Review: Me and My Girl - Hanagumi 2009
Jul. 13th, 2009 07:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
masahiSummary: The long-lost heir to the Earldom of Hareford is revealed as none other than a cockney lad called Bill Snibson from Lambeth. The catch is that the heir must earn the approval of a Duchess and Sir John Tremayne, which he isn't keen to do. To add to the concerns of the aristocracy, he's brought his girlfriend, Sally Smith, from Lambeth. Despite their protests, he's determined it's going to be him and his girl, whether he's an Earl or just a Lambeth boy.
While I'd seen a DVD of this show before (1995) and been quite happy with it, I couldn't think of any way it could be improved. Turns out I was very wrong, as Matobu Sei and the Flower ladies managed to make me almost end up in tears of laughter multiple times throughout the show.
It's such a joyful show, and I was actually delighted from the outset because of the energy. Tsukigumi's Elisabeth was good live, but it lacked the wild, enthusiastic energy, which may have been because it was the end of the run. Soragumi's show had similar energy, but still, neither show came even close to how hyper the Hanagumi girls seemed to be.
The sets were great and the props too, but for me, the whole show was about the cast and Hanagumi is on fire at the moment, with such a fantastic batch of character performers, who clearly know how to work with one another and off one another.
Cats-wise:
Matobu Sei as Bill Snibson: Given how much I loved Amami Yuuki as Bill, I was expecting to be disappointed, but Yuu caught me completely by surprise. I should have known, really, given some of the character roles I've seen her play, and she was just having a whale of a time with the role.
Her comedy timing was perfect, and she drew every possible laugh out of the physical comedy she was able to do. The audience loved it too, from the sounds of it. Among my favourite scenes were the attempted seduction by Jacqueline, etiquette lesson with the Duchess, the return of the ancestors (Bill ending up cradled in a Knight in shining armour's arms had me in stitches) and the drunken scene with Sir John.
Her body-language throughout was brilliant, and Yuu has a knack for expressing herself with such wonderfully subtle little motions and gestures. Mind you, as Bill, said gestures were notably bigger and more swaggering, and really, even if he is a bit of a scamp, you would want to take that Bill home to meet your mother.
Her expressiveness was lovely, and the scene when Bill is trying to find Sally was surprisingly sad to watch, knowing he won't find her, and the disappointment Yuu projected was palpable. And the reunion was made all the better for it, because Bill hurling cases and lapsing into the Japanese equivalent of Cockney was great :D
And her voice, oh her voice. There's such power there, but such restraint was well, and really, if I wasn't such a madcap Chie fangirl, I suspect Yuu would have won me away from her. Especially with the regal hand-waving during the bows. As it is, I'll be watching Yuu lots more from here on in :)
Sakurano Ayane as Sally Smith: She was another surprise to me, since I've only seen her in a handful of things and none of them remotely showed her off to her best advantage.
She played Sally beautifully, with a warmth and playfulness that was lovely, but also with the fragility and uncertainty of a woman who knows that while her man loves her, she might well be ruining his chances of being well-off and happy. Her version of 'Once You Lose Your Heart' was heart-breaking as well.
It of course helps that she and Yuu have great chemistry and play off one another so beautifully. They really did match them up well when Yuu moved up to Top Star :)
Sou Kazuho as Jacqueline: Killed me dead. DEAD. Last time I really saw her do anything was in Susano-o, and as I recall, she wasn't quite as flirty and leggy in her white jumpsuit. She was just so out and out female in this role and I loved it.
The fact that she alternates between Jacqueline and Lord John (to say nothing of the other John/Gerald/Jacqueline casting combinations) makes it all the more impressive, since she goes from repressed Englishman to sultry English rose from one night to the next.
Her only weakness was lapsing into Otokoyaku voice on occasion, but given how she moves and carries herself, you'd hardly notice. Incidentally, she has exceptionally good legs, which were put on prominent display during the seduction.
