Seira Nagashima, Yuki Goto and others passionately perform
masterpieces on stage “Lip ni Uta 2024” opens! !
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Press release: June 7, 2024
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Seira Nagashima, Yuki Goto and others passionately perform
masterpieces on stage “Lip ni Uta 2024” opens! !
Angela Aki’s song “Letter ~ Dear Mr.
Eiichi Nakata’s novel “A Song on the Lips” (published by Shogakukan Bunko) was inspired by “To the 15th Kimi.” Following the manga and movie adaptation, the first stage adaptation was made in 2022. This time, the cast and script have been partially revised. Seira Nagashima plays the role of Yuri Kashiwagi, the main character of the story, Yuuki Goto plays the role of Haruko Matsuyama, Riko Yamagishi plays the role of Nazuna Nakamura, Tatsuya Himi plays the role of Keisuke Mukai, and Nishikawa plays the role of Satoru Kuwabara. Rei Saito will play the mother of Misaki and Satoru.
Before the opening day on Thursday, June 6, 2024, a press conference was held with GenePro.
This work depicts various human dramas with the theme of chorus. The stories of each person are connected through the chorus, including Mr. Kashiwagi, who came to teach the chorus club in place of Mr. Matsuyama who was on maternity leave, the female members who devoted themselves to the chorus, and the boys who joined the club but were not serious.
Nagashima carefully expresses how Kashiwagi, who hit a wall in Tokyo, changes after meeting the students. While she shows off her dependable teacher personality in front of the students, she also has an informal atmosphere in scenes with her middle school classmate, Mr. Matsuyama. When accompanying the chorus, he led the singing with his powerful and stable sound. Goto, who played the role of Mr. Matsuyama, gave a great performance as the cheerful and warm-hearted choir club advisor who is loved by the students. With his calm appearance, he supports the spirits of the choir members.
The cast playing the students powerfully portrayed adolescent boys and girls, such as the delicate distance between men and women and the difference in enthusiasm for club activities. The realistic characters and interactions that make you think, “There was a girl like this when I was a student” and “This kind of trouble happened” are heart-warming. The story depicts how these unique individuals face themselves through the homework assignment given by Mr. Matsuyama, “Write a letter to yourself 15 years from now,” and grow as they communicate with the people they sing with. It’s coming hard. One of the highlights is the story of Satoru, who has an older brother with a disability, and his family. Saito plays the role of a mother who supports her son’s positive changes with deep love and tolerance. And most of all, the beautiful harmony of the chorus that is performed in the film touches my heart. “Letter ~Dear Sir” is sung at the competition which is the climax of the story.
“To 15 Kimi~” has a passion that links each student’s story with the lyrics, and the original choral song “Kumo wo Kite” has a theme that symbolizes the work. The entire cast sang with a deep harmony that seemed to envelop the entire venue. Please come to the theater and experience this work where you can enjoy the chorus of passionate youth and feelings.
At the interview held after the general production, Seira Nagashima was asked about his feelings and enthusiasm for the first day, and Seira Nagashima said, “I’m really nervous, but I’ve been working hard at the company for a month, so I think we’ll be able to deliver something wonderful.” ” he says with confidence.
Yuki Goto said, “There’s a really good sense of tension. I hope we can deliver a fun and wonderful stage that will make the audience feel like they’re in the Goto Islands.” Riko Yamagishi said, “I’m confident that we’ll be fine with everyone in Goto Island.The actual performance will also be fine. I want to have fun acting with everyone,” he said enthusiastically.
Tatsuya Himi said, “I was more anxious before the Gene Pro started, but now I’m looking forward to it 100% and I’m more confident!” Misaki Nishikawa also said, “I’ve been practicing for about a month so far, and I’ve finally made it. I felt a sense of security and tension to deliver it. I was confident that it would be something wonderful.”
Rei Saito said, “Everyone who plays the children works well as a team and has room to grow, making them really reliable and I can’t wait for the actual performance.The atmosphere in the dressing room is also very good, so I’m looking forward to seeing them through to the end.” praised.
This time, Nagashima will also perform as accompaniment for the choir. He revealed that he had not played the piano since elementary school, so he was nervous, but said, “After practicing hard for about half a year, I finally got to the level where I could present it to everyone.Also, up until now, I had played many student roles. But this time, I’m playing the role of a teacher, and I feel like I’ve grown into an adult over the years,” she said with a smile.
