Matsumoto Hakuo II is the rare actor who can perform at a high level both in Japanese traditional kabuki and Western musicals. He has played the lead role in "Man Of La Mancha" since it premiered in Japan 50 years ago, with his total number of performances in the musical reaching 1,300 during the October program at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. The actor has led an impressive but at times off-beat life.
Hakuo II was born in 1942 as the heir to the prestigious Matsumoto Koshiro family, also known by the family stage name Koraiya. From generation to generation, the Koraiya family has been regarded as having "an enterprising spirit." Matsumoto Koshiro VII and VIII tackled not only kabuki but also Japanese versions of foreign theatrical works.
Hakuo II reached a turning point at the age of 18 when, along with his father Koshiro VIII (later Hakuo I), he moved from Shochiku Co. to its rival Toho Co. It was big news at the time, as Toho was aiming to make a foray into the kabuki business that Shochiku dominated by luring away about 30 kabuki actors mainly from the Koraiya troupe. Hakuo II (then Ichikawa Somegoro VI) began taking the stage in contemporary plays and musicals, which were Toho's other specialties along with kabuki. In line with his oft-repeated dictum, "Professional actors should be able to do whatever they are told to do," he began playing the lead role in musicals such as "The King and I," paving the way for his rise as a musical star. In addition to the acting abilities he has cultivated since childhood, his distinctive good looks and singing prowess defined by a beautiful, baritone voice are suitable to Western theater.
"Man Of La Mancha" first opened in the United States in 1965. Hakuo II's father saw a performance on Broadway and became consumed with a desire to have his son play the lead role, so he worked to bring the musical to Japan. The 1969 premier starring Hakuo II became a big hit. The following year he was invited to Broadway, where he performed his role entirely in English.
However, compared to Shochiku, Toho lacked the financial resources and talent to produce a large number of kabuki performances, so his father and brother, Nakamura Kichiemon II, returned to the older company to focus on kabuki. Hakuo II followed suit in 1979 and inherited the name Matsumoto Koshiro IX in 1981. (He passed that name on to his eldest son and took the name Hakuo II in 2018.) He has continued to stand apart by successfully performing numerous roles in kabuki, including Benkei in "Kanjincho," while also shining in the Western theater scene in lead roles in plays such as "The King and I" in London's West End.
"Man Of La Mancha," his signature work, has a somewhat complicated plot. The musical is based on the novel "Don Quixote" written by Spanish literary giant Miguel de Cervantes. In the musical adaptation, Hakuo II plays playwright Cervantes, who embarks on acting out an improvised play in prison and performs the role of an old man, Alonso Quixano, who believes that he is the knight Don Quixote of La Mancha. The lead actor must skillfully perform these three different characters.
In the musical, the character Don Quixote delivers the powerful line, "The maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be." The life of Don Quixote seems to parallel Hakuo's own battle-filled life, in which he has consistently turned in unprecedented performances in kabuki, contemporary plays and musicals, all while changing his stage name from Somegoro to Koshiro to Hakuo.
When I watch kabuki, there is a moment when an actor's role and the life of the actor blend together and something new emerges. I felt that the three characters in "Man Of La Mancha" were harmoniously blended with Hakuo's own experiences to create a unified whole. I was moved in exactly the same way when I watched him play Benkei in "Kanjincho."
-- Morishige covers traditional performing arts.
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