Talk Like Singing, a groundbreaking production and the first-ever original Japanese musical to have its premiere in the U.S., celebrated its world premiere in New York City on November 13, 2009 at at New York University's Skirball Center. The show will run through November 22. The talented Koki Mitani has written and directs this comedic new material spoken in both Japanese and English. Musician, composer, DJ and founding member of Pizzicato Five, Yasuharu Konishi has created the music for this production. Japanese superstar Shingo Katori makes his international stage debut alongside cast members Jay Kabira, Keiko Horiuchi, and Shinya Niiro.
BroadwayWorld.com's cameras joined Shingo Katori in rehearsal for Talk Like Singing, and you can see the exclusive pictures right here!
In Talk Like Singing a unique young man named Tarlow (Shingo Katori) can only communicate through song. His peculiar situation draws the attention of the general public, the media, and most importantly, two respected behavioral specialists. With the help of a speech therapist (Keiko Horiuchi) and psychologist (Jay Kabira) Tarlow is finally able to silence the singing voices in his head and, for the first time in his life, the young man can speak without singing; but what he finds is that he is unhappy and misses the music. The psychologist presents Tarlow as his "success story" at a conference with his fellow colleagues, when all of a sudden the unexpected happens, and Tarlow breaks out into an unforgettable performance for all eyes to see.
Shingo Katori is a member of SMAP (Sports Music Assemble People), one of the most popular idol groups in Japan. Since their debut in 1991, SMAP has released over 30 hit singles. Their stadium tour in 2006 drew audiences of more than one million. SMAP kicked off their 2008 tour with a historic six performance sold-out series at the Tokyo Dome, setting the venue's record for most performances in a single tour. Mr. Katori has also appeared in numerous television shows, dramas and commercials in Japan. He hosts a television show in English that features journalists and celebrities discussing current international affairs. Mr. Katori has starred in more than ten major films and appeared in the Japanese box office hit Saiyuki.
Koki Mitani is one of the most successful and well known playwrights/directors in Japan. He has written and directed numerous theater works, and his two-person play, Warai no Daigaku (The Last Laugh) garnered Mr. Mitani the 4th Yomiuri Theater Grand Prix "Best Play" award in 1996. Warai no Daigaku has been translated into English, Russian and French and has been performed in Russia, Belarus, and Canada, with a special production adapted by British playwright Richard Harris which toured the U.K. and ran on London's West End.
Yasuharu Konishi came to fame as one of the original members of the Japanese pop group Pizzicato Five. They are widely credited with spearheading the shibuya-kei movement in Japan. Shibuya-kei is mod music from the 1960s hipster scene filtered through a 1990s prism. Pizzicato Five are known for their eclectic and energetic compositions. The band's American debut in 1994 coincided with the release of the album Five By Pizzicato Five. This was quickly followed by Made in USA, a compilation of tracks taken from their last three Japanese albums. Their songs have been heard in the films Charlie's Angels, Prêt a Porter, and Unzipped. In 2000, Konishi wrote and produced the hit song, Shingo Mama no Oha Rock, for the character "Shingo Mama" performed by Shingo Katori. He started his own record company, Columbia Readymade, and has written, produced, and arranged for well known Japanese artists such as Akiko Wada, Mari Natsuki, Yumi Yoshimura of Puffy AmiYumi, and SMAP.
Tickets: $30 - $70; Available to purchase by phone and online now, call 212-352-3101, or visitwww.skirballcenter.nyu.edu/talk_like_singing. Available to purchase in person at the Skirball Center's Shagan Box Office located at 566 LaGuardia Place (at Washington Square South).
SMAP singer Masahiro Nakai to be TBS' main commentator for Winter Olympics FEB 05, 2010
SMAP member Masahiro Nakai, 37, will serve as the main commentator on TBS during coverage of the upcoming Vancouver Olympics, the network announced this week. Nakai has held the position since the 2004 Athens Olympics, and the singer laughed that he had “an inkling of a suspicion” that he would be chosen this time around as well.
Mogul skiier Aiko Uemura, figure skaters Daisuke Takahashi and Mao Asada, and speed skater Miho Takagi are all expected to come home with the gold, and Nakai predicted that, “Mao-chan and Takagi will be able to turn all the pressure on them into power.”
TBS said it will send Nakai to the East Coast of the U.S. for four days from Friday to document figure skater Miki Ando.
Nakai’s assistant during the Olympic broadcast will be “NEWS23” sports news announcer Erina Masuda. Nakai has done previous Olympic coverage on-location, but his busy schedule will keep him in the studio this time around.