This work has been mixed with various media. When asked about the unique highlights of the stage version, Goto said, “The stage is a living thing, so you can directly convey the power of the actors.In particular, the scene where everyone sings to Mr. Matsuyama is always a great surprise.I would love to share it with the audience. I want you to come and experience it for yourself.”
When asked about playing the role of a junior high school student, Yamagishi said, “Since I am playing a role that is 10 years younger than my actual age, at first, the director, Mr. Nagato, told me to be more fresh!
That’s what I was told (laughs). I wish I could deliver the power I feel when I sing to my customers. What I struggled with was the dialect. It was difficult for me to remember unfamiliar words, so I asked Aimi Ito, who plays my mother, to teach me.”
Himi said, “As I was playing the role of a middle school student, I was always rehearsing in high spirits. Even during breaks, we played together like friends. There were so many people celebrating their birthdays during the rehearsal period, so we all thought about it. We had some surprises, and we got along very well on set,” he recalls. Nishikawa said, “There were many members who had never sung before, but we all worked together to create it.I think we were able to deliver it with confidence.In the second half and during the curtain call, we performed an original choral song.” We sing a certain song, “Through the Clouds,” but it becomes even more powerful when people from other schools sing along with us.On Saturdays and Sundays, we have a choir called Cole June Junior, and junior high school students from Toshima Ward. will also be participating.I think you will be able to experience the powerful chorus and the raw power,” he said, referring to the chorus scene, which is a major element of this work. Also, the day before, there was a general event that invited people with disabilities and their families from Toshima Ward. Saito said, “A lot of people came and watched it seriously. Even though it was a general production, they gave me double curtain calls and said they wanted to buy the video, so I was very happy. I think it’s amazing that they invited people with disabilities from Toshima Ward to watch the show without hesitation, and the various venues are barrier-free, so I hope it spreads from here to theaters across the country. I’m also happy as an actor,” he says with great enthusiasm.
Lastly, Nagashima said, “It’s a wonderful work that conveys your feelings, with chorus as its theme, and there are laughs and heartwarming scenes. I would be happy if people saw this work and decided to do their best tomorrow, and even one thing will leave a lasting impression on them.” I think it would be great if there were lines and scenes.I hope many people will come to see it.”
This work will be performed at Owlspot from June 6th (Thursday) to June 10th (Monday). In addition to greetings from the cast at the curtain call for each performance, there will be a farewell party after the performance on Friday, June 7th, and a special curtain call for the Senshuuraku performance on Monday, June 10th. Check the official website to find out which cast members will appear.
[Synopsis]
The story takes place in a middle school chorus club on the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture.
Ms. Matsuyama, a music teacher and advisor to the chorus club, is going on maternity leave, so she asks Kashiwagi, a middle school classmate who went on to a music college in Tokyo, to teach the choir for a one-year period.
Until then, there were only female chorus members, but many male students joined the chorus due to the charm of the beautiful Kashiwagi Sensei.
Soon, the conflict between the male and female club members, who are not serious about practice, becomes more intense.
On the other hand, Mr. Kashiwagi decided to write a song called “Letter~Dear Fifteen Kimi e~”, which was the theme song for the N-Con (NHK National School Music Contest).
He assigned the club members homework to write a letter to themselves five years from now.
Perhaps because submission was not mandatory, the letters they wrote contained life-sized secrets that they could not tell anyone. [Performance overview]
Title: Stage play “Song on your lips”
Original work: Eiichi Nakata “A song on your lips” (Shogakukan Bunko) Screenplay/Direction: Katsuhiko Nagato
Composition and chorus instruction: Kazuki Wada
Performer:
Seira Nagashima
Yuki Goto
Riko Yamagishi
Tatsuya Himi
Hinano
Misaki Nishikawa
Tensho Nogami
Ayu Sato
Sakura Tominaga
Erina Koga
Sunaho Kaneda
Moka Matsubara
Rina Yuki
Mitsuki Kitahata
Kota
Rei Saito
Daisei Miyamoto
Sadaoka Yuho
Aimi Ito
Emi Kuriyama
Ken Ogasawara
Venue: Owlspot
Performance dates: June 6th (Thursday) ~ June 10th (Monday), 2024 June 6th 18:30
June 7th 14:00/18:30
June 8th 12:00/17:30
June 9th 12:00/17:30
June 10th 14:00
Price: SS seat 8,800 yen/S seat 6,600 yen (tax included/preschoolers not allowed)
Official website: https://kuchibiru-stage2024.com
Official X:@kuchibiru_2024 https://twitter.com/kuchibiru_2024 Sponsor: Kyodo Factory
Co-sponsor: Toshima Ward
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