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The Ultimate Death Note Cosplay ! L Fanboy Kim Jun-su Requested Role in the Musical

14/7/2015

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Image: KPop Idol Kim Jun-su

Kim Jun-su at a Death Note
Musical Press Conference
It's always nice to hear of dreams coming true, particularly when they were unforeseen for before the opportunity to realise them arose.

As a member of the Korean boy band JYJ, Kim Jun-su has plenty of fans of his own.  But his own idol is L.

The singer turned theatrical actor told journalists at a Death Note Musical press conference that he's long since been a fan of the manga and anime alike.

He became a part of our very own  fandom during his student days.

Through his contacts in the industry, Jun-su learned two years ahead of time that Death Note was going to be made into a musical and staged in Korea. Put yourself in that position.  What would you have done?

He did it. 

He was straight onto his agency, ushering a representative to make inquiries and get him the role of L. Imagine the squees at both ends, when that news became known. The fanboy got the part; the production got the major Korean celebrity.  Win. Win.
Well sort of. Out on the other side of the stage, there was one young actor who wasn't at all impressed by learning that the pop star was on board.

Already a celebrated actor in Korean  musicals, Hong Kwang-ho had just landed the role of the century. All eyes would be upon him. After all, who didn't talk about Kira, when Death Note was the subject?

Then he found out that L was going to be played by Kim Jun-su.

Not that he actually phrased it like that. What Kwang-ho said was that though he 'didn't realize it', he had a 'prejudice' against his co-star because of the KPop background.

It took watching Jun-su perform to understand that the fame didn't come out of nowhere. The singer is really quite talented at what he does.  Or, in Kwang-ho's words, "He's not just average."

He declared himself 'happy' now to be working alongside the L actor.  I mean, what else could he say?  Then again, I'm not there. They could be bosom buddies, genuinely thrilled to acting alongside each other, and Kwang-ho doesn't care that this is the only telling of the Death Note story ever where Kira might as well be gone.

Poor love.
Image: Hong Kwang-ho

Hong Kwang-ho at a Death Note
Musical Press Conference
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L Yeah! Death Note the Musical Launches in Korea (and They All Love Kim Jun-Su)

6/7/2015

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The theatrical musical Death Note extravaganza has launched to critical acclaim in Seoul.

The accolades flooding in thick and fast mostly focus upon K Pop idol Kim Jun-su in his role as L.

He's even made the front cover of Scene Playbill - a Korean theatre magazine - this week, wherein he's interviewed about playing L in Death Note the Musical.

Unfortunately, the online version of this is behind a pay wall, so I haven't ninjaed in with Google Translate to find out what he's saying.
However, KPopStarz have already been all over this one.  You can visit them for many dreamy pictures of the pretty young L, along with a brief summary of how the actor is finding the point where he and L 'can both feel and express the same thing'.  I like to think he's method acting, but it's difficult to tell with no Korean. :(

Scene Playbill have provided this YouTube video though, so we can all oooh and ahhh over the loveliness that is L.  Well, Kim Jun-su the K-Pop star, which I think is pretty much the point there.
Img: Scene Playbill June 29th-July 5th 2015 Kim Jun-Su

Kim Jun-su's L Interview
Scene Playbill (June 29th-July 5th 2015)
Elsewhere, the Korea Times has despatched not one but TWO theatre critics to watch performances of Death Note the Musical at the Opera House of Seongnam Arts Center. 

While Aoshima waxed lyrical about Mr Jun-su (who apparently even 'controlled his toes in depicting L'), Kwon Mee-yoo noticed that there were other actors in this show. The reviewer wrote that 'the Death Gods literally steal the limelight'. In particular, Kang Hong-seok as Ryuk was singled out for praise.

Mee-yoo's testimony also tells us a little more about the staging of Death Note the Musical.  The two-storey, steel stage is simply set with the actors themselves providing the sense of 'dreary city life' and drama necessary for the story to play out.

This minimalism means that when special effects do appear - notably a revolving stage to signify the duel of wits between Kira and L - they have a much greater impact.

It all seems to be going well then.

