Yume kara sameta yume Dream after dream Feb 4 2009 Much as I usually find too much to dislike about the ubiquitous Shiki Theatre Company—the canned music, hammy acting, conservative choreography, too-perfect smiles, cutesy girls and macho-elegant boys—they are at their best when creating their own works. Beauty & the Beast and Evita, while thrillingly live in NYC or London, appear energetic re-treads here, lacking stars or the rough magic that seeps through the professional polish. Shiki’s (re)productions of Disney or Rice always gleam with slick staging and sound and light, but at least to my mind they leave little after-taste. The Two Lottes, Yuta and the Funny Wind, and Ann of Green Gables were, however, inventive, original, musicals taking full advantage of the child-like wonderland that is Shiki’s special corner of the musical market. So my anticipation was happily rewarded with Yume kara sameta yume (From dream to waking dream), less Lorca than Lerner & Lowe. The story
an occasional document of theatrical life in Kyoto and the virtual world at the beginning of the 21st century