Cosmos, founded in 1998, is the newest troupe.Ī musumeyaku is flanked by two otokoyaku, c. Snow Troupe was founded in 1924 and Star Troupe in 1931, disbanded in 1939, and reestablished in 1948. Flower and Moon are the original troupes, founded in 1921. The company has five main troupes: Flower ( 花, hana), Moon ( 月, tsuki ), Snow ( 雪, yuki ), Star ( 星, hoshi ), and Cosmos ( 宙, sora) as well as an emeritus troupe for senior actresses no longer part of a regular troupe who still wish to maintain their association with the revue and perform from time to time. Those playing otokoyaku cut their hair short, take on a more masculine role in the classroom, and speak in the masculine form. The first year, all women train together before being divided by the faculty and the current troupe members into otokoyaku and musumeyaku at the end of the year. The school is famous for its strict discipline and its custom of having first-year students clean the premises each morning. The 40 to 50 who are accepted are trained in music, dance, and acting, and are given seven-year contracts. Each year, thousands from all over Japan audition. Lead performers portraying both male and female roles appear in the finale wearing huge circular feathered back-pieces reminiscent of Las Vegas or Paris costuming.īefore becoming a member of the troupe, a young woman must train for two years in the Takarazuka Music School, one of the most competitive of its kind in the world. Regardless of the era of the musical presented, period accuracy is relaxed for costumes during extravagant finales which include scores of glittering performers parading down an enormous stage-wide staircase and a Rockette-style kick line. Side pathways extend the already wide proscenium, accommodating elaborate processions and choreography. The costumes, set designs and lighting are lavish, the performances melodramatic. This name derives from the revue's fondness of the French revues. Collectively, the Takarazuka performers are called "Takarasiennes" ( takarajiennu). The women who play male parts are referred to as otokoyaku ( 男 役, "male role") and those who play female parts are called musumeyaku ( 娘 役, "girl role"). Part of the novelty of Takarazuka is that all the parts are played by women, based on the original model of kabuki before 1629 when women were banned from the theater in Japan. Currently Takarazuka performs for 2.5 million people each year and the majority of its fans are women. Today, the company owns and operates another theater, the Takarazuka Theater, in Tokyo. Ten years later, the company had become popular enough to obtain its own theater in Takarazuka, called the Dai Gekijō, meaning " Grand Theater". The Revue had its first performance in 1914. Since Western song and dance shows were becoming more popular and Kobayashi considered the kabuki theater to be old and elitist, he decided that an all-female theater group might be well received by the general public. Kobayashi believed that it was the ideal spot to open an attraction of some kind that would boost train ticket sales and draw more business to Takarazuka. The city was the terminus of a Hankyu line from Osaka and already a popular tourist destination because of its hot springs. The Takarazuka Revue was founded by Ichizō Kobayashi, an industrialist-turned-politician and president of Hankyu Railways, in Takarazuka, Japan in 1913. Takarazuka Grand Theater ( Hyōgo Prefecture)
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