Kijou Mitsuru

Takarazuka Moon Troupe 2016 adaptation of the French musical La Légende du roi Arthur

Takarazuka Revue Moon Troupe 2014 performance. Arsene Lupin side-story about the youth of Donald Dawson and Count Hereford.

It is 17th-century France, where Louis XIV, the "Sun King," reigns. The Musketeers, who answer to the king, diligently train themselves day in and day out to protect their liege and the state. Each of these highly skilled warriors also has a unique personality: Porthos is courageous and daring, Athos is calm and reassuring, Aramis is a ladies' man like none other in his time, while d'Artagnan is our invincible hero. All, meanwhile, are utterly proud and brave warriors.

The first act is a musical comedy titled "PROM LESSON," which depicts the struggles of young people and their love affair at prom, a dance party held during the graduation season at an American high school. The musical has two different versions with the same premise but switched, one starring Asami Jun and the other starring Akatsuki Chisei, each playing a different character. In Arthur's version, the most "tsundere" flower boy in the school, meets a hapless girl who can't hold her own and gives her lessons to make her the ultimate Prom Queen. The second act is titled Midnight Show "A-EN MOONRISE," an entertainment show starring the stars in a moon-themed revue.

"Grand Hotel" is a musical set in 1928 Berlin, depicting the varied lives of guests at a luxury hotel over a day-and-a-half. The Broadway production that opened in 1989 with Tommy Tune as director-choreographer earned rave reviews and went on to win five Tony Awards. The same show was later put on in London and Berlin as well. Suzukaze Mayo led the Moon Troupe in the Takarazuka Revue's 1993 production of "Grand Hotel." Tommy Tune was invited to direct and choreograph this Takarazuka version, which went on to win high acclaim. The Takarazuka Revue has invited Tommy Tune, who won the Special Tony Award at the 69th Tony Awards in 2015 for his many years of achievement, to serve as special supervisor as "Grand Hotel" returns to the stage at the outset of 2017, when the Moon Troupe's top star, Tamaki Ryou, will make her Takarazuka Revue debut.