And to finish, here's a dreamy picture of Kim Jun-su.
Image: Kim Jun-su in Scene Playbill

Korean L Kim Jun-su in Scene Playbill (June 29th-July 5th 2015)
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Death Note Hits Live Notes as Musical Airs Worldwide; S(e)oul Sold Out Performances by Light & L

2/6/2015

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Death Note Musical Korean LJYJ Junsu recording as
L in Death Note Musical
Tickets for the Death Note Musical Showcase sold out in seconds.

At least they would have, if they weren't being given away for free. All five hundred of them, handed out to fans set to fill the audience seats at Seoul's Floating Island auditorium on June 1st 2015.

Seoul sold out - soul sold (to shinigamis in order to become the God of this New World and/or get one up on rivals). Out performing said rivals - performing songs from the show. Get it?

Honestly there was way too little headline room for the wealth of dual meanings here. I nearly ran with  S(e)oul Full Songs from Light and L (scroll to the end for them), but for the fact that their performances aren't soulful as much as rock belted out from the heart. Plus I ran into Kira's problem - adding L messes up your note.

Nevertheless, Seoul was full. Practically as soon as event places became available, the venue was filled.


The popularity of these hot tickets was in part due to the fact that it's Death Note - let's face it, we'd have been first in line, if this was happening in our 'hoods - and also because they were free. Any undecided theatre-goer might take a punt on 'free tickets', not to mention random passers-by looking for a cheap night out.

But both of those factors paled into consideration next to the fact that Korean boy band mega-star JYJ Junsu is playing L. The clamor for tickets was downright swamped by his fans, hence the give-away lasting mere moments before any more chances to attend were gone.

The lovely Mr Junsu aside, what were they rushing for the opportunity to see anyway?  Something quite exciting for us all - even those nowhere near Korea.

Live Broadcast from Seoul - Death Note the Musical, Prologue Part 2: Showcase

In conjunction with Korean broadcasting station Naver, the promotional event for Death Note the Musical will be aired live as it happens. Not just in Korea, but worldwide. The latter probably online rather than via terrestrial television.

Some news sources are reporting that it's the whole theatrical performance of Death Note that we're about to view. But that's highly improbable. Not if the promoters actually plan to sell tickets for the actual showings.

More likely it will be what's sketched out elsewhere - a scattering of scenes complete with tunes belted out by attendant Korean cast members; the actors - and possibly director, composer, promoters and others behind the scenes - involved in a Q&A session; audience participation segments; and other stunts designed to whet our appetite for the real thing.

If you do happen to speak (or at least read) Korean fluently, then some clues may reside in this extensive poster for the event:
Death Note Musical Showcase Poster
Death Note Musical Showcase Poster
Death Note Musical Showcase Poster
Meanwhile, you may be wondering where Death Note the Musical, Prologue Part 1: Showcase disappeared, given that this extravaganza is part two.

That happened, but it was much more low key. It was an exhibition. Basically some pop up stands shoved up and staffed by promoters - no word on if any of the cast were even there - providing information about the show.

I guess you had to be there at the time. I mean literally, because no-one was beaming that live around the world.

And finally in today's Death Note Musical Korean news...

Korea's Musical Kira Sings Death Note

Hong Kwang-ho is in fine voice as Light Yagami in this taster video, released by composer Frank Wildhorn, for the Korean theatrical performance of the Death Note Musical.  The song is the eponymous Death Note.

To my ears, the arrangement sounds much rockier than its Japanese equivalent (second song in the first video), hard-hitting and dark as befits Kira. 

Is that just me?

However no-one in Korea will care, because by all accounts they'll be too enthralled by his colleague's performance to notice anything nor anyone else. Prepare yourself to bounce around, screaming in your seat.

Ready? Here's JYJ Junsu!!!!!  Or L, as us old fogey, non-Korean Death Note fans will forever know him.

Korea's L Sings Let the Game Begin

At least we now know why the Korean musical Death Note has taken the unusual step of interpreting L as having turquoise hair.  It's because JYJ has turquoise hair and who are the show's stage and casting directors to mess with perfection?

Great voice though, and again a much more intense rendering than we've heard before in either the Japanese or English demo versions. I like it.  How about you?
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Death Note the Musical Songs in English

19/5/2015

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We've all been seeing Death Note Musical news and dress rehearsal videos coming out of Japan and Korea, but those of us in the English speaking world have yet to fully comprehend what we're hearing.

