Long Review of Copacabana
Written: April 2007
This morning I finished watching my DVD of "Copacabana" - Star Troupe version.
Until I opened the disk, I had no idea that "Copacabana" was also an American musical - apparently 2006 was the first year it was available for licensing, and I can see why Takarazuka promptly took the chance to perform it - never has there been a musical that needed less stretching to work in the flashy revue costumes!
The Plot:
Stephen, a songwriter, is writing the song "Copacabana." He imagines the world of 1947, and an aspiring performer named Lola (Shirahane Yuri) who has just arrived in New York City. She succeeds in getting a job at the Copacabana nightclub, thanks to the help of Tony Forte (Kozuki Wataru) and cigar girl Gladys (Ema Naoki). But soon after her debut, she catches the attention of Rico Castelli, who is visiting New York with his girlfriend Conchita (Toono Asuka). Rico gets young Lola drunk and whisks her off to Havana, where he plans to make her replace Conchita as the headliner at his own nightclub. Will Tony and Copacabana manager Sam Silver (Misa Noeru) be able to rescue her?
Opinion:
Ah, if only the plot moved along as swiftly as I just summarized it. In truth, it takes most of the first act for Lola to get her job at the club, and scary Rico doesn't show up until 15 minutes before intermission. Act II moves along at a better pace, holding pretty much all the action. As for the music, I wasn't overly impressed. Not bad, particularly, but if I hadn't known better, I don't think I would have distinguished it from the fluff the Takarazuka Theme Song Factory churns out year after year. Personally, I would have preferred that a show called "Copacabana" actually had the song in it a bit more, although if you're not crazy about it that may be more of a feature...
The staging was 110% Takarazuka, with the generic "Copa" outfits and opening and closing numbers featuring as many feathers, sparkles, and gold fabric as possible, all; danced in classic Takarazuka Revue style. Although somehow all the stage numbers that were supposed to be actually taking place in the "Copa" had restrained, tasteful costumes... (I do have to give a shout out for my favorite blue and pink plaid suits from "Guys and Dolls," worn to charming effect by Rico's goons.)
Overall, the performers seemed to be in remarkably good moods, energetic, funny, and intense. My usual actor opinions:
Kozuki Wataru: Managed to make Tony's "Nice Guy" style palatable to me. I am almost without fail bored by musical heroes, and Tony was not exactly a-wash in personality, so thank goodness Wataru *is*. That wholesome, yet slighty mischievous, smile! And an exceedingly good dance number in "Dancin' Fool."
Shirahane Yuri: I also don't do well with most musical heroines, as they tend to have even less personality than musical heros (Yes, it is a mystery how I became a Takarazuka fan). I never really did take much of a shine to "Lola," though Shirahane did her best. There were a couple funny moments in the first half where Lola, determined to be a torch singer, kept climbing on top of the stand-up piano at her auditions, then posing herself dramatically. Shirahane is a good singer and dancer, and has great energy with Wataru. But Lola? Yawn!
Aran Kei: The only problem with Touko in this show is that there's not nearly enough of her. I had to wait *forever* for Rico to slink on stage and kiss the giant diamond ring on his hand. Rico was smarmy, and tan, and had a thin little mustache, and Touko hit every mark perfectly. I'm going to assume that it's just me that found her version of "Bolero d'Amore" so moving, and Rico (up to that whole "kidnapping" thing) so very sympathetic...
Toono Asuka: As usual, I find the secondary characters *so* much more interesting than the main ones. It doesn't hurt that Toono Asuka is my favorite current musumeyaku AND she's my Touko's new partner. Naturally, I spent a good deal of this show watching for signs of their future connection (They smiled at each other during the last performance bows! The connection is already there!), and thinking what a nice couple I always knew they'd make...
But fangirlish squeeing aside (if that's possible), Conchita was my favorite character, and I really enjoyed Asuka's performance of her. Adorable, tiny Asuka? Absolutely convincing as an aging showgirl. (Would it have been possible to make her fake tan just a *smidge* less orange, though?) Conchita was the one with a real emotional struggle: jealousy of Lola, love of Rico, and her own sense of right and wrong. Asuka did a wonderful job. I was so pleased. :)
Misa Noeru: The toupee! The socks! An admirable job chewing up the scenery from Misa, and no less than I would have expected from her.
Ema Naoki: I'm pretty sure it's illegal for kumichou to have such nice legs. And they certainly shouldn't be allowed to wear such adorable cigar girl outfits. Please, no one tell Ema that...
Ayaka Rei: My one and only adopted Star Troupe "baby"! She got to play Willy, the waiter. Very cute, but more along the typical "young otokoyaku" line, so I probably wouldn't have noticed her if I hadn't already been interested after "Ganryuu."
Shinobu MurasakI: Had two small roles and was charming as always.
Ooma Miran: Played Skip, the flamboyantly gay choreographer. Not sure if Takarazuka should be forbidden to portray gay characters, or just musical theater in general. Nothing against Ooma, and she clearly had some fun with it.
The two other people I know in Star Troupe must have been elsewhere during the run, as I didn't notice anyone enough to comment on them.
Overall, this was an good show. The plot has some flaws, but the performances were perfect. The extras on the DVD - rehearsal and adlib footage - were nice. I'm glad the newer DVDs have this feature again.