Shinsaibashi PARCO touring with Ryo Zhujo starring Manuela (March 4)

―In the stage "Manuela", Ryo Shujo plays the main character, Manuela. What is the story of this scene?

Zhujo: How did the real Japanese dancer Taeko Nagasue spend his time in Shanghai just before World War II as a leading dancer Manuela with unknown nationality? I'm painting the half-life of that turbulence. There is also a love romance, which is an entertainment work that shows it through music, dance, and play.

―He was a full-fledged stage after he retired from Takarazuka Revue and played a leading role. The cast and staff are also gorgeous.

Zhujo: I was very happy to be able to participate in the work produced by Parco. Originally, I liked theater and when I was enrolled in the Takarazuka Revue Company, I went to see many works other than musicals, so I am very happy and rewarding to be able to challenge these works. The co-stars also have a very high amount of enthusiasm for the work. There is also Dai Watanabe, a senior at the office, and the theater part can only be studied. Tetsuya Chiba, who directs the production, is also appearing as an actor. I was looking forward to being able to direct it to those who usually watched the stage as an audience, but I never thought that I would be on stage together, so I would like to absorb various things.

―This work is a real person who lived in a turbulent era. What part do you want to convey on the stage?

Zhujo: When I read the script, it was quite heavy, and there was a shocking part as to whether this was actually happening. But not only the chaotic situation in the dark background, but the people in the story are different from their positions and nationalities, but they are all desperately living in the present moment with some hope. As a woman named Manuela lives in a foreign country, there are many conflicts, but there is always hope somewhere. She was called "The Rose of Shanghai", but I think it was expressed because the dance is beautiful and bewitching, but also because her own way of life and humanity are so noble and beautiful. There must be a sense to play in this era. Her passionate part, she meets and grows with a lot of people. I want to convey such things not only through dance but also through words. This is the part I want to play carefully.

―This work is a theater work that includes elements of dance and music, but there may be something similar to the Takarazuka Revue.

Zhujo: I think this work is based on a conversational play. It was something I wanted to challenge myself, but after expressing the breath of human life on the stage, dance and music helped me. I hope you can play it like that. There is a scene where Manuela says, "I was born to dance," but what I can't express in words is connected to dance and connected to music. It would be nice to be able to convey her passionate energy and emotions to customers more directly.