How can we know how Kira and L sound mid-duet, when the lyrics are strange to our ears? 

Obviously we could simply learn Japanese or Korean and stop being so lazy about it. But we don't have to, because a New York cast performed demos back in the day when Frank Wildhorn was writing all these songs. 

This is how they sound.

The Name is Kira - Death Note the Musical

- Peformed by Eric Anderson as Ryuk.

Where is the Justice? - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Jeremy Jordan as Light.

Stalemate - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Jeremy Jordan, Jarrod Spector and Adrienne Warren, as Light, L and Misa respectively.

Playing His Game - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Jeremy Jordan and Jarrod Spector as Light and L.

Honor Bound and Bound by Honesty - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Robert Cuccioli (I think!) as Soichiro Yagami.

When Love Comes - Death Note the Musical

Performed by Carrie Manolakos as Rem.

Only Human - Death Note the Musical

Performed by Eric Anderson and Carrie Manolakos as Ryuk and Rem.

At Any Price/Love You More - Death Note the Musical

- Performed by Adriennne Warren as Misa Amane.
NOW what do you think of it all,  my fellow lazy monoglot compatriots?
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Korean Kira and Cast for Death Note the Musical Revealed

13/5/2015

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An all singing, all dancing Kira is coming to Korea.

Running from Jun 20th - Aug 9th 2015, the Seongnam Arts Center Opera House, in Bundang, will witness the second world staging of Death Note the Musical, and the cast has been announced.
Death Note Musical Korea Kira Hong Kwang-ho
The starring role of Light Yagami will be filled by West End musical actor Hong Kwang-ho, alongside Korean pop sensation Kim Jun-su - aka Xia Jun-su - as his sparring rival L.

Fresh from Korea's stage production of Wicked!,
actresses Jung Sun-ah and Park Hye-na will be performing together again in the musical Death Note. They play Misa Aname and her shinigami Rem respectively.

The other shinigami, Ryuk, will be brought to life by Kang Hong-seok, whose most recent appearance was as Lola the drag queen in Kinky Boots. 

No word yet on who will be fulfilling the roles of Soichiro Yagami nor his tragic daughter Sayu. Not to mention the second actor undertaking the key part of his son Light. After all, there were two leading the show in Japan, playing Kira on alternate nights, as the position was so demanding.

However, there's already a trailer out and it looks freaking amazing!
Plus a poster circulating of the aforementioned Death Note the Musical Korean cast members already in costume:
Image: Death Note the Musical Korea

Clockwise from top left: Hong Kwang-ho (Light Yagami); Kim Jun-su (L); Death Note the Musical Korean
production poster;Kang Hong-seok (Ryuk); Park Hye-na (Rem); and Jung Sun-ah (Misa Amane).
Any thoughts so far on Korea's Death Note Musical casting?
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Tokyo Girls Interview with Death Note Actresses Fuka Yuduki and Ami Maeshima

24/4/2015

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Death Note Theatrical Actresses
Ami and Fuka - Tokyo Girls
Screenshot (March 16th 2015)
The actresses playing Misa Amane and Sayu Yagami in Death Note the Musical have been interviewed about their roles for Tokyo Girls magazine.

Featured in its March 15th 2015 issue, Ami Maeshima (Sayu) and
Fuka Yuduki (Misa) talked about being members of Death Note's original Japanese cast.

Both revealed that they were Death Note fans before the stage show was even a thing.  Ami went to the cinema with her family to see the live action movies - and kept the flyer because it looked like a Death Note.

Fuka recalled her shock at seeing Misa Misa bound and gagged in the manga. A recollection which didn't at all help when she read 'bound to a board' in the Death Note theatrical script. At the time of the interview, she hadn't yet rehearsed that scene to see how bad it could possibly be!

As a Death Note fan, Ami admitted some trepidation at the notion of Death Note being turned into a musical, but was reassured as soon as she read the script. Sayu's actress appeared confident that we'll love it too.

The fandom has really reached out to her too. Ami was pleasantly surprised, upon the announcement that she had been cast, to discover the on-going appeal and extent of the Death Note fandom. It seems that many of us Tweeted her from all over the world, making friends, asking questions or merely wishing her well.

