I’ve got to hand it to the fearless players of Takurazuka – they might be the only women in the world who regularly get up on stage and play the parts of men with iconic beards and legendary moustaches. Their current musical production features everyone’s favorite Cuban revolotionary, who rocks the glam eye makeup aContinue reading “Viva la Revolućion…Diva Style”
Tag Archives: Takarazuka
Honest Abe Gets An Extreme Makeover
I thought playing Rhett Butler in an all-Japanese, all-female production of Gone With The Wind was about as gender-bendy as you could get, but now one of the esteemed actresses in the famed Takarazuka troupe is donning beard and top hat to portray America’s most gangly abolitionist! •
Frankly, My Dear, I Don’t Give A Damn (That We’re Both Female And Japanese!)
Yes, the famed all-female Takarazuka troupe is back on stage, mustachioed and corseted and ready to kick some Civil War butt! After mind-bendingly taking on the roles of handsome male scalawags (Oceans Eleven) and all-American soldiers fighting the Japanese (South Pacific), it’s not so much of a stretch to imagine a dashing Rhette-ette sweeping Scarlett off her feet. ButContinue reading “Frankly, My Dear, I Don’t Give A Damn (That We’re Both Female And Japanese!)”
Gonna Wash That Woman Right Out Of My Hair…
An all-Japanese, all-female, stage production of South Pacific? A play in which not only are most of the main characters undeniably male, they’re also employed in fighting against, uh, THE JAPANESE…?! This latest theatre poster promises a show more boggling than the all-Japanese production of Amadeus, the all-Japanese version of Fiddler On The Roof, and all-female stage renditionContinue reading “Gonna Wash That Woman Right Out Of My Hair…”
“Ocean’s 11”: All-New, All-Japanese And All-Female!
The Takurazuka stage production of the classic caper film naturally features the usual all-female cast, with lots of choice roles for the otokoyaku actresses who specialize in male roles! Taking a page from the training traditions of onnagata (kabuki actors who specialize in female roles), from the moment they are chosen to impersonate dudes, the TakurazukaContinue reading ““Ocean’s 11”: All-New, All-Japanese And All-Female!”
Only In Japan 