Prologue
I bit my tongue from excitement when I first saw the opening curtain set displaying large monochrome photos of Chigi (Sagiri Seina) in her previous roles, which are placed in various locations against a newspaper collage backdrop. Complete with all those lights and the fancy golden title-sign, it gave off a kind of "Hollywood celebrity homecoming" feeling. Sensible enough, since it's a show dedicated to Chigi and the new Snow Troupe.
The opening theme songs were amazing. Catchy. Exciting. Everyone sang and danced energetically. The chorus lyrics for "Super Bad", which were sung in English, are still stuck in my head now:
I'm so bad, and I'm so free
I'm super bad, and I've got you
(Photo source: Facebook)
Rome
I couldn't quite appreciate the Rome setting section with many Elvis Presleys doing a music video filming... probably because there were many solos one after another in the style of the 50s, and I still don't see the link between Rome and Elvis. But anyway, it was a cool scene.
Berlin
Daimon (Nozomi Futo) took my breath the instant she appeared for the prelude to this new setting, bathed in pink spotlight and surrounded by back-up musumeyaku (female role actress) singers dressed in dark blue. It was an image of a cabaret owner and his girls, inviting the audience into his fun forbidden world. Crossing the silver bridge as she sang, Daimon helped set the mood perfectly.
The curtains shortly opened to a smoky, romantic cabaret environment. I had no idea I was going to see the most breathtaking otokoyaku (male role actress) pairing moment as Chigi and Tomomin (Yumeno Seika) danced briefly in each other's arms.
Suddenly Saki (Ayakaze Sakina) breezed right into the scene as an illusion of a mysterious beauty. It was her first time performing in a female role, even if it was just for a few minutes. And since she had just come on-stage a while ago as an Elvis Presley figure, her otokoyaku make-up did kind of clash with that red dress and bob-cut wig.
Tensions heightened with an up-beat tango sequence to finish off.
Madrid
In which a Frank Sinatra figure, played by Chigi, enters a mosque and is haunted by illusions of his past lovers, which are conjured by Lucifer the devil and Mikael the fallen angel.
Interesting. I have seen Chigi being emotionally manipulated or 'tortured' in some way in previous works, so this was quite a display. The use of the revolving stage helped to enhance the visual quality of this scene.
A lively ensemble dance ensued. Then there was Hime's (Maisaki Rin) singing. Gosh, that wonderful diva sure has the voice to shake the roof down. Gaori (Karyo Shizuru) sang with a lot of heart too.
Vienna
All I can say is...
I love the opera scene with "E lucevan le stelle" (English: And the stars were shining) playing in the background. Because of the passionate acting by Chigi and Miyu (Sakihi Miyu). Chigi displayed outstanding sensitivity, her strength in expression clearly showing as she embraced Miyu in a most heart-wrenching manner.
(Photo source: Facebook)
Paris
The Paris setting had a couple of tear-jerking moments. It started with Daimon and Tomomin appearing and singing "Time to say Goodbye". It was the best sound of the day. Gorgeous.
Then it was a return back to the youngish, energetic atmosphere, kicked off by the Rockette dance.
This was followed by the otokoyaku dance. I felt a pang in my chest as I watched Chigi, Tomomin, and Daimon as they made graceful gestures and poses on the stairs in their black tailcoats. I couldn't help reminding myself that this was to be their first and last time being together alone as a trio in the same scene.
A brilliant idea was to have Miyu appear seated on the stairs as soon as Chigi went down the stage elevator. Cue for solo dancing with Miyu drifting from one otokoyaku to the next before the top star reappeared with a change of costume.
The final duet dance after that was outstandingly joyful, floaty and sweet. A bright and promising display by such a lovely stage couple in matching peppermint-green and gold costumes.
Finale
Best of all was the finale parade. I got to see Chigi walk down those stars with such grand feathers on her back. And what spectacular shan-shan (ornaments held during the finale) too!
Overall, Fancy Guy! was flashy but simplistic -- nothing too deeply symbolic, not as grand and sumptuous compared to other shows like Royal Straight Flash or My Dream Takarazuka. Another slight disappointment is that Miyu had very few appearances, let alone parts to show off her beautiful voice and amazing vocal capabilities. Nevertheless I still had lots of fun, and even shed happy tears of pride.