Beyond that, the actresses discussed what it was like being in Death Note the Musical and how their personal friendship with each other had been forged through it.

Worth a read!


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Death Note Musical Sayu: SUPER☆GIRLS Star Ami Maeshima Cast as Kira's Sister

22/4/2015

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Better late than never - the final profile from the original Japanese cast of Death Note the Musical. Teen pop idol Ami Maeshima - one of the 12 strong members of Super Girls - brings Sayu Yagami to all singing, all dancing life!
Ami Maeshima as Sayu Yagami

Sayu Yagami actress Ami Maeshima

J-Popstar Ami Maeshima in Super Girls

In 2010, Ami Maeshima beat out over 7000 other hopefuls to win a coveted place in the teen girl band SUPER☆GiRLS. The group was assembled by Japanese record label Avex Trax through several arduous rounds of public auditions. It's gone on to repeatedly top the charts, gathering pop awards aplenty.

Clad in rose pink, Ami is an original member. A pop idol used to performing in stadiums, being rushed through hordes of fans and living with the constant attention of the Japanese paparazzi. Her fame is equally as strong in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Now her name will garner even greater international acclaim for she will bring to life Sayu Yagami in the Death Note Musical, and Death Note fans are everywhere.
In addition to performing in all of Super Girl's hit tunes (like Max! above), Ami had her moment in the spotlight. The group's Sentimental Journey (below) was released under her name too, as she took the lead vocals.
Sentimal Journey DVD Cover

Buy Sentimental Journey (+DVD) on Amazon US
Sentimental Journey - Ami Maeshima

Buy Maeshima Ami/Super Girls - Sentimental Journey [Japan CD] on Amazon US

Death Note's Sayu - Ami Maeshima Biography

Known to her friends and family as Amita, the actress was born on November 22nd 1997, in Saitama, Japan.  She was just thirteen, when she became a Super Girl.  (She's only 18 now!)

A year later, Ami became the recurring commercial face of Ito-Yokado, a Japanese retail chain. Between 2011-2014, she was also a model for the

Pichiremon (Gakken) line of gel nail polish. In 2013, Ami helped promote a Vintage Toy Exhibition too.
Amita - Ami Maeshima
Amita (Photo Album)
While being a Super Girl might be all about singing and dancing, the teenager is no stranger to acting either. She's had roles in five Japanese dramas - Suiensaa (2011), Sprout (2012), Tsuri Deka (2012-13), Family Game (2013) and Dad and Together (2014)

In 2013, Ami appeared as a character in the Nintendo 3DS original story game SPEC - Interference. This wasn't her first outing as a gaming voice actress. She'd contributed dialogue for the arcade game Pretty Rhythm: Aurora Dream back in 2011.

As a Super Girl, she's been the focus of two officially produced photo albums: Amita (2012) and Maeshima Ami (2013).

Her professional profile lists Ami's interests as being anime (we can all identify with that one!), playing with her cats and visiting the local planetarium.

While Sayu Yagami might have 'victim' plastered all over her demeanour, Ami Maeshima is no push-over. If Mello's Mafia thugs ever came for the actress, they'd be met with some serious karate resistance. Ami is especially known for her round-house kicks.
So what do you reckon?  Could Ami Maeshima wear the face of Sayu Yagami for you?  Perfectly cast or oh dear?  Personally she passes muster with me!
Ami Maeshima as Death Note's Sayu

Ami Maeshima as Death Note's Sayu Yagami
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Death Note the Musical Premiere Trailer - Four Minutes of Japanese Show in Digest

19/4/2015

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This is the trailer for Death Note the Musical that we've all been waiting to see!  Full costume, lights, action, stage setting and all the rest - so what do you think?

Orangepunch and I have just watched it together and we're impressed. Looking forward to one day enjoying an English language version of the Death Note stage play, whilst speculating on what it would be like to view the second arc too. Imagine Mello in the limelight.

Imagine Matt walking on stage for (probably) one scene, and all the place in uproar because he turned up. Yes, we want. Gods of this new world, make it happen please!

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Could Death Note the Musical Go Global?

