With his beautiful voice and looks that radiate on stage, Yoshio Inoue is the undisputed "prince of musicals." Yet the actor will star as a forlorn middle-aged man in the musical "Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812," or "The Great Comet," in January next year. How will he tackle the unprincely role?
"The Great Comet" is a fast-paced, sung-through musical based on "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy. Born off-Broadway in 2012, it won a record 12 nominations for the Tony Awards in 2017, a year after transferring to Broadway.
The musical, which will have its Japan premiere, has a complex story and elaborate staging.
"It's quite a peculiar work, almost experimental," Inoue said.
In the Broadway version, the theater was largely renovated so that there was no boundary between the stage and the audience. At one time, the cast performed in front of audience members eating and drinking. "Opposite" seems to be a keyword of the musical. For example, a young actor played an old man, and music played in a bar 200 years ago sounds like contemporary club music.
"It's very artistic with all those twists. I think that's what made this musical so popular on Broadway," Inoue said.
The story is set in Moscow in the early 19th century. Inoue plays the protagonist, Pierre, an illegitimate son of an aristocrat. He inherits a vast fortune, but his relationship with his wife, Helene (played by Hiromu Kiriya), has gone sour, and he lives on alcohol and contemplation. Meanwhile, Natasha (Erika Ikuta), a daughter of a count and a friend of Pierre, is feeling lonely, because her fiance, Andrey (Shinji Takeda), has gone to the war front.
Pierre is supposed to be an unattractive and obese middle-aged man, but the character was played on Broadway by Josh Groban, who is very slim. And in Japan, the prince of the musical scene has been cast in the role.
"People around him think Pierre is a man who has money but lives a sad life," Inoue said. "He's not an energetic, hyperactive person, and can be inconspicuous when he's not up to anything. I'm feeling very rewarded to play this role because he's not the type of character I've known well."
What does "Great Comet" in the title mean?
"I have a feeling it's something that becomes a hope when [Pierre] stops and wonders about his life," Inoue said. "Since it's going to be staged in the New Year, I hope the audience will find a bright light in the production."
Prince no more?
Hailing from Fukuoka, Inoue made his theatrical debut in 2000 when he was still a student of Tokyo University of the Arts, strutting onto the stage at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo as Crown Prince Rudolf in the musical "Elisabeth." He went on to star in many musicals, from "Mozart!" and "Rudolf: The Last Kiss" to "Daddy Long Legs" and "The Great Gatsby." After Inoue's performances, his fans make long lines in front of the stage door, waiting for him to come out. Therefore, the passage to the stage door is sometimes called "The Prince Road."
"Don't you think it's bordering on fodder for jokes that I'm called a prince?" Inoue said self-deprecatingly, perhaps because of the fact that he will turn 40 years old next year.
Recently, he has widened his activities to straight plays, such as works by the late playwright Hisashi Inoue and a two-man play with veteran actor Isao Hashizume, and he also hosts a radio show. He is scheduled to star in the play "Junibanme no Tenshi" (The Twelfth Angel) at Theatre Creation in Hibiya, Tokyo, in March and April next year.
Harmony with pop star
This year, Inoue created a buzz by appearing alongside pop star Koichi Domoto in "Knights' Tale" at the Imperial Theatre, which is like home to both performers. The grand musical newly created by top talents overseas opened at the Tokyo theater in July and closed at Umeda Arts Theater in Osaka in October.
"I was under pressure because it was the world premiere of a new work, but I think it came out as a nice work with a dramatic quality. I'm happy," he said, looking relieved.
Inoue and Domoto were already good friends before this show, going out drinking together and talking about their dream to appear onstage together. It seems that their friendship deepened as they spent nearly six months rehearsing and performing this musical.
"It was really fun," Inoue said. "We had meals together every day in Osaka. It was completely stress-free between us. We are alike in that we don't really like standing out. It's odd in a way that we were the leads."
He said he also learned important things from Domoto.
"Standing next to Koichi, I learned a lot about what a star is. He shows it with his presence, not with his words. People around him still follow him without fail. I felt that I understood what I have to do."
"The Great Comet" will be performed from Jan. 5 to 27 at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. The production with music, lyrics, script and orchestration by Dave Malloy will be directed by Caori Covayashi, who has also translated the lyrics and the script into Japanese. Visit www.tohostage.com/thegreatcomet/ for more information.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
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