Higher than the Sky of Paris

Two friends of mine got married in Paris on Saturday the 18th.

For anybody who is not from there (such as myself), a wedding in Paris sounds like the most glamorous event ever. Honestly, it was really nice.

The church was gorgeous (église Saint-Étienne-du-Mont) and both of my friends were really well dressed - he looked like a 19th century gentleman, and there is nothing I like better!

The dinner was awesome as well. The location was the Pavillon Royal in the Bois de Boulogne: doesn't just the sound of it give you frissons of excitement?

Traveling to Paris is glamorous, and doing so by train adds to its old-fashioned appeal... besides, at least from where I live, it is cheaper than going by plane.

Once the means of transportation had been chosen, my next concern was what to do to kill time on my way there.

I tend to sleep on trains and planes, I fall asleep the instant I sit down, but when going to Paris one has to keep an air of dignity (sleeping on the train with my head twisted at an odd angle and my mouth wide open would have definitely ruined the air of glamour surrounding my journey).

I quickly found an excellent option to slumber: watching a Takarazuka. It's always an excellent option to almost anything, I believe.

But of course, the show had to be chosen carefully. I came across one that fit perfectly the profile that I wanted my journey to have: "Higher than the Sky of Paris". Could any show fit any better?

*MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS*

"Higher than the Sky of Paris" is a comedy about two swindlers who meet Gustave Eiffel.

It was enacted by the Moon troupe in 2007.

The main actresses were Sena Jun, Oozora Yuuhi, Kiriya Hiromu and Ayano Kanami: Sena Jun and Ayano Kanami were top stars at that time, Oozora Yuuhi and Kiriya Hiromu are the current top stars of Cosmos and Moon troupe (though both of them are going to retire soon).

Seeing these great actresses on the same stage is definitely worthwhile.

They are really different one from another, but they all are equally talented.

I guess you could say that "Higher than the Sky of Paris" is not your typical Takarazuka - or at least, it's not the most popular kind of Takarazuka.

It is not my favourite kind of story either, but I must admit that it was entertaining.

In this show, you will not find great romance or intense, dramatic scenes, but it is definitely worth watching if you feel like having a laugh.

The plot is rather simple yet unexpected (two swindlers helping Gustave Eiffel to build the famous Tour Eiffel, isn't that unexpected?) and interesting.

It gives room to quite a few funny, and in some cases moving, moments.

I like the fact that the swindlers, Armand and Georges Jacquet (Sena Jun and Oozora Yuuhi) at first seem to be rather ruthless, though silly, but prove to be quite sensitive (and even dumber than they seemed) as the story goes on.

One thing that I didn't really like is that most of it was acted out, but not sang.

There were two main songs plus a few other little tunes, but nothing extraordinary. Catchy, though, very catchy. I kept singing over and over the main songs for a couple of days.

It honestly is a pity that there were not more songs, because all of the actresses are really great singers - especially Kiriya Hiromu, her voice is amasing.

Despite the fact that there was not enough music for my taste, they acted so well that I didn't get bored at all. The three main characters were great.

I especially liked Georges Jacquet (Oozora Yuuhi) and Gustave Eiffel (Kiriya Hiromu), the first for its funny stupidity, the second because of its awkwardness. It was really effective.

I had already seen Oozora Yuuhi in some other performances, but never in this kind of role. She did a lot better than I thought she would. Since I was used to see her in more serious roles (such as my beloved Sora in "Shangri-la") I honestly didn't expect much from this character... but I loved it. She performed really well: the tone of her voice, her facial expression and her movements, they all were really convincing.

As for Kiriya Hiromu, I must admit her looks don't really appeal to me so I had not watched any show starring her yet. Unexpectedly, her dishevelled Eiffel was great. She really looked like some kind of mad scientist and the way she stuttered was really funny. Besides, as I said before, I was really impressed with her voice, probably the best out of the three main characters.

Sena Jun was, of course, really good. I had only watched her in "Elisabeth" before so I couldn't really imagine what she would be like as Armand Jacquet - a character so different from Der Tod! I was pleased, though I liked her better as Der Tod... but I guess that's because "Elizabeth" is closer to my taste.

Ayano Kanami's character, the flower-girl Mimi, didn't really stand out much. She didn't have a lot of importance for the main stream of the plot, though she was essential for the development of a few side scenes that were both moving and funny.

Anyway, she's cute and her voice is good, but there's not much more to say about her performance, I think.

I believe it's also worth mentioning Izumo Aya's performance. I had already seen her in some shows ( I mainly recall her in "Phantom" and "The Rose of Versailles") and I have always liked her very much. She's really skilled and her voice is simply awesome.

Overall, it was a really refreshing show.

The songs and dances that were performed before the beginning of the story (which actually startled me... aren't this kind of scenes usually played at the end of the show?) were nice. The song "Champagne" was a bit stereotypical (it does seem like Japanese people often associate France with Champagne, romance and glamour, doesn't it?) and the fact that the couple dance was a Pasodoble confirmed the fact that sometimes Japanese people really have a confused idea of what Europe is like - what's a Pasodoble got to do with France??

Anyway, it's not one of my favourite shows but, as I said earlier, it is worth watching if what you're looking for is a show that will make you laugh.

Besides, the quality of the performance is high, so I do not regret watching it at all :)