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Kanji Ishimaru
is a Japanese musical actor and singer. Ishimaru is signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. He grew up in Ichihara, Chiba and graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts. Biography Ishimaru played various instruments, such as the piano, cello, trombone, and snare drum, since childhood. He studied the cello at a music course at Chiba Prefectural Makuhari-Nishin High School (now Chiba Prefectural Makuhari General High School), attempted to major in the saxophone at Tokyo College of Music, and graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts Faculty of Music in Vocal music. In 1990, he debuted in the role of Raoul of Shiki Theatre Company's ''The Phantom of the Opera''. Since then, Ishimaru has acted as a signboard actor for the company. Among other activities, he appeared in advertisements for Oronamin C (co-starring with SMAP's Takuya Kimura) and Nescafé Gold Blend. In 2013, he played branch manager Tadasu Asano in the Tokyo Broadcasting System television drama ''Hanzawa Nao ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niihama, Ehime
270px, Niihama City Hall 270px, Aerial View of Central Niihama is a city located in the eastern part of Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 115,824 in 57781 households and a population density of 490 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It has the third largest population in Ehime, behind the prefectural capital of Matsuyama and the recently expanded city of Imabari. It is famous for its Besshi copper mine as well as the annual Niihama Taiko Festival (also known as "The Man Festival", ''otokomatsuri'' 男祭り) that is the center of annual drunken and boisterous activity, drawing tourists from around the country to watch this festival Geography Niihama is positioned in the north-center area of the island of Shikoku, in the eastern part of Ehime Prefecture. Niihama is enveloped by mountains to the south and east, hills to the west, and the Seto Inland Sea to the north. The Kokuryo River flows from the mountains to the Seto Inland Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanese Television Drama
, also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thriller, and many others. Single episode, or "tanpatsu" dramas that are usually two hours in length are also broadcast. For special occasions, there may be a one or two-episode drama with a specific theme, such as one produced in 2015 for the 70-year anniversary of the end of World War II. Japanese drama series are broadcast in three-month seasons: winter (January–March), spring (April–June), summer (July–September), and autumn or fall (October–December). Some series may start in another month though it may still be counted as a series of a specific season. The majority of dramas are aired weekdays in the evenings around 9pm through 11pm. Daytime dramas are typically broadcast daily, and episodes of the same drama can be aired daily for s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rokumeikan (play)
''Rokumeikan'' is a four-act costume drama by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. It was commissioned by the Bungakuza group for its 20th anniversary, and its first run was from 27 November to 9 December 1956 at the Daiichi Seimei Hall, with Haruko Sugimura playing Asako and Nobuo Nakamura playing Kageyama. The text was published in the December 1956 issue of ''Bungakukai''. The play was enormously successful, and toured the country. By many accounts, it was the most successful play by Mishima and has been revived on several occasions. An English translation by Hiroaki Sato was published in 2002. The play was adapted into different media. A film version, directed by Kon Ichikawa, appeared in 1986, and a TV version in 2008. An opera based on the play by Shin’ichirō Ikebe was premiered by the New National Theatre Tokyo in 2010. Plot introduction On 3 November 1886, the Emperor's birthday, a ball is to be held at the Rokumeikan, or Deer Cry Hall, in Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Side Story
''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1950s in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, then a multiracial, blue-collar neighborhood. The musical explores the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds. The Sharks, who are immigrants from Puerto Rico, and the Jets, who are white, vie for dominance of the neighborhood, and the police try to keep order. The young protagonist, Tony, a former member of the Jets and best friend of the gang's leader, Riff, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. The dark theme, sophisticated music, extended dance scenes, tragic love story, and focus on social problems marked a turning point in musical theatre. The original 1957 Broadway production, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Undine
Undines (; also ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, stemming from the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern literature and art through such adaptations as Danish Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and the ''Undine'' of Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Etymology The term ''Undine'' first appears in the alchemical writings of Paracelsus, a Renaissance alchemist and physician. It derives from the Latin word ''unda'', meaning "wave", and first appears in Paracelsus' ''A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits'', published posthumously in 1566. ''Ondine'' is an alternative spelling, and has become a female given name. Elementals Paracelsus believed that each of the four classical elements – earth, water, air and fire – is inhabited by different categories of elemental spirits, liminal creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Passer-through-walls
''The passer-through-walls'' (french: Le Passe-muraille), translated as ''The Man Who Walked through Walls'', ''The Walker-through-Walls'' or ''The Man who Could Walk through Walls'', is a short story published by Marcel Aymé in 1941.Michel Lecureur, Le Passe-muraille - Notice, in Marcel Aymé, Œuvres romanesques complètes – III, Gallimard, Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 2001, p. 1843-1851 () Plot summary A man named Dutilleul lived in Montmartre in 1943. In his forty-third year, he discovered that he possessed the ability to pass effortlessly through walls. In search of a cure he consulted a doctor, who prescribed intensive work and a medicine. Dutilleul made no change to his rather inactive life, however, and a year later still retained his ability to pass through walls, although with no inclination to use it. However, a new manager arrived at his office and began to make his job unbearable. Dutilleul began using his power to annoy his manager, who went mad and was taken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Illya Darling