Chemistry-wise, she works fantastically with both Bill and Gerald, which amuses me since she'd alternate between playing the semi-friend that is Lord John and the vixen who is causing trouble for them both. Definitely a very good piece of casting :)
Aine Harei as Lord John Tremayne: She did a great job, especially in the scenes when working with Bill or Sally (Unfortunately, any scene when she was on stage with Parchester, I'm afraid she was upstaged, and rather neglected on the attention front).
I loved the drunken scene with Bill, because nothing is quite as funny as seeing two otokoyaku playing drunken Englishmen, who both are in a bit of an emotional mess. They played off one another perfectly and I have to admit I'm privately hoping this is the cast order that ends up on the DVD.
Manato Asaka as Gerald Bollingbroke: Gerald is, alas, always overshadowed by his love-interest, but all the same, I loved how emotionally invested Asaka was. Gerald, even while standing in the background, was being so quietly proud, stubborn and indignant that it was adorable.
I'm very curious about how she played Jacqueline. Alternating nights as one or the other character of a pairing must be surreal, especially when the female is the stronger role in the relationship.
Misa Noeru as Parchester: I loved her. LOVED her. She has spectacular timing and her voice was incredible. She took the stage, lathered it in sauce and chewed huge chunks out of it every time she made her presence felt. Especially when she tried to reprise her main song and kept getting sharply reminded that "yes, we know" :D
Kyou Misa as Duchess Marie: As much as Noeru chewed on the stage, Icchan ruled over them all with a rod of iron :D A Senka lady to the bone, she made the transition from hardened, cynical aristocrat to Bill-fangirl wonderfully. Her scene with Bill's education in etiquette remains one of my favourites, along with the scene where Bill's ancestors pay him a visit.
Natsumi You as Charles Hethersett: Either she has seen Jeeves and Wooster or she just is a genius when it comes to character. Whichever it is, she was so dryly understated that she reduced me to giggles on occasion. The wry dignity that she personified as the put upon butler was wonderful.
And lastly, a Sienne of note that kept catching my eye was Seto Kazuya, who I spotted in the first number. She had such a lovely spark about her, that I couldn't stop watching her, and unless I'm mistaken, she's the Ancestor who lifted Bill. (Also, from a distance, she resembles a young Asako an awful lot).
All in all, this show made me undeniably happy, and much to my surprise, I suspect I will be buying it as soon as I am able to. Yuu and Ayane completely stole my heart.
While I'd seen a DVD of this show before (1995) and been quite happy with it, I couldn't think of any way it could be improved. Turns out I was very wrong, as Matobu Sei and the Flower ladies managed to make me almost end up in tears of laughter multiple times throughout the show.
It's such a joyful show, and I was actually delighted from the outset because of the energy. Tsukigumi's Elisabeth was good live, but it lacked the wild, enthusiastic energy, which may have been because it was the end of the run. Soragumi's show had similar energy, but still, neither show came even close to how hyper the Hanagumi girls seemed to be.
The sets were great and the props too, but for me, the whole show was about the cast and Hanagumi is on fire at the moment, with such a fantastic batch of character performers, who clearly know how to work with one another and off one another.
Cats-wise:
Matobu Sei as Bill Snibson: Given how much I loved Amami Yuuki as Bill, I was expecting to be disappointed, but Yuu caught me completely by surprise. I should have known, really, given some of the character roles I've seen her play, and she was just having a whale of a time with the role.
Her comedy timing was perfect, and she drew every possible laugh out of the physical comedy she was able to do. The audience loved it too, from the sounds of it. Among my favourite scenes were the attempted seduction by Jacqueline, etiquette lesson with the Duchess, the return of the ancestors (Bill ending up cradled in a Knight in shining armour's arms had me in stitches) and the drunken scene with Sir John.
Her body-language throughout was brilliant, and Yuu has a knack for expressing herself with such wonderfully subtle little motions and gestures. Mind you, as Bill, said gestures were notably bigger and more swaggering, and really, even if he is a bit of a scamp, you would want to take that Bill home to meet your mother.
