Tokyo Weekender - October 2017

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Society TOKYO’S LONGEST RUNNING SOCIAL COLUMN WITH BILL HERSEY Exile’s Iwata Takanori and director Christopher Nolan at Warner Brothers’ press conference for Dunkirk Maybe I’m wrong but looking back it seems August even with the heat was busier than ever, and from the looks of happenings coming up, October and the rest of 2017 will be even busier. That’s the way I and I know many of you like it. I’m so happy the Japanese seem to be getting back into the Broadway show and international musical scene. I really enjoyed the international production of one of my all-time favorite musicals, West Side Story, this summer. If you’re into Broadway, ballet, and showbiz you have a lot of things to choose from this fall and winter. I can’t list them all here, but will list a few I’ve seen and really enjoyed. The Argentine show Fuerza Bruta is back with an exciting new production titled Beyond the Next Level, which runs through December 10. I saw it two years ago, and like Cirque du Soleil, it really is mind-boggling. My French Canadian friend Guy Laliberté who, along with another street performer, created the always sold out Cirque du Soleil shows, is bringing one in that I hadn’t heard of. It’s titled Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities and it will run from February 7 until April 8 next year at Odaiba Big Top. I was surprised to see that there’s a Japanese version of the off-Broadway play Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The off-the-wall production is being promoted as a special show and will just have two days of performances in Tokyo on October 14 and 15, and one in Osaka on October 17. If you see it you’ll understand why they label it very special. I’ve seen the off-Broadway award winner Blast endless times and had many parties for their cast over the years in Roppongi. The show is an exciting combo of percussion instruments, dance and endless energy. I went to their last show in Tokyo before they toured all over Japan. Since I last saw the show years ago, the producers have tied up with Disney. This, of course, means money, and the talent, the sets, and the choreography add up to a real winner. The 2,000 seats at Shibuya’s ORB Theatre were sold out, and the show got several standing ovations. I just learned that ORB is bringing in a production of another of my favorites, Evita, for their fifth anniversary early next year. There’ll also be a Japanese co-production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Zepp Theater 11/7–11/12, and Parco 11/16–12/3. Thanks to Junko Koshino. I had the privilege of seeing the latest Drum Tao show before they went to Paris and Singapore. The awesome drumming, the shamisen and koto playing, the choreography, the high-tech stage sets, and Junko’s costumes added up to entertainment at its very best. After the show I met a host of interesting people at a party Junko and her husband Hiroyuki Suzuki hosted at Vanity, a popular club in Roppongi. These included the new French Ambassador Laurent Pic, Mikawa Kenichi, and actor Tatsumi Takuro. Mikawa-san will be performing at Dewi Sukarno’s 20th Annual Imperial Banquet at Meguro Gajoen on October 14. The Tao drummers will be back in Tokyo by then and they have shows at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel from September 16 to October 29. As they say, “there’s no business like show business,” but I feel that there’s probably been enough of it in this month's column. It’s time to move onto the social scene... WARNER BROTHERS PRESS CONFERENCE FOR CHRISTOPHER NOLAN The big Academy Hills room on the 49th floor of the Mori Tower was wallto-wall enthusiastic journalists, as the special guest that day was Christopher Nolan whose film Dunkirk has been a huge box office hit wherever it’s been shown. The crowd’s feeling about the film and Christopher was great, and I appreciated the way he handled all the questions. As