Last weekend, I went to see The Phantom of the Opera in Tokyo. Naturally, being in Japan, the entire play (songs and all) was done in Japanese. Naturally. Except that I wasn’t ready for that. I thought it would be a U.S. touring show. Silly me.
The play was still a killer show. I was a little sad because I think they modified a few things (especially the set) to better match the movie (I have seen the play once before the movie came out), but nonetheless they did a fantastic job. The audience applauded so much the the performers looked tired of all the extra curtain calls, they must have done an extra 10 or so before they all waved goodnight walked off the stage with the curtain still up. I don’t think this is normal in Japan, because a few people did laugh at the 9th and 10th curtain calls. For those of you studying theatre – the Japanese audience reminds me of stories of German audiences – dead
silent during the performance. Even at funny moments there was minimal laughter, if any. I had the best seats in the house so I dressed up. Unfortunately, no one at the theatre was dressed up at all. Not even ties on the men. The theatre was pretty small, but everything was well done and despite the language ‘change, I ‘though the songs were well done keeping in tempo and key. They had some great talent on the stage.
For the weekend, I stayed in a hotel in Tokyo, even though I wasn’t that far from the base. It was just meant to be a treat. Staying at a really nice hotel in the U.S., a young person gets horrible treatment. Almost to the point where staff follow you to make sure you don’t steal. Staying at a really nice hotel as a young foreigner in Japan gets royal treatment. It was great! I made sure the hotel had English speaking staff before going, which helped, too. They also has a huge Japanese garden with lots of Koi in a big pond.
The room had a king size bed, but I think they turned the bed on its side, it was very wide, but short.