had more than one career, and she is in her second marriage. Born in Japanese-occupied Shanghai, she returned when she was one year old and grew up in Kobe. By 18, under the name Miyuki Waka, she was acting with the all-female Takarazuka Theater troupe, a traditional Japanese revue with a style somewhere between a glitzy Las Vegas spectacle and a Pyongyang parade to celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday. (See pictures of the rise of Kim Jong...
...Uniquely, Takarazuka's audience is about 90% female and multigenerational. One producer refers to a "vertical" fan base, with grandmothers, mothers and daughters attending performances. Ten minutes into any production and it's easy to see why women of all ages flock to these romances. They are infatuated with the otokoyaku - female actresses in male roles, playing the part of idealized men to perfection. Gone is the belching, unkempt, groin-scratching oaf of everyday reality; in his place stands an elegant, considerate dandy, ever ready to open doors and produce bouquets. "Not just any man, but more like...
...takes years of training to become a otokoyaku. Some spend a decade crafting how they sit, speak, walk and gesture. But the commitment expected does not deter the hundreds of teenage girls who apply for just 40 available places each year. Many, like top Takarazuka graduate Rei Makoto, start out as fans. While still in high school, Makoto became obsessed with NeoDandyism, a Takarazuka production featuring the troupe's well-known actress Maya Miki. "I rehearsed with the DVD at home all the time," she says, dressed in jeans and a blazer - the staple ensemble of an off-duty otokoyaku...
...Keiji Okada, a playwright and composer who has authored many works for Takarazuka, says that the company is about to take a "modern and futuristic" turn. Stage sets will emphasize "sharp, metallic and powerful colors and lines." Sources of inspiration are also widening: one recent production was based on the Capcom video game Phoenix Wright...
...Okada says he intends to steer Takarazuka toward more Asian stories, especially Chinese and Korean ones. "Not Christian, but Buddhist. Maybe even John Woo," he says. The mind strains to contemplate a Takarazuka production of something like Woo's historical epic Red Cliff. But you'd be amazed at what can be done with 400 women, gorgeously lit pastel scenery and a ton of glitter...