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masahiSummary: A dinner-show by the then Top-Star of Star Troupe (and one of my favourite performers ever), Asaji Saki.
This video was among a small stack I got for cheaps on Y!J, and with all the kerfuffle over fees and shipping and NTSC-tapes-versus-PAL and whatnot, I was starting to wonder if it was worth it. Last night, I sat down and watched it, and nearly cried with laughter. It's worth it. Totally. I would even have paid full price for it.
This show, even if it's short and the songs are abridged, is a perfect little showcase of why I absolutely adore Asaji Saki. Backed up by Shiraki Ayaka and three junior musumeyaku (Hazumi Rui, Mizuhara Madoka & Miya Erika), she gets to be funny and silly and pushed around by musumeyaki, and spoofs the manly roles she was famous for.
Shiraki takes great glee in bossing her around, and demanding the junior musumes change Saki's costumes over and over again. The first is a bull-fighting costume, complete with cloak and dork-hat, and leads to a version of the Toreador's song from Carmen.
Of course, such a happy costume change can't last and while Shiraki flounces off in her flamenco dress, Saki is jumped on by musumeyaku again and forced into the Rudolf uniform from Ephemeral Love. She looks rather surprised and proceeds to try and do a nice, dramatic entrance to suit the uniform. After playfully flailing several times at the conductor, he finally gets the drama in the cues right, but the music has turned into a famous space theme (which is slipping my mind at the moment) and Mariko flails again. Fortunately, she's distracted by the return of Shiraki.
To the strains of the Blue Danube, they proceeded to make me die of laughter, as they completely spoofed the death scene from Ephemeral Love. tender exchanges of love take place, but when Marie has her back to Rudolf, an obliging musumeyaku runs up and shoves a gun in Rudolf's hand. He looks surprised,but decides 'fair enough' and promptly points it Marie.
Marie turns and Rudolf goes 'ack!' and shoves the gun behind his back. I don't know enough Japanese to translate properly, but this is my best guess for how the scene plays out:
Mary: Have you got something behind your back?
Rudolf: NO!!
Mary: I think you're hiding something.
Rudolf: NUH UH.
Mary: *playfully* What's in your right hand?
Rudolf: *holds it out* Nothing! See?
Mary: Left?
Rudolf: *does same*
Mary: Right?
Rudolf: *does same*
Mary: Right?
Rudolf: *holds out gun* ACK!
Mary: EEK!
Rudolf: Um. Where did this come from?
Mary flees but returns seconds later with an Uzi and exclaims "I have one too!" before gunning him down. I'm afraid I absolutely buckled laughing at the sight of a completely girlie musumeyaku with an uzi :D And Mariko's expressions through the whole skit were priceless.
They talk to the audience and Shiraki announces another costume change, and Mariko ends up in a polka-dot coat, while Shiraki decides they need to sing something from the musicals, leading to a brief Phantom of the Opera interlude (while a musumeyaku chases Mariko and tries to put a mask on her) followed by a King and I interlude. This time, the musumeyaku succeeds in chasing Mariko off-stage with the bald-cap. Shiraki and the girls proceed to sing "Shall We Dance?" in English.
Mariko returns, pushing an YSL chest, singing 'Sentimental Journey', then turns the chest into a make-shift car as a prop for 'Route 66'. And, of course, we have a nice big song and dance number, including a miniature line-dance, since it's not a Mariko show unless she gets to dance at some point.
There's a mini-cowboy section as well, with the trunk-car-thing being turned into a horse for 'South of the Border' and followed by another spiffy dance routine for Samba Brazileira. The musume scatter and leave Mariko to sing 'Holding out for a Hero'. It's followed by a couple of songs from 'Who Is Bad?', which was their current show at the time of this dinner show, while Mariko wanders through the audience. What amazes me is how a woman absolutely dripping with sweat from exertion can still look so gorgeous.
What follows has endeared Shiraki to me for life: Mariko decided they should show off Shiraki's talent, and hauls out a keyboard for herself and a flute for Shiraki. After several false starts with Shiraki going "Meep!" and flailing about how she can't possibly do it, they play one of Bach's Minuets as a duet.
Shiraki then sings 'Power of Love', giving Mariko two minutes to catch her breath and change her costume. They then switch, so Shiraki can change and Mariko, with the other girls, does a medley of TV theme tunes (including Sesame Street. Yes, I died). Mariko does a solo rendition of 'All By Myself', then Shiraki returns for a reprise of 'Watashi' with the other girls, and they finish with a group number of 'Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte'.
I'd never seen a basic dinner show before, but this was lovely and sweet and funny and cute, and I'm so very, very glad that I spotted it on Y!J, and I do think I will be looking out for more (apart from the 3 others I already have :D)
This video was among a small stack I got for cheaps on Y!J, and with all the kerfuffle over fees and shipping and NTSC-tapes-versus-PAL and whatnot, I was starting to wonder if it was worth it. Last night, I sat down and watched it, and nearly cried with laughter. It's worth it. Totally. I would even have paid full price for it.