he explained a few times, “We interviewed men who had actually been there.” He wanted to create suspense and the idea of survival, and he wanted the film to have the power to shock. In order to appeal to young people, he visited drama schools and looked to use acting students who hadn’t been in films before. As a director, he feels like an architect or conductor (he really likes to work with sounds) who is bringing many different elements together. Warner Brothers had brought in Exile’s star member Iwata Takanori as a guest for the second half of the conference. It was a good choice as the actor-musician is a big fan of Nolan, and so knew what he was talking about. At the end of the interview, he was really happy when Nolan presented him with an autographed copy of the Dunkirk screenplay. Don’t miss this film – and try to see it in an IMAX theater. FORSYTH’S PERUVIAN NATIONAL DAY AT WESTIN HOTEL Peruvian Ambassador Harold W. Forsyth and his wife Veronica were only here a short time before they hosted the reception to celebrate the 196th anniversary of Peru’s Independence Day. For the event, they chose the elegant Kaede Room in the European-influenced Westin Hotel. It was packed with people and I was surprised at the number of VIPs whom I thought were out of Japan for the holidays but were there that evening. Familiar faces in the crowd included top 46 | OCTOBER 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER
JAMAICA NATIONAL DAY AT THE OKURA 1. Jamaican Amb. Clement Allicock and guest speaker Shunsuke Takei 2. Amb. Allicock, Takei-san, Ota Mayor Tadayoshi Matsubara, Material Co. Pres. Junichi Hosogai (Sponsor of Jamaica Bobsled Team) 3. Victoria Allicock, Amb. and Mrs. Allicock, Nicaraguan Amb. Saul Arana 4. Kyoko Spector and Liberian Amb. Yongor Telewoda 5. Kyoko with Monique Dehaney (left) and Jhana Graham (right) 1 2 3 4 5 7 6 8 9 11 10 WINE NIGHT – OAKWOOD PREMIERE 6. Hiroku Sakura, showbiz agent Keisuke Yasuda, Oakwood’s Amy Hanashiro 7. Oakwood’s man in Japan, Martin Fluck, James Moynihan, architect Seiji Sato 8. Oakwood’s staff members: Kenta, Akbar, and Ayaka 12 13 JUNKO KOSHINO PARTY – TAO & VANITY 9. Takarazuka girl/TV star Miki Maya, designer Junko Koshino, and Tao drummers 10. Actor Tatsumi Takuro, his daughter soprano opera singer Marie, and one of Marie’s fans 11. Akihiko Kanamaru, Junko, retired military general Toshiya Okabe, Junko’s photographer husband Hiroyuki Suzuki 12. Junko, former Japan Amb. to France Saito-san, popular singer and showbiz celeb Mikawa Kenichi 13. French Amb. Laurent Pic, a Tao star, Azerbaijan Amb. Gursel Ismayilzade TOKYO WEEKENDER | | OCTOBER 2017 | 47
Page 1: Japan’s number one English langua
Page 4 and 5: OCTOBER 2017 Publisher President Ex
Page 6 and 7: Where to find TOKYO WEEKENDER MAGAZ
Page 8 and 9: AREA GUIDE Words by Paul McInnes. P
Page 10 and 11: STYLE ALEXANDER WANG BAG Cross-body
Page 12 and 13: [ PROMOTION ] TRENDS EXPLORE JAPANE
Page 14 and 15: [ PROMOTION ] IMADEYA GINZA Founded
Page 16 and 17: Looking for a great place to eat, s
Page 18 and 19: [ PROMOTION ] FIND YOUR Trip 1: FOR
Page 20 and 21: [ PROMOTION ] Trip 3: FOR ADVENTURE
Page 22 and 23: [ PROMOTION ] 6 WAYS TO ENJOY FALL
Page 24 and 25: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A GEISHA Inter
Page 26 and 27: Not quite yet, but they are filling
Page 28 and 29: Words by Alec Jordan On the eve of
Page 30 and 31: The Future of Japanese Football Mee
Page 32 and 33: Dream Powder Words by Alec Jordan B
Page 34 and 35: ART & THEATER “CREATION IS A SOLI
Page 36 and 37: 1 3 2 4 7 8 5 6 AGENDA: THE WEEKEND
Page 38 and 39: [ PROMOTION ] Six new cities, towns
Page 40 and 41: Looking for your next job in Japan?
Page 42 and 43: ONLY THE BEST WILL DO HOW THE BRITI
Page 44 and 45: The Moon and Beyond First on the sc
Page 48 and 49: FORSYTH’S PERUVIAN NATIONAL DAY A
Page 50: [ PROMOTION ] Whether you’re just

Tokyo Weekender - October 2017

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?