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Never Say Goodbye (musical)
Encyclopedia
Never Say Goodbye is a musical
with a book and lyrics by Shûichirô Koike and music by Frank Wildhorn
. It was written specifically for Takarazuka Revue
, the all-female Japan
ese theatre company. Wildhorn was the first non-Japanese to write an original musical for the company.
Set against the background of the Spanish Civil War
, the plot centers on socialist
playwright
Katherine McGregor and renowned photographer Georges Malraux, a Polish
Jew who fled his homeland for Paris
. The two first meet in Hollywood at a party announcing the film adaptation of Katherine's play Tempest in Spain, based on the opera
Carmen
. The two are reunited in Barcelona
, where they unexpectedly find themselves falling in love as they become embroiled in a battle against fascism
.
Directed by Koike, the production was staged in 2006 at the Takarazuka Grand Theater
in Takarazuka, Hyōgo
from March 24 through May 8, and at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater
in Tokyo, Japan from May 26 through July 2. The cast included Mari Hanafusa
as Katherine and Yōka Wao
as Georges. Never Say Goodbye marked the final performance of both stars before their retirement from the troupe.
A full-length cast recording, a folio of sheet music, and a video and DVD of the show have been released.
Act II
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with a book and lyrics by Shûichirô Koike and music by Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn is an American composer known for both his musicals and popular songs. He is most known for his musical Jekyll & Hyde, which ran four years on Broadway, and for writing the #1 International Hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" for Whitney Houston.-Early years:Wildhorn was born in...
. It was written specifically for Takarazuka Revue
Takarazuka Revue
The Takarazuka Revue is a Japanese all-female musical theater troupe based in Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Women play all roles in lavish, Broadway-style productions of Western-style musicals, and sometimes stories adapted from shōjo manga and Japanese folktales. The troupe takes its name...
, the all-female Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese theatre company. Wildhorn was the first non-Japanese to write an original musical for the company.
Set against the background of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, the plot centers on socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Katherine McGregor and renowned photographer Georges Malraux, a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Jew who fled his homeland for Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. The two first meet in Hollywood at a party announcing the film adaptation of Katherine's play Tempest in Spain, based on the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. The two are reunited in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, where they unexpectedly find themselves falling in love as they become embroiled in a battle against fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
.
Directed by Koike, the production was staged in 2006 at the Takarazuka Grand Theater
Takarazuka Grand Theater
is a home for Takarazuka Creative Arts.The original theater was built in 1924 and was destroyed in 1992. The current theater was built in 1993. It has 1,543 seats on the first level and 1,007 on the second.- External links :*...
in Takarazuka, Hyōgo
Takarazuka, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.- Geography :Takarazuka is nestled between the Rokko Range to the west and Nagao Range to the north with the Muko River running through the center of the city....
from March 24 through May 8, and at the Tokyo Takarazuka Theater
Tokyo Takarazuka Theater
is another home for Takarazuka Creative Arts at Tokyo.It served as the second round performing theater for the Revue's performing cycle. The original theater was built in 1934 and was demolished in 1998. The current theater was built in 2001. It has 1,229 seats on the first level and 840 on the...
in Tokyo, Japan from May 26 through July 2. The cast included Mari Hanafusa
Mari Hanafusa
is a former member of the Takarazuka Revue, in which she specialized in female roles . She is from Tokyo and joined the revue in 1991 and retired in 2006...
as Katherine and Yōka Wao
Yoka Wao
' is a Japanese performing artist and a former member of the Takarazuka Revue, where she specialized in playing male characters . She joined the revue in 1988 and resigned in 2006....
as Georges. Never Say Goodbye marked the final performance of both stars before their retirement from the troupe.
A full-length cast recording, a folio of sheet music, and a video and DVD of the show have been released.
Song list
Act I- Coconut Grove
- The Girl I Look For
- Fake City
- Je Suis Un Déraciné (I Am One Uprooted)
- Never Say Goodbye
- Olimpiada Popular
- People's Art
- The Outbreak of The Civil War
- Without Bullfight
- That's What I Can't Do
- No Pasaran!
- Centuria Olimpiada
- One Card
- No Pasaran! (Reprise)
- The Woman of My Life
- Meant for Each Other
- We Are "Camarada"
- One Heart
Act II
- San Giordi Fiesta
- Purge of the PSUC
- Conflict of Love
- The Woman of My Life (Reprise)
- Centuria Olimpiada (Reprise)
- Je Suis Un Déraciné (Reprise)
- Propaganda
- Charity
- Tragedy in Barcelona
- Battlefield
- One Heart
- The Truth of Love