The Spirited Away stage play released new images.
The pictures come as the acclaimed stage adaptation ends its run in Tokyo's Imperial Theater and prepares to debut in four additional cities. The stage play, which is an adaptation of Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki's Academy Award-winning 2001 animated film, was directed by Les Misérables' John Caird. The play features 32 performers and uses over 50 puppets to recreate the anime's fantastical creatures and spirits.
The play will soon go on tour to four other Japanese cities on the following dates:
· April 13-24, 2022 at Umeda Arts Theater (Osaka)
· May 1-28, 2022 at Hakataza Theater (Fukuoka)
· June 6-12, 2022 at Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater hitaru (Sapporo)
· June 22-July 4, 2022 at Misonoza Theater (Nagoya)
The theatrical adaptation stars Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, who both play Chihiro, a young girl who finds herself trapped in the spirit world after stumbling into an abandoned theme park. Mari Natsuki, who voiced the witch Yubaba in the film, reprises the role for the stage play, where she is double-cast alongside Romi Park, who anime fans may recognize as the voice of Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist's various anime adaptations. Koharu Sugawara and Tomohiko Tsujimoto portray the enigmatic spirit No Face, though when the character goes berserk, it is actually represented with over 12 performers to creatively recreate the massive creature's size and undulating form.
The play is being released as part of the celebrations surrounding the 90th anniversary of the founding of Toho Co. Ltd, one of Japan's largest entertainment conglomerates. While the company is best known internationally as the movie studio behind the Godzilla franchise, it is involved in a wide variety of projects throughout the entertainment industry in Japan, from operating a chain of theaters, to distributing anime, such as the blockbuster hit movie Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Toho distributed Spirited Away during its original theatrical run in 2001.
The original Spirited Away is now widely regarded as one of the best films in Studio Ghibli's acclaimed body of work. The movie earned celebrated writer and director Hayao Miyazaki his first Academy Award, and was the highest grossing anime film of all time for over a decade, before it was recently dethroned by 2021's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train.
An adaptation of the new play for audiences outside of Japan has not been announced. The original movie is available on DVD, Blu-ray and digital home video from Shout! Factory.
Source: Toho Press Release
Images: (c) Toho Co., Ltd.