6/4/2015

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Hayato Kakizawa Kira actor Death Note musical
Hayato Kakizawa as Kira
With Death Note the Musical beginning its run today at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo, the main question in the collective mind of the rest of the world is - do we get to see it too?

According to an article in the Japan News, the answer is yes/possibly/probably.

Yoshitaka Hori - president of HoriPro, which wrote, owns and staged the show in Japan - has his sights firmly set upon a global market. Fully aware of the international appeal of Japanese manga, and the interest in Death Note particularly, HoriPro will be looking to sell the rights to the stage performance, rather than touring with the Japanese cast.

This would allow each country to stage a version of Death Note most relevant to their own audiences, in their own languages, with their own stars.

The initial queries are being made in Paris, as French audiences appear especially receptive right now.  But that might take as long as ten years to complete.

So the game is on - which actors would you have play the lead characters in your own 'hood?  Time to approach our national theatre companies with a firm YES THERE IS INTEREST HERE TOO!


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Death Note the Musical Rehearsal Video

4/4/2015

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It's nearly time for the musical stage show of Death Note to begin its première run in Tokyo. Ahead of that exciting moment, the producers have released another rehearsal video with many more songs from the stage adaptation.
We begin with Dekiru Mononara as performed by Kenji Urai - one of the two actors playing Kira in the Death Note Musical. It patently describes the moment when Light Yagami finds the Death Note.

Taking on the role of Kira on alternate nights is Hayato Kakizawa, who appears in the second song Death Note. Here we see, and hear, some of that infamous Kira passion.

Fuza Yuzuki, as Misa Amani, kicks in for the third song Koisuru Kakugo.  A good old singing and dancing romp as befits a character at the top of the JPop game.  But not all is fun and lightness here, as Ryuk is boogieing down in the corner.

The fourth song sees the proverbial getting real again, as Kira (Kenji Urai) and L (Teppei Koikie) spar in Shi No Game.  I feel that L loses something in an Adidas shirt.

Another solo comes in fifth, as Megumi Hamada's Rem takes centre-stage. She's singing the poignant Orokana Ai.

Segi wa Doko ni Reprise is the final tune, and a chance to view an ensemble cast performance. Looks like Kira is leading the way towards world domination.

And that's your lot!  Any thoughts on whether this works as a stage show or not?
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Trailer for Death Note the Musical, and Photo Session Footage Too

12/1/2015

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HoriPro have released a couple of new YouTube videos to whip up interest in the stage show adaptation of Death Note. 

The first is the Death Note musical trailer; the second is a photo session with some of the cast members filmed and published. Check them out.

Original Cast Trailer for Death Note Musical

Death Note the Musical Cast Photo Session

Incidentally, I have now seen it clarified that the two actors playing Light Yagami will work on alternate days. They aren't BOTH on the stage at the same time.

And just to complete the Death Note theatrical performance gossip to date, here is another couple of posters advertising it:

Death Note Musical poster
Death Note Musical Poster cast
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JPop Star Tomomi Kasai Gets Her Misa on for Death Note Musical and Anime Festival Asia

12/12/2014

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Forget manga characters and actresses, this was the real thing.

Tomomi brought more than mere costume could convey. Star quality,  of the kind that could never be bought nor faked, wrapped around Death Note's own starlet.


A Japanese idol worthy of Misa Misa's own public appeal. Dressed as Misa. Standing next to Kira.
Misa Amane Death Note
Hayato Kakizawa at AFA2014
Kira actor Hayato Kakizawa
at AFA2014
When HoriPro staged a promotion for Death Note the Musical at Anime Festival Asia 2014, they took Kira with them. 

Hayato Kakizawa - one of two actors playing Light Yagami - was on hand to meet and greet at the Singapore convention, which ran from December 5th-7th 2014.

He might be Kira personified, yet even that couldn't make him the star attraction for many in the AFA2014 convention crowd. All eyes there were upon his companion.

HoriPro pulled a blinder when it came to publicity for Death Note's first theatrical outing. The ace up its sleeve was Japanese pop idol Tomomi Kasai, erstwhile member of mega selling hit girl group AKB48. While nothing personally to do with the staging of Death Note the Musical, the singer was brought in to make certain that everyone's attention was drawn in that direction.

