This weekend is pretty exciting for fans of Masashi Kishimoto’s manga series “NARUTO”, as “Live Spectacle NARUTO – Song of the Akatsuki -” returns to South East Asia after two years!
To be performed at the spectacular Grand Theatre of the MasterCard Theatres at Marina Bay Sands, get ready as Koudai Matsuoka (Naruto), Ryuji Sato (Sasuke), Yui Ito (Sakura), and Shinji Rachi (Itachi), bring the comic to life!
WOW Japan has had the privilege of sitting down with the main cast for a chat, where they talked about Singapore, touring as a company, and the honor and privilege of being a representative for Japanese musicals overseas.
As previously mentioned, this is the second time the musical was held in Singapore, but it’s the first official appearance of Shinji Rachi’s character Itachi, so it was also his first time here. “I’m very happy to be here,” he says. “It’s always been my dream to come here.”
As it was his first visit to Singapore, we were asked for recommendations on where to go sightseeing, and we shared with him that the Singapore Zoo is a great place to go: it’s one of the best in the world, and the animals live in wide open spaces designed just for them.
Koudai Matsuoka, who also played Naruto in the first musical, mentions that the second musical is different from the previous one because it has more musical numbers. He hopes that the audience enjoys the new songs, the various musical elements, and the emotional lyrics that they have incorporated into the new show.
He is also all praises about how strong Japanese pop culture is in Singapore, and how well-received it is by the mainstream audience. “There are a lot of different, signature styles of musicals — such as Broadway, and we hope that the 2.5D musical that is uniquely Japanese, becomes a representative of what Japanese musicals can be to a worldwide audience.”, he says.
Yui Ito (Sakura) talks about being very happy to be back in Singapore, where the food is cheap and delicious — which elicits pleased smiles from the entire room. She says she is always delighted to be in the island, and will do her best to keep coming back.
Ito also talks about how much she enjoys touring with the Live Spectacle NARUTO company, saying that the more experienced members of the troupe have been very helpful, and that the entire cast and crew are one big family.
When asked for a final message for their fans, the cast in general thanks the fans for their support, and invites them to see the show running only this weekend at the Marina Bay Sands. Ryuji Sato, however, takes a leaf out of the character he plays, Sasuke Uchiha — and very laconically says, “Ninjas are awesome.”
Catch the last two performances of Live Spectacle NARUTO – Song of the Akatsuki today at 1:00 PM and 6:00 PM, at the Grand Theatre, MasterCard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands. Tickets are pegged at $672 (VIP Box, 4pax), $552 (Box, 4pax), $168, $138, $108, $78 (excludes booking fee) and are available via sistic.com.sg.
You can also check out the Official Site naruto-stage.jp for additional information.
omg this is so cool