Japanese Performance Preview, Les Miserables

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People's Song ～Les Miserables～

 Hiroko Fujimori (The Fountain staff)

The audience heard a girl practicing singing her solo song at the passage of the hall until immediately before the opening of the performance.

The Japanese performance preview of a musical, Les Miserables took place at Beppu Communitycenter on Jan.1. This stage was performed by about 20 people of Musical Company, a musical organization composed of APU students and citizens in Beppu.

The musical has two parts, and the first half is various musical songs, the latter half is the short version of Les Miserable performed in the way of a concert for visitors to enjoy a lot of musical songs and be interested in Japanese Performance of Les Miserable which will be held later.

The form had many ways to delight the audiences. It was not only singing but also what was worth to watch as performance. When the member were behind the singers and not singing, their bodies were shaking matching the songs and they sometimes danced to make the stage atmosphere. Furthermore, they joined to the songs as chorus even they didn’t have their mikes.

Yuri Morishita, a core member of Musical Company said although it was the form of a concert, we could show the audience something different from the common stage of musical. For example, in the first part, the audience could compare to listen to that one person sings the quite different kind of compositions because the performers did not change their clothes the whole time and we could know clearly who was singing. Also in the second part, they performed using two languages, English and Japanese, and some character's songs were sung by an international student and a domestic student
at the same time.

The performers also feel the difference when they sing their songs. Kai Doi, a performer says that how to express the emotion is the most difficult things for him. "....For example, usually, we don't use mike so...we can sing more freely like speaking because I can cause my voice, not by myself" He talks like he spins his words.

They had only at most three practice days together until the performance day, which the time they all join the stage is only one rehearsal before the performance. Especially, the practice of individual compositions was left to themselves. "It is necessary that everyone can think about the other people and I want them to let do it because the time to practice is so limited" Yuri Morishita, a core member said. She thinks the most important thing is the relationship of the members.


In Japanese Performance held on Jan. 21m 40 members perform, and the international students also sing in Japanese. Morishita says “The international students struggle to sing in Japanese if it hears unskillfully that is what I want the visitors to watch.” 
Whole New World ～Aladdin～,
the left is Kai Doi
How Far I'll Go ～MOANA～,
a Girl having been Singing till Immediately Before the Stage

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