And while she did it, Tomomi Kasai cosplayed Misa Amane.

Tomomi Kasai in Misa Cosplay at AFA2014

Image: Tomomi Kasai Misa cosplay
Tomomi Kasai brought Misa Amane's look and persona to life like no-one ever has before. Give or take the shinigami eyes, second Death Note and murderous predilection, the girl band JPop sensation practically IS Misa.

Fortunately, Unicorn (@BYS0007 on Twitter) was there to witness the phenomena and take fabulous photographs for prosperity. Then graciously allowed Death Note News to feature them here for the enjoyment of all our readers.  What can I say?  Enjoy!

Image: AKB48's Tomomi Kasai in Death Note cosplay
Image: Tomomi Kasai's Misa cosplay at AFA2014
Image: Japanese pop idol Tomomi Kasai at AFA2014
Image: Misa cosplaying Tomami Kasai
Image: AFA2014 Death Note the Musical promotion with Tomami Kasai
Image: Girl band idol Tomomi Kasai in Misa Amane costume
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Death Note Musical Rem:  Songstress Megumi Hamada Cast as Misa Misa's Shinigami Mentor

11/12/2014

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First a quick apology.  I had every intention of completing all Death Note actor biographies when they were announced. I blinked and somehow it's two months later with two Death Note actresses still not featured here. 

I didn't forget either of them. Time just conspired against us. But let me make good that deficiency with the first of the two right here - Death Note Rem actress Megumi Hamada!
Death Note Musical actress Megumi Hamada as Rem

Shinigami Rem actress Megumi Hamada
No-one in her native country would need any introduction to Megumi Hamada. She's one of Japan's leading musical actresses!

Set to bring a death goddess to life, our shinigami actress was born in the human world on August 2nd 1972. She hails from Kitakyushu, on the Fukuoka Perfecture, in Japan.

Megumi Hamada attended
Kyushu International University High School. After graduation, she worked for a time in a local book-store, before saving up enough funds to move to Tokyo. There she enrolled in the Performing Arts Academy, based in the capital's Toshima district, determined to realize her dream of becoming an actress. Just like her idol Yuko Doi.

That seems to be working out well.
Megumi Hamada Death Note Rem actress
Japanese Musical Death Note Rem Megumi Hamada
Megumi Hamada as Death Note Musical cast member Rem
More images of Megumi Hamada as Rem in Death Note the Musical.
Obviously the biggest item now on Megumi's professional resume is her upcoming portrayal of Rem in Death Note the Musical.  Previously it was Wicked that everyone was talking about.
Megumi Hamada was the first actress to play Elphaba in Japan. She took that high-profile leading role - heading the original Tokyo cast of Wicked - back in 2007. (Nevertheless, she'll be the first actress in the world to play Rem!)

Evidently a good place to begin, if we want to see our new shinigami actress in action. Can you envisage how she will perform as Rem from this? It's an opening cast trailer for Wicked starring Megumi as Elphaba.  For the culturally inept, she's the green one.


Megumi brought Elphaba to life for Japanese theatrical audiences from 17 June, 2007 – 6 September, 2009.

Whereupon she handed over to Masae Ebata, who's carried it around the country ever since.

However, as the originating Elphaba, Megumi was the one recorded for the official album release from the show:
Wicked: Gekidan Shiki Version (Japanese Cast Album)
.

Here she is again, in another YouTube clip, performing one of Wicked's most famous songs, Defying Gravity.
Megumi Hamada in Wicked Japan
Megumi Hamada as Christine Japan Love Never Dies

Despite the fact that most commentaries focus upon Wicked, Megumi Hamada has been in many other musicals in Japan.

More often than not, she's cast as the female lead.

Roles like Christine (pictured left) in Love Never Dies - Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical sequel to The Phantom of the Opera - which opened in March 2014, at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo.

We get to see Megumi Hamada in white here, a colour that she will most certainly be rocking whilst playing Death Note's pale shinigami Rem!

Versatile in both her singing and acting, Megumi Hamada never appears typecast, judging from the parts offered to her. In addition to her performance as Christine Daae, Rem's actress has recently played Alice (another source says The Mad Hatter) in Wonderland'; Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde; and led an operatic showing of Bizet's Carmen. Naturally as Carmen.