This show, even if it's short and the songs are abridged, is a perfect little showcase of why I absolutely adore Asaji Saki. Backed up by Shiraki Ayaka and three junior musumeyaku (Hazumi Rui, Mizuhara Madoka & Miya Erika), she gets to be funny and silly and pushed around by musumeyaki, and spoofs the manly roles she was famous for.
Shiraki takes great glee in bossing her around, and demanding the junior musumes change Saki's costumes over and over again. The first is a bull-fighting costume, complete with cloak and dork-hat, and leads to a version of the Toreador's song from Carmen.
Of course, such a happy costume change can't last and while Shiraki flounces off in her flamenco dress, Saki is jumped on by musumeyaku again and forced into the Rudolf uniform from Ephemeral Love. She looks rather surprised and proceeds to try and do a nice, dramatic entrance to suit the uniform. After playfully flailing several times at the conductor, he finally gets the drama in the cues right, but the music has turned into a famous space theme (which is slipping my mind at the moment) and Mariko flails again. Fortunately, she's distracted by the return of Shiraki.
To the strains of the Blue Danube, they proceeded to make me die of laughter, as they completely spoofed the death scene from Ephemeral Love. tender exchanges of love take place, but when Marie has her back to Rudolf, an obliging musumeyaku runs up and shoves a gun in Rudolf's hand. He looks surprised,but decides 'fair enough' and promptly points it Marie.
Marie turns and Rudolf goes 'ack!' and shoves the gun behind his back. I don't know enough Japanese to translate properly, but this is my best guess for how the scene plays out:
Mary: Have you got something behind your back?
Rudolf: NO!!
Mary: I think you're hiding something.
Rudolf: NUH UH.
Mary: *playfully* What's in your right hand?
Rudolf: *holds it out* Nothing! See?
Mary: Left?
Rudolf: *does same*
Mary: Right?
Rudolf: *does same*
Mary: Right?
Rudolf: *holds out gun* ACK!
Mary: EEK!
Rudolf: Um. Where did this come from?
Mary flees but returns seconds later with an Uzi and exclaims "I have one too!" before gunning him down. I'm afraid I absolutely buckled laughing at the sight of a completely girlie musumeyaku with an uzi :D And Mariko's expressions through the whole skit were priceless.
They talk to the audience and Shiraki announces another costume change, and Mariko ends up in a polka-dot coat, while Shiraki decides they need to sing something from the musicals, leading to a brief Phantom of the Opera interlude (while a musumeyaku chases Mariko and tries to put a mask on her) followed by a King and I interlude. This time, the musumeyaku succeeds in chasing Mariko off-stage with the bald-cap. Shiraki and the girls proceed to sing "Shall We Dance?" in English.
Mariko returns, pushing an YSL chest, singing 'Sentimental Journey', then turns the chest into a make-shift car as a prop for 'Route 66'. And, of course, we have a nice big song and dance number, including a miniature line-dance, since it's not a Mariko show unless she gets to dance at some point.
There's a mini-cowboy section as well, with the trunk-car-thing being turned into a horse for 'South of the Border' and followed by another spiffy dance routine for Samba Brazileira. The musume scatter and leave Mariko to sing 'Holding out for a Hero'. It's followed by a couple of songs from 'Who Is Bad?', which was their current show at the time of this dinner show, while Mariko wanders through the audience. What amazes me is how a woman absolutely dripping with sweat from exertion can still look so gorgeous.
What follows has endeared Shiraki to me for life: Mariko decided they should show off Shiraki's talent, and hauls out a keyboard for herself and a flute for Shiraki. After several false starts with Shiraki going "Meep!" and flailing about how she can't possibly do it, they play one of Bach's Minuets as a duet.
Shiraki then sings 'Power of Love', giving Mariko two minutes to catch her breath and change her costume. They then switch, so Shiraki can change and Mariko, with the other girls, does a medley of TV theme tunes (including Sesame Street. Yes, I died). Mariko does a solo rendition of 'All By Myself', then Shiraki returns for a reprise of 'Watashi' with the other girls, and they finish with a group number of 'Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte'.
I'd never seen a basic dinner show before, but this was lovely and sweet and funny and cute, and I'm so very, very glad that I spotted it on Y!J, and I do think I will be looking out for more (apart from the 3 others I already have :D)
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-14 07:19 pm (UTC)must . . . have . . .
This sounds epic! Aside from the Mariko love the Ephemeral Love skit? omg it will kill me!
'Galynthia'
(no subject)
Date: 2009-06-14 07:26 pm (UTC)