Top 10 Television Contribution Ranking Kimura Takuya Wins for Most Contribution to Japanese Dramas Source: Mingpao Translated by: sparkles_n15 @ asianfanatics.net
Yesterday was the 57th anniversary of television broadcast in Japan. To celebrate the occasion, Japanese website Oricon Style created a poll to see which celebrities made the most contributions to television. SMAP's Kimura Takuya won the most votes in the actor category. In fact, ever since 1993's Asunaro Hakusho, Kimutaku has had a string of hit dramas, including memorable roles in Long Vacation and Beautiful Life. He is very deserving of the award. In the singer's category, 'Showa's Songstress' Misora Hibari was voted first. In the comedian category, Downtown, the comedic duo comprised of Matsumoto Hitoshi and Hamada Masatoshi placed first. Many voters even complimented them for being revolutionaries in the comedy world. The most contribution by a television host went to Tamori, the host of two long-running television shows, Music Station and Waratte Iitomo.
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Television Contribution Top 10 Ranking Ranking: Oricon Style
Nishikido goes from samurai to pastry chef in "Chonmage Purin" Wednesday February 03, 2010 Japan
Director Yoshihiro Nakamura ("Golden Slumber," "Team Batista no Eikou") is working on his next film, based on a novel by newspaper reporter-turned-author Gen Araki. Titled "Chonmage Purin," the movie will star NEWS member Ryo Nishikido (25) in his first big screen role.
"Chonmage Purin" is a strange tale about a young samurai from the Edo period named Kijima Yasube (Nishikido) who slips through time, winding up in the present day. He meets a single mother (Rie Tomosaka) and her 6-year-old son, and through this encounter, he becomes a popular pastry chef.
For the pastry chef role, Nishikido has been undergoing special training at a well-known school since December. He is also practicing for the samurai scenes. He will appear with various hairstyles in the film, which will naturally including the chonmage (topknot).
Filming starts on February 6, and theatrical release is planned for early summer. The supporting cast includes comedian Hiroki Konno, Shiori Kutsuna, Hitomi Sato, Keisuke Horibe, Yuji Nakamura, and Jun Inoue.
Ikuta Toma Confident with His First Movie 'Ningen Shikkaku' FEB 01, 2010 //asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/709851-kuta-toma-confident-with-his-first-movie-ningen-shikkaku/
The actor Ikuta Toma attended the preview of his first starring movie "Ningen Shikkaku/人間失格 (lit.No Longer Human)" at Tokyo International Forum. This is the first time for the controversial book of Dazai Osamu to be adapted into a movie. Ikuta plays the main character who can not get used to the human world and indulges in alcohol and women. "I am very confident with this work. I appreciate a lot your coming to watch this movie." Ikuta sounded faithful of his own.
However, during the preview event, Ikuta was quite nervous. And he wrote down his comment after the event. "The preview event was succeeded. Thank you all. I am very happy to have a lot of people coming to watch the movie. Thank you indeed. I will try my best to promote the movie and send message to as many people as possible. Please do it with me!"
As an actor, Ikuta is now taking active part in dramas, CMs, movies and stage productions. Meanwhile, a photo book of "Ningen Shikkaku/人間失格" will be published as well. "Please come with me!" as Ikuta says, don't take your eye off him!
วันที่ 13 พฤศจิกาปีนี้เป็นวันที่เรามีโมเมนท์ kitto yume jyanai เหมือนกันค่ะ คงจำไปตลอดชีวิต
คือไปดูละครชินโงที่นิวยอร์คมา จริงๆก็เห็นลือกันอยู่แล้วว่าวันนี้อาจจะมาดูกันทั้งวงนะ
(สุดท้ายก็ไม่มา -_-" ล่าสุดเห็นหนังสือพิมพ์ลงข่าวว่าจะมาวันนี้หรือไม่ก็พรุ่งนี้ ไม่ได้อยู่ NY แล้วอะ)
ก็ไม่ได้หวังอะไรหรอก อยากเห็นตัวเป็นๆในหอประชุมขนาดแค่ 800 คนสักครั้งในชีวิต
แต่เพราะไปด้อมๆมองๆแถวหอประชุมที่แสดงก่อนเวลาเผื่อว่าจะมีเตรียมพรมดงพรมแดงอะไร
ก็เลยฟลุคมากๆได้เจอชินโงตัวเป็นๆระยะประชิดซะอย่างงั้น ได้คุยด้วย
ตอนเห็นทีแรกก็อึ้งไปเลย ชินโงนี่นา ตัวเป็นๆ ไม่กล้าเข้าไปหา ยืนมองอยู่หลังคนอื่น
แต่ชินโงเห็นเราหลบอยู่แต่มองตาค้างแน่ๆก็เลยยื่นมือให้จับก่อนเลยด้วย เหมือนฝันมากๆ
ดีใจที่ได้ฝากบอก Happy Birtyday คิมุระผ่านชินโงไปในวันนั้น เพราะรู้สึกว่าชินโงจะลืม 555
แล้วชินโงก็เลยเขียนบล็อก HBD ย้อนหลังตามเวลาญี่ปุ่นให้กับคิมุระในคืนนั้นด้วย
เป็นศุกร์ 13 ที่ดีจริงๆเลยนะ หวังว่าจะเป็นวันที่ดีมากๆวันนึงของเจ้าของวันเกิดและคุณตู่ด้วยเหมือนกันนะคะ