Anyone else get the feeling that, if Light Yagami had been female, then Megumi Hamada would be Kira?

As it is,
Fuka Yuduki must be quite wide-eyed at the fact that she's landed Misa Amane, when Megumi is also on board as a Death Note Musical original cast member!

Shiki Theatre Company: Megumi Hamada - Four Seasons Lead Actress in Western Musicals

It's hardly a coincidence that the actress poised to play Rem has already acted in a plethora of shows well known in the West.

From 1995-2010, Megumi Hamada was contracted to the Shiki Theatre Company, and that's what they do. In house Shiki writers take musicals and plays that are huge in the West, then adapt them to suit Japanese audiences.


Generally they'll retain the same names as the shows that inspired them, rendered in English - or whichever other language the play was originally penned - rather than also translating all titles into Japanese.

Whether for this reason, or as an in-crowd thing, the company is often referenced as the Four Seasons by theatrical critics, reviewers and fans alike. Especially Western ones.  Four Seasons being a literal translation of Shiki into English.  Then again, this might not even be a thing. It might just be a glitch in all the translation programs that I'm using to research this biography!
Japan The Lion King - Megumi Hamada as Nala

Megumi Hamada as Nala in The Lion King
It was through Shiki that Megumi starred in Wicked, as well as lead roles in:
  • Beauty and the Beast (Belle);
  • Cats (Jellylorum);
  • Crazy for You (Polly Baker);
  • The Lion King (Nala);
  • Exotic Hill (RiHanaRen);
  • Aspects of Love (Giulietta Trapani);
  • Aida (Aida - one scrambled translation implies that Megumi performed this part over 1000 times during its three year run; but another reading suggests that the Aida role itself has been subject to the 1000 performances by many different actresses, spanning decades, world-wide);
  • Rokumeikan (Akiko Daitokuji);
  • Black Comedy (Carol Meruketto);
  • Mamma Mia (first the mother, then Donna).
The clip below purports to be Megumi Hamada in fine voice as Aida. I'm not convinced this is the same actress!  What do you think?  Just me getting tired?

Megumi Hamada Meets Frank Wildhorn

Megumi Hamada Attitude
Attitude: Shinigami actress Megumi Hamada
sings Frank Wildhorn's songs.
It was around now that Megumi made the contact which has brought her into our Death Note orbit. 

Transferring to Shiki Theatre Company's Taidan group, she was cast as Bonnie in Bonnie & Clyde - a show written by Frank Wildhorn, the man now tasked with creating music for Death Note the Musical.  It seems that the Broadway composer was quite taken with his Japanese star actress, because he invited her to 'do a CD together'.


The result was Megumi Hamada's 2012 album Attitude, wherein her tracks were all composed by Frank Wildhorn.


There also seems to be a second album floating about called Wildhorn Melodies, which again features Megumi Hamada singing Frank Wildhorn's tunes.

He 'fell in love with her voice'. Very much in love apparently, because she's now Rem.
In addition to which, Megumi Hamada recently switched theatrical agents. She's now being represented by HoriPro, which is the company promoting Death Note the Musical.  As this occurred just ahead of casting, the move doesn't feel all that coincidental.

Moreover, Shiki Theatre Company have repeatedly staged plays with music by Frank Wildhorn, during the three years since Bonnie and Clyde.  Megumi Hamada is usually the actress leading those shows, thus performing his songs.

It makes me wonder if her role in the musical Death Note occurred at the request of its composer. Not to mention the fact that, if he knows her so well, then Rem's music is probably being written with Megumi in mind. 

Plus her Japanese Wiki page lists the Death Note Musical as being staged BY Shiki, though this is the first time I've heard the company mentioned in connection with the project. 

