Long Review of Kouju no Mori Dinner Show
Written: September 2005
Kouju no Mori is from 1997. This was from right before Tartan left Flower Troupe to move to Snow - in fact, this was her very last show before she transferred. For her co-stars, she chose four fellow Flower troupe gals who were also changing troupes - one otokoyaku (Kiriya Hiromu, moving to Moon Troupe) and three musumeyaku (none of whom I really know; they were all moving to the "new troupe" - that is, Cosmos.)
This dinner show felt a little more relaxed and a little goofier than "Montage." There were more silly moments - such as a bit with Tartan in overalls, playing the violin REALLY badly and upsetting the others, who were all dressed up like cats. Plus Tartan sang a very perky, high-voiced "Kiss the Girl" - in which she walked between the tables, giving air-kisses to members of the audience.
There was time in the show for each of her co-stars to sing a solo, which I thought was nice. Kiriya looked *so* young. There seems to be an otokoyaku stage where they're trying so hard to get it right, that they don't give off a lot of personality yet. I didn't really see that "Kiriyan" humor.
Overall, I think I liked the song choices better in "Montage." I can't name specific numbers or anything, just a general feeling. Oh, and I've decided that Kouju should record an album of lullabies. Sometimes her voice is so smooth and comforting (I *don't* mean that it's boring and makes you want to fall asleep. ;) )
On the other hand, this show would have been more fun to see in person - there was more audience interaction and fun. At one point near the end, Tartan's costars went through the audience with baskets and handed out goodies while they sang "Arigatou." One of the ladies in the audience was really pushy - she just about reached in and grabbed one! So much for the old cliché about Japanese people being super-polite...
This show was only an hour, so not much of a deal if you were going to buy a commercial copy. (But I think it may have never been released. For one thing, "Kiss the Girl" is from The Little Mermaid, and other songs from that movie are cut from commercial copies of shows from the same time period - I'm thinking of "Under the Sea" in La Jeunesse!)