Her expressiveness was lovely, and the scene when Bill is trying to find Sally was surprisingly sad to watch, knowing he won't find her, and the disappointment Yuu projected was palpable. And the reunion was made all the better for it, because Bill hurling cases and lapsing into the Japanese equivalent of Cockney was great :D
And her voice, oh her voice. There's such power there, but such restraint was well, and really, if I wasn't such a madcap Chie fangirl, I suspect Yuu would have won me away from her. Especially with the regal hand-waving during the bows. As it is, I'll be watching Yuu lots more from here on in :)
Sakurano Ayane as Sally Smith: She was another surprise to me, since I've only seen her in a handful of things and none of them remotely showed her off to her best advantage.
She played Sally beautifully, with a warmth and playfulness that was lovely, but also with the fragility and uncertainty of a woman who knows that while her man loves her, she might well be ruining his chances of being well-off and happy. Her version of 'Once You Lose Your Heart' was heart-breaking as well.
It of course helps that she and Yuu have great chemistry and play off one another so beautifully. They really did match them up well when Yuu moved up to Top Star :)
Sou Kazuho as Jacqueline: Killed me dead. DEAD. Last time I really saw her do anything was in Susano-o, and as I recall, she wasn't quite as flirty and leggy in her white jumpsuit. She was just so out and out female in this role and I loved it.
The fact that she alternates between Jacqueline and Lord John (to say nothing of the other John/Gerald/Jacqueline casting combinations) makes it all the more impressive, since she goes from repressed Englishman to sultry English rose from one night to the next.
Her only weakness was lapsing into Otokoyaku voice on occasion, but given how she moves and carries herself, you'd hardly notice. Incidentally, she has exceptionally good legs, which were put on prominent display during the seduction.
Chemistry-wise, she works fantastically with both Bill and Gerald, which amuses me since she'd alternate between playing the semi-friend that is Lord John and the vixen who is causing trouble for them both. Definitely a very good piece of casting :)
Aine Harei as Lord John Tremayne: She did a great job, especially in the scenes when working with Bill or Sally (Unfortunately, any scene when she was on stage with Parchester, I'm afraid she was upstaged, and rather neglected on the attention front).
I loved the drunken scene with Bill, because nothing is quite as funny as seeing two otokoyaku playing drunken Englishmen, who both are in a bit of an emotional mess. They played off one another perfectly and I have to admit I'm privately hoping this is the cast order that ends up on the DVD.
Manato Asaka as Gerald Bollingbroke: Gerald is, alas, always overshadowed by his love-interest, but all the same, I loved how emotionally invested Asaka was. Gerald, even while standing in the background, was being so quietly proud, stubborn and indignant that it was adorable.
I'm very curious about how she played Jacqueline. Alternating nights as one or the other character of a pairing must be surreal, especially when the female is the stronger role in the relationship.
Misa Noeru as Parchester: I loved her. LOVED her. She has spectacular timing and her voice was incredible. She took the stage, lathered it in sauce and chewed huge chunks out of it every time she made her presence felt. Especially when she tried to reprise her main song and kept getting sharply reminded that "yes, we know" :D
Kyou Misa as Duchess Marie: As much as Noeru chewed on the stage, Icchan ruled over them all with a rod of iron :D A Senka lady to the bone, she made the transition from hardened, cynical aristocrat to Bill-fangirl wonderfully. Her scene with Bill's education in etiquette remains one of my favourites, along with the scene where Bill's ancestors pay him a visit.
Natsumi You as Charles Hethersett: Either she has seen Jeeves and Wooster or she just is a genius when it comes to character. Whichever it is, she was so dryly understated that she reduced me to giggles on occasion. The wry dignity that she personified as the put upon butler was wonderful.
And lastly, a Sienne of note that kept catching my eye was Seto Kazuya, who I spotted in the first number. She had such a lovely spark about her, that I couldn't stop watching her, and unless I'm mistaken, she's the Ancestor who lifted Bill. (Also, from a distance, she resembles a young Asako an awful lot).
All in all, this show made me undeniably happy, and much to my surprise, I suspect I will be buying it as soon as I am able to. Yuu and Ayane completely stole my heart.
