saturday.

[sunfright]

Watch on YouTube

(I can see the video has since been removed. A version of this song - another cast - with subs can be found over on Tumblr, this way.)

I rewatched the Hanagumi version of In the Amber-Hued Rain this morning which counts among my favourite musicals. I first saw it with Takumi Hibiki and Ootori Rei, a real classic, but this is the tour version with Haruno Sumire and Fuzuki Miyo in the leads. The above video is that cast as well.

There are several reasons as to why this is a favourite of mine.

It's an old musical, first put on in the... 50's, I think (research says 80's which is still old for a Zuka production), but was revived with Masatsuka-sensei (who also did Silver Wolf) as director and has been done by various troupes since. Most notably Hanagumi, but new-era Yukigumi (Nozomi Fuuto and Maaya Kiho) has also had a tour with it, likewise golden-era Hoshigumi (Yuzuki Reon and Yumesaki Nene). I will forever be bitter that Maachan didn't get to try her hands on Sharon as a role, but it was just never the kind of thing they'd cast her in, although she'd have been phenomenal.

Because that's the #1 reason I love this musical, tbh. Its musumeyaku lead (and musumeyaku roles in general) are meaty, nuanced, interesting and complex. Probably one of the most complex musumeyaku characters there is in the Zuka repertory, up there with Elisabeth and Mireille in Silver Wolf. As always, this complexity is shown in a huge wardrobe, I think Sharon changes outfits maybe ten times throughout the show which is a huge amount of wardrobe changes for a musumeyaku. In comparison, Maachan as Lilith in Lucifer's Tears has two. Which isn't normal either, but just to show the difference.

In the Amber-Hued Rain takes place late 1910's/early 1920's, when we're slowly entering the jazz age and the shift between 'old' and 'new' is shown in the introduction of the tango, in opposition to waltzing and the jazz-era wardrobe of some of the characters. It's the same period that Lucifer's Tears explores, actually. It takes place in Paris, with some brief changes of location to the Orient Express which is a main feature in the story, a dreamlike place.

I've watched two versions of this musical, the one with Charlie (Takumi Hibiki) and the one with Osa (Haruno Sumire) and I think I'd really like to mix them up to get the perfect version. Personally, I adore Charlie and think she's a better Claude than Osa, though Osa - upon revisiting - is also very good and does something a bit darker with the characterisation, whereas I think Fuuchan (Fuzuki Miyo) is a better Sharon than Midori (Ootori Rei) who is also excellent, but I prefer Fuuchan's acting. Midori is the better singer and that does suit the musical's many, a bit more complex musumeyaku songs, but I take good acting over good singing any day.

Not to mention, In the Amber-Hued Rain was at the very beginning of Fuuchan's musumeyaku career and at the end of Midori's and I still think that Fuuchan's portrayal is more nuanced and interesting. That's impressive. Along with her role in Immortal Thorns, also from the same period, Sharon is Fuuchan's peak as a performer.

Plus, she's so gosh darn pretty, I can't...

Besides Osa and Fuuchan, we have Ranju Tomu as Louis, a gigolo who acts as a second love interest for Sharon, and he and Claude compete for her attention. The role has been played by Osa before, opposite Charlie, but also by Sena Jun, opposite Osa. Like Fuuchan, Tomu isn't the best singer, but you get used to her style quickly, I think, instead she's extremely talented as an actress and an amazing dancer, so she fits the role really well. Very smouldering and jaded. I love her.

Last but not least, In the Amber-Hued Rain is stocked up on bangers. It is literally one of the only Zuka musicals that doesn't have a single forgettable song. All of Sharon's songs are amazing, Claude's theme is beautiful, everything sung by Claude and Louis is super catchy, the ensemble songs are killer and even Francoise's (Claude's fiancée) songs are nice. This is the musical with the gigolo song that basically has a refrain than just says "gigolo, gigolo" which doesn't sound half as cool as it's done. It has an ensemble song called "Train Blu" which is also really cool - and then, all the character themes. Sooooo good.

Last but not least, it has the song I've shared up above. C'est La Vie which is the most catchy and unforgettable song I've ever heard in a Zuka musical, that is counting Elisabeth and Lucifer's Tears. It is just so catchy. I still, ten years later, still sometimes randomly remember it and want to sing it.

So, luckily, someone has uploaded it to YouTube for y'all to enjoy.

It's a classic love story with some Lady of the Camellias vibes in there, with a poignant, sad ending. What's not to love?

I fell a little bit in love again, at least, upon reviewing it.