If that is correct, then may we speculate that it was the prospect of working with Megumi Hamada again which brought Frank Wildhorn on board in the first place.  There definitely appears to be a pattern of collaboration going on here! In which case, we can all fully embrace Megumi in the role of Rem, as that casting is what made Death Note the Musical a reality.
Megumi Hamada's Shiki Theatre Company Taidan roles:

  • Jekyll & Hyde (Lucy)
  • Wonderland (Mad Hatter)
  • Cyrano (Roxanne)
  • A Tale of Two Cities (Madame Dofaruju)
  • The Count of Monte Cristo (Louisa)
  • Love Never Dies (Christine Daae)
  • Carmen (Carmen)
  • Memphis
  • Death Note (Rem)
  • Sunset Boulevard (Norma Desmond)

Rem Actress Megumi Hamada Live in Concert

In addition to her theatrical work, Megumi Hamada has embarked upon a career as a singer, packing out concert halls and producing more albums. She released a DVD last year from one of her live performances. Most of its tunes are sung in English, including her take on the old Carpenters' classic (They Long to Be) Close to You.
Megumi Hamada's Cozy DVD Tracks
  1. Don't Know Why
  2. Lovin' You
  3. Dindi
  4. Slighty Out of Tune (Deasafinado)
  5. Isn't She Lovely
  6. 黄昏のビギン
  7.  ラヴ・スコール
  8. Never Can Say Goodbye
  9. (They Long to Be) Close to you
  10. Smells like Morning(オリジナル曲)
  11. Remember(オリジナル曲)
  12. All You Wanted
  13. Free(オリジナル曲)
Megumi Hamada Cozy CD

Buy Death Note actress Megumi Hamada Live 2013 Cozy DVD
So what do you all think?  The living personification of Rem, as we know and love the shinigami?  Or are you not yet as convinced as Frank Wildhorn?

Over to you.
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Stars of Death Note Musical Press Conference

2/12/2014

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Last month, we had our first hint of how the musical Death Note stage show is going to look and sound. 

When HoriPro released footage from the show's rehearsal, the whole world watched both Kira actors singing Bunkiten - Crossroads or Junction, in English - as our hitherto only sneak preview of Frank Wildhorn's Death Note Musical score.

There's more where that came from! 
Filmed in the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo, cast members from Death Note the Musical performed a selection of songs from the show, plus provided interviews and sound bites for the assembled media audience.

The blarb beneath the YouTube video reckons this happened on November 10th 2014, but as it was posted on the 9th, I doubt that very much.  (L has nothing on my observation skills....)

Featured in this theatrical Death Note press conference - or at least the footage thereof - were Kira actors
 Hayato Kakizawa and Kenji Urai;
Fūka Yuzuki playing Misa Amane; Teppei Koike as L; and Takeshi Kaga waxing lyrical as Soichiro Yagami, aka Kira's dad.

So what did they say?  As usual, I'm having to rely upon second hand sources for this, as my Japanese is woefully non-existent. 


  • A rather garbled Google Translate reading - of the YouTube video's descriptive text - suggests that L actor Teppei Koike elicited laughter when he revealed his nerves. 

    Something about tension in prior practice sessions sparking 2.5 times a day and his hands sweating, as he performed his number with Misa actress
    Fūka Yuzuki. Though Koike's experience of singing today was quite amazing.

A better translation would be greatly appreciated!

  • Matt Schley, at Otaku USA Magazine, informs us that 'it’s mentioned they’re pretty early in the rehearsal process'.
  • On The News Hub, Can Hoang Tran adds that the musical's South Korean run will involve an entirely new cast (presumably from South Korea). He also opines:
Death Note The Musical will not likely play outside Asia, unless there is a huge enough demand to see the show. It is not uncommon for video games, manga, and anime, to eventually get adapted into a stage play or musical. (Can Hoang Tran, The News Hub, November 21st 2014)
Was that our cue to start demanding the Death Note Musical on English stages?  And others outside Asia too.

  • Anime News Network contributes nothing much extra to the other two reports.

All three linger upon the fact that the Death Note stage show will open in Tokyo's Nissay Theatre on April 6th 2015. It will continue there until April 26th, before taking off on tour. Throughout May 2015, the musical will be performed in Osaka and Nagoya.

South Korea will receive Death Note the Musical from July to August 2015, but with a different cast.

That all press conference reports appear to highlight the dates and venues leads me to think that this information was what the video mostly imparts. Little new then, just quite funky to view the Death Note stars performing their musical roles in costume.
0 Comments

Musical Death Note's Theatrical Poster

29/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Theatrical poster Death Note Musical Japan 2015
0 Comments
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