風と共に去りぬ Gone with the Wind

After being introduced to the world of Takarazuka Revue, I bought myself a bunch of other Takarazuka recordings last year.  Apart from wanting to listen to Yuki Amami, I figured that they would help in my kikitori (listening) skills, which are rusty and deteriorating from lack of use.  These recordings are now out-of-print but good quality 2nd hand copies can be found quite cheaply.  Anyway, brand new copies would have cost too much even before shipping e.g. 4800 yen (SG$72) for a 2-Act play.

風と共に去りぬ Gone with the Wind double CD, Takarazuka Moon Troupe 1994 (Top right: Front cover; Top left: Back cover; Bottom right: the obi; Bottom centre: Front of booklet; Bottom left: Back of booklet)

The first one that I started on is “風と共に去りぬ”, an adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind”, which had also been made into a classic film starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in 1939.  It is one of Takarazuka’s most well-loved productions (perhaps second only to “Rose of Versailles”), having spanned numerous versions since it was first performed in 1977.  As one of my friends mentioned before, ‘可以成为经典的伟大故事通常都有一些历史背景。’  “Gone with the Wind” is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War in the 19th century.

I remember reading in Amami’s book that she was quite worried about playing Rhett Butler at first.  Until then, she had always approached her roles in a natural manner, treating each as a ‘person’ and never having to consciously remind herself that she was supposed to be a man. But this won’t do, given Butler’s otokokusai (臭男人) and buraihan (無賴漢) character, she thought to herself.  In the end, her worries proved to be unfounded as her performance as the ‘youngest Butler in Takarazuka history’ was well-received and applauded.  Kayo Asano also gave a powerful performance as Scarlett.  It is probably one of her most challenging roles ever. 

Stage photos from the CD booklet:

I like the songs in the musical very much as they are very melodious, poetic and touching.  “さようならは夕映えの中で”, Butler’s theme song used both as the opening and ending, is obviously popular.  But my favourite is the beautifully tuneful “君はマグノリアの花の如く”, which Butler sings with much feeling, describing Scarlett (Asano) as one with ‘the beauty of a magnolia flower’.  As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the headstrong Scarlett and the obnoxious(?) Butler make a perfect pair.  Unfortunately, Scarlett only has eyes for Ashley (Seika Kuze), despite him already being married to Melanie (Aya Maiki).  Ashley also sings his version of “君はマグノリアの花の如く”, and frankly speaking Kuze is a better singer than Amami in terms of technique but 各有魅力吧.  There are further nice songs in the form of “愛のフェニックス” by Butler and “明日になれば” by Scarlett and the music throughout the play is also well-written.

Click link below for the scene where Butler offered 150 gold dollars to dance with Scarlett who was in mourning(!) during the charity event to raise war funds, followed by Butler’s rendition (好好聽!) of “君はマグノリアの花の如く” (at 5:50):
Dance + 君はマグノリアの花の如く

But I was disappointed that parts of the play had been edited in the recording.  I believe that the ‘missing bits’ were removed to have sufficient time to accommodate the ‘double Scarlett’.  Asano and Makoto Tsubasa played Scarlett and Scarlett II (Scarlett’s inner self) respectively but there were some days when they reversed their roles.  Tsubasa’s part as Scarlett was included at the back and some clever programming of the tracks would enable the listener to enjoy the ‘role reversal’ performance.  As a fan of the Amami-Asano pairing, I would much rather they left the whole musical intact instead, and I don’t get the rationale behind getting otokoyaku to play female roles at all (Makoto is an otokoyaku).

Click link below for comedic scene between Butler & Mammy, Scarlett’s nanny (excluded from the recording), followed by the classic scene of a jealous Butler causing Scarlett to fall down the stairs:
Butler, Scarlett, Mammy (subtitled)

As I have neither read the book nor watched the movie and being unfamiliar with America’s history, all that editing only made it more difficult for me to piece the story together.  As it is, condensing the lengthy original story into a 2 1/2 hour play is difficult enough, with some modification and quite a lot of details omitted.  The good thing is that it makes me read up on the American Civil War between the Yankees (North) and the Confederates (South).  又學了一些新知識。

Towards the end, Scarlett finally realises that Ashley is but an illusion and that the person she loves the most (and who loves her the most) is Butler.   However, it proves to be too late as Butler has already made his decision and would not be persuaded to change his mind…Perhaps to make up for the lack of a happy ending, there is a tightly-executed duet dance during the finale (nothing to do with the story itself) featuring Amami (sans Butler’s moustache!) and Asano.  I believe it is one of their most famous and well-loved dance performances, a perfect display of the chemistry and understanding enjoyed between the two.

Click link below for the duet dance between Amami and Asano during the Finale (Song: Night and Day):
Amami & Asano Duet Dance

Click link below for the Grand Finale (Featuring 君はマグノリアの花の如く~故里は緑なり~明日になれば~愛のフェニックス~さようならは夕映えの中で):
Gone with the Wind Grand Finale

Program Book Cover (好帅+年轻的 Rhett Butler):

Rhett Butler (天海祐希 Yuki Amami) with ‘fiercer’ make-up:

During rehearsal: (Can you tell that this pic and the one above show the same person?)

The rest of the main cast: (Anti-clockwise from top right: Ashley, the two Scarletts, Belle and Melanie) 

Rehearsal pics:

Right: Scarlett (麻乃佳世 Kayo Asano); Left: Ashley (久世星佳 Seika Kuze)

From right: Scarlett (真琴つばさ Tsubasa Makoto), Belle (若央りさ Risa Wakao), Melanie (舞希彩 Aya Maiki)

Special Program: (I like this pic of the four of them very much; They look like a family.)


The 1970s and 1980s versions of Takarazuka “Gone with the Wind” productions:

Further info/links:
Gone with the Wind the Book:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind

Gone with the Wind the Film:
http://www.historyinfilm.com/gwtw/index.htm (Nice music!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)

Gone with the Wind (Takarazuka Moon Troupe 1994):
http://www.takarazuka-revue.info/tiki-index.php?page=Gone+with+the+Wind+%28Moon+1994%29

Tags: Kayo Asano, Seika Kuze, Takarazuka, Tsubasa Makoto, Yuki Amami