''Illya Darling'' is a musical with a book by Jules Dassin, music by Manos Hadjidakis, and lyrics by Joe Darion, based on Dassin's 1960 film ''Never on Sunday''. Production The show previewed in a tour of Philadelphia, Toronto and Detroit for nine weeks. After 22 previews, the Broadway production opened on April 11, 1967 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre and closed on January 13, 1968, after 320 performances and 22 previews. It was directed by Dassin, choreographed by Onna White, with scenic design by Oliver Smith, costume design by Theoni V. Aldredge, and lighting design by Jean Rosenthal. Orchestra was conducted by Karen Gustafson. Attendance was fueled by the star wattage provided by Melina Mercouri, who was nominated for a Tony Award, in the title role. She had starred in the film, which managed to overcome the mostly lukewarm to negative reviews. Critics found the plot too slight.Monji, Jan"Curtain up review, 2003 Los Angeles production"curtainup.com, March 15, 2003 O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father in order to seize his throne and marry Hamlet's mother. ''Hamlet'' is considered among the "most powerful and influential tragedies in the English language", with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others". There are many works that have been pointed to as possible sources for Shakespeare's play—from ancient Greek tragedies to Elizabethan plays. The editors of the Arden Shakespeare question the idea of "source hunting", pointing out that it presupposes that authors always require ideas from other works for their own, and suggests that no author can have an original idea or be an originator. When ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skimbleshanks
Skimbleshanks is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 book of poetry ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical ''Cats'', which is based on Eliot's book. The character is portrayed as a bright and energetic orange tabby cat who lives and works on the mail trains. The role of Skimbleshanks was originated in the West End by Kenn Wells in 1981, and on Broadway by Reed Jones in 1982. He was portrayed by Geoffery Garrat and David Arneil in the 1998 film adaptation, and Steven McRae in the 2019 film adaptation. Origins The T. S Eliot poem begins as a parody of Rudyard Kipling's poem "l'Envoi" (also known as "The Long Trail") from ''Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses''. Compare the first few lines of Kipling's :There's a whisper down the field where the year has shot her yield, :And the ricks stand grey to the sun, :Singing:--'Over then, come over, for the bee has quit the clover, :And your English summer's done.' :You have heard the beat of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cats (musical)
''Cats'' is a sung-through musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based upon the 1939 poetry collection ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' by T. S. Eliot. It tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make the "Jellicle choice" by deciding which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. As of 2022, ''Cats'' remains the fourth-longest-running Broadway show and the seventh-longest-running West End show. Lloyd Webber began setting Eliot's poems to music in 1977, and the compositions were first presented as a song cycle in 1980. Producer Cameron Mackintosh then recruited director Trevor Nunn and choreographer Gillian Lynne to turn the songs into a complete musical. ''Cats'' opened to positive reviews at the New London Theatre in the West End in 1981 and then to mixed reviews at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in 1982. It won numerous awards including Best Musical at both the Laurence Olivier and Tony Awards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beast (Disney)
The Beast is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 30th animated feature film ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), as well as in the film's two direct-to-video followups '' Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'' and '' Belle's Magical World''. Based on the hero of the French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, the Beast was created by screenwriter Linda Woolverton and animated by Glen Keane. A pampered prince transformed into a hideous beast as punishment for his cold-hearted and selfish ways, the Beast must, in order to return to his former self, earn the love of a beautiful young woman named Belle who he imprisons in his castle. All this must be done before the last petal falls from the enchanted rose on his twenty-first birthday. In all animated film appearances, the Beast is voiced by American actor Robby Benson. The 1991 animated film was adapted into a Broadway musical in 1994, with the role being originated by American ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beauty And The Beast (musical)
''Beauty and the Beast'' is a Disney stage musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book by Linda Woolverton. Adapted from Walt Disney Pictures' Academy Award-winning 1991 animated musical film of the same name – which in turn had been based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont – ''Beauty and the Beast'' tells the story of an unkind prince who has been magically transformed into an unsightly creature as punishment for his selfish ways. To revert into his true human form, the Beast must learn to love a bright, beautiful young lady who he has imprisoned in his enchanted castle before it is too late. Critics, who hailed the film as one of the year's finest musicals, instantly noted its Broadway musical potential when it was first released in 1991, encouraging Disney CEO Michael Eisner to venture into Broadway. All eight songs from the animated film were reused in the musical, including a resurrected musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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