Once Upon a Time in America
Picture Credit: yaomeis | Official Chirashi, from personal collection
English Title: Once Upon a Time in America
Japanese Title: Once Upon a Time in America
Troupe: Snow
Year: 2020
Performances: Takarazuka Grand Theater, 01/01 - 02/03; Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, 02/21 - 03/22[1]
Shinjin Kouen Performances: Takarazuka Grand Theater, 01/21; Tokyo Takarazuka Theater, 03/05[1]
Based On: the 1984 film of the same name, and the novel The Hoods written by Harry Grey
Adaptor / Director: Koike Shuuichirou
Composer: Oota Takeshi, Aoki Tomoko
Choreographer: Miori Yumino, Wakao Risa, Sakuragi Ryousuke, KAORIalive
Conductor (Takarazuka): Nishino Jun
Conductor (Tokyo):
Shinjin Kouen Director: Takeda Yuuichirou
Available on DVD: Yes (release date 03/17/20)
Available on Blu-Ray: Yes (release date 03/17/20)
DVD Scene/Music Cuts: No
Other Cast: Shiramine Yuri, Himehana Yukino, Karen Emiri, Sara Anna, Mayuzuki Rea, Rina Kurumi, Saran Reia, Manahi Michi, Ayato Shion, Asahana Suwan, Nanoha Mito, Fuuga Kanade, Wakana Tatsuki, Neiro Yui, Kotomine Saara, Kishiro Yuriya, Mikage Kurara, Misaki Kei, Tsukise You, Aisora Minami, Kisui Naoto
WARNING!! MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!
CONTENT WARNING(S):
Antisemitic tropes
Consent issues/sexual violence
Suicide
Mental health issues
Spousal abuse
Alcohol abuse
Gunshots
(From the official site.)
The time: the 1920s. The place: New York City. The Lower East Side, on the southeast corner of Manhattan Island, is home to a great many Jewish immigrants who came to the United States, beginning in the late 19th century, from a Russia ravaged by political turmoil and an eastern Europe where they had experienced tremendous poverty. Despite the American dream that anyone can achieve success, for the Jewish immigrants in the Lower East Side this dream is difficult to make a reality.
David “Noodles” Aaronson is born into this Jewish enclave, and from a very young age gets his hands dirty in the seedy underbelly of society. Along with his trusted companions Max, Cockeye, Patsy, and Dominic, Noodles lays down roots in the criminal underworld... That is all they have to live by.
There is a girl, Deborah, whom Noodles loves. She is the younger sister of Fat Moe—the only one of Noodles’ friends with legal, gainful employment—who helps at his parents’ diner. To get out of this place, and to escape somewhere better and make something of themselves... Noodles and Deborah—who dreams of becoming an actress—tell each other about their hopes for the future.
Now the time is the dead center of the Prohibition Era. All of America has fallen in love with moonshine, and Noodles and the gang make a handsome sum for themselves as bootleggers. On Max’s suggestion, they pool together the money they’ve saved in a trunk and store it in a locker at the train station. Their opportunities grow and grow over time, but one day Dominic is killed in a conflict with a rival gang. Noodles, trembling with rage, stabs to death both the killer and an intervening police officer. For this, Noodles is arrested and is made to pay for his crimes.
The Great Wall Street Crash of 1929 hits, sending the economy plummeting. Amidst this turmoil, Noodles returns after more than seven years behind bars. With Noodles out of the picture for so long, his friends have come together around Max and somehow managed to weather this storm. Max becomes one of the young faces of the underworld, and runs a speakeasy. He takes Carol, one of his establishment’s showgirls, as a lover, and grows more and more ambitious. Noodles, having been shown to Max’s speakeasy, manages there to reunite with Deborah, whom he had been longing for even in his dreams. She now works as a headliner at the Vanderbilt Follies Theatre, which sits on the top floor of one of Manhattan’s skyscrapers. Deborah is delighted to see Noodles again, and he declares his intention to go forward with their dreams together. Deborah tells him that she doesn’t want him to get mixed up with underworld figures like Max. But Noodles just can’t betray his friends, who have waited so long for his return...
Noodles and his comrades, who have acquired the nickname “the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” take on more and more dangerous work. They intervene in some frequently occurring labor disputes at the request of Jimmy, a member of the Teamsters Union, and become extremely wealthy. Noodles, who desperately wants to express his feelings to Deborah even if she would reject him, one day invites her to a restaurant by the sea. There, after showing Deborah the greatest of hospitality, he starts to confess his love to her, but—!
- Final performance for Maisaki Rin, Sahana Mako, and Mika Monami.
- Wikipedia page for the film.
- Ken-1 members who joined the Revue straight out of junior high school are too young to work the hours necessary to be in the shinjin kouen, and so will not appear.
- Due to safety concerns over the COVID-19 coronavirus, all performances from 02/29 to 03/08 were cancelled.
- Following a Japanese government request on 3/10 that all large sports and cultural events be cancelled or postponed for an additional 10 days in order to gauge the effectiveness of COVID-19 coronavirus safety measures, all performances from 3/12 to 3/19 were cancelled.
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