The Press Release:
“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live, a new live 2.5D Musical entertainment based on the wildly popular manga (comic book) will play at the PlayStation Theater (1515 Broadway at 44th Street) for three performances on March 29 at 8PM and March 30 at 1PM and 5PM. Directed and choreographed by TAKAHIRO (Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet Tour) with book by Akiko Kodama (Takarazuka Revue Company), and music by HYADAIN (Momoiro Clover Z; AKB48). “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live will have its US premiere in Washington DC for one performance only at The Warner Theatre on March 24, along with its run in New York. With its themes of love, justice and friendship, the musical features an all-female cast; there are some male characters, played by women.
One of the most popular mangas of all time, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon has sold over 36 million copies worldwide. Created by Naoko Takeuchi, Sailor Moon began as a manga in 1991 in Japan in a girl’s comic magazine, “Nakayosi”, published by Kodansha. It was subsequently adapted as an anime program (Japanese animation), and a live-action television program. A sequel to the series is also now in production. In “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live, the characters come to life, live on stage and itwas produced in part to commemorate the 25th anniversary since Sailor Moon was first published. The brand has generated $5 billion in merchandise sales.
“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live marks the first time a 2.5D Musical will be on an American stage. 2.5D Musicals, which began around 2000, are based on popular contemporary Japanese culture: manga comics, anime and video games. Manga and animation are in 2D, and live theatre is in 3D. Therefore, they call performances based on manga and animations 2.5D. A theatre has been built in Japan to house this popular new form of entertainment.
“At its core, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon is about strong girlfriends banding together to fight for what they believe in…that’s timely,” said producer Takaharu Uera. “Sailor Moon and her Sailor Guardians are equipped with powers that help them defeat evil and the characters are imbued with the self-determination to make their own confident decisions. In short, they are the ultimate example of ‘girl power.’ We look forward to introducing American audiences to Sailor Moon, her Guardians and the 2.5D Musical experience.”
This production of “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live premiered on August 31, 2018 at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo. After its world premiere in Tokyo, it played a run in Paris earlier this year prior to its Washington D.C. and New York premieres in 2019.
“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live will be performed in Japanese with English supertitles.
The cast of “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live includes: Tomomi Kasai, Momoko Kaechi, Yui Hasegawa, Kanna Matsuzaki, Yu Nakanishi, Makoto Aikawa, Reo Sanada, Atsumi Matsubayashi, Izumi Niihashi, Ayumi Higashikawa, Moeko Koizumi, Hinako Aikawa and Riona Tatemichi,.
“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live is produced by Nelke Planning and New York Producer Kumiko Yoshii for Gorgeous Entertainment.
LISTINGS INFORMATION:
“Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live plays at The PlayStation Theater (1515 Broadway at 44th Street) on March 29 and 30. Performances are Friday, March 29 at 8PM and Saturday, March 30 at 1PM and 5PM. Tickets are $30 – $75. The $75 Premium package (including One Orchestra Seat / Early Entry / High Five with Lead Cast Members / and a Collectible Gift) is available. For tickets, please visit http://www.axs.com/series/7969/pretty-guardian-sailor-moon-the-super-live-tickets or call 888-929-7849. For more information, please visit: http://sailormoon-official.com/stage/superlive/us
Glossary:
Manga – comics created in Japan conforming to the style created and developed in Japan in the late 19th century. Since the 1950s, manga has steadily become a major part of the Japanese publishing industry and by 1995, the manga market in Japan was valued at $7 billion dollars with annual sales of 1.9 billion manga books and magazines in Japan (equivalent to about 15 issues per person). Manga has also gained a significant worldwide audience and in the US and Canada, the manga market is valued at about $175 million.
Anime – hand drawn and computer animation from Japan. Anime makes up a majority of Japanese DVD sales, which have also seen international success after the rise of dubbed programming. The earliest commercial Japanese animation dates back to 1917. The characteristic anime art style emerged in the 1960 and spread internationally in the late twentieth century. The production of anime focuses less on the animation of movement and more on the realism of settings as well as the use of camera effects, including panning, zooming, and angle shots. Diverse art styles are used and character proportions and features can be quite varied, including characteristically large emotive or realistically sized eyes.
** THE BIOS **
Kodansha: Founded in 1909, Kodansha is Japan’s leading publishing house based in Tokyo, Japan. Kodansha continues to play a dominant role in the media world, producing books and magazines in a wide variety of genres including literature, fiction, nonfiction, children’s, business, lifestyle, art, manga, fashion, and journalism. The company also focuses on transformation of Kodansha’s original works into anime, films and dramas through visualization and dramatization. www.kodansha.co.jp
Nelke Planning: Established in 1994. Nelke Planning creates various theatrical productions, including 2.5-Dimensional Musicals, which are 3D theatrical presentations of 2D contents, such as Japanese manga, anime, and video games. Representative 2.5-Dimensional Musial works: MUSICAL THE PRINCE OF TENNIS, Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Musical, Live Spectacle NARUTO
Gorgeous Entertainment: Founded by Kumiko Yoshii and Michael Wolk in 1997, Gorgeous Entertainment is a New York-based theater and special event production company. Theatrical credits include Prince of Broadway and Pacific Overtures on Broadway, and numerous other productions nationally and globally (BAM, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the United Nations, West End and Japan). Ms. Yoshii has also been the Executive Producer of the annual event Japan Day @ Central Park since the event’s inception in 2007.
** The History of Sailor Moon **
1991
• “Codename: Sailor V” on which “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” was based made its debut in a manga magazine
• “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” began running in the manga magazine Nakayosi in December.
1992
• The anime television series, “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R” premiered in March and ran through 1997 with 200 episodes.
1993
• “Sailor Moon R: The Movie” – the first ever Sailor Moon animated theatrical feature film hit theaters in December.
1994
• “Sailor Moon S: The Movie” – animated theatrical feature film hit theaters in December.
1995
• “Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie” hit the theaters accompanied by “Sailor Moon SuperS Plus: Ami’s First Love” in December.
• “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R” premiere in Canada on August 28 with English subtitles.
• “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon R” premiered in the US on September 11 with English subtitles.
2003
• A live-action television adaptation, “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon”, aired from 2003 to 2004
2014
• The amine series rights were acquired and began streaming on Neon Alley and Hulu on May 19.
2015
• A second anime series, “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal”, was seen between 2015 to 2016.
2017
• A sequel to “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Crystal” began development.
2018
• “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super Live premiered in Tokyo from August 31 to September 9, and performed in Paris on November 3 and 4.
©Naoko Takeuchi・PNP / “Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon” The Super LiveProduction Committee
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PiercingMetal Thoughts: Now as you longer termed vistors to our website know, we are regular attendees of not only the New York Comic Con, but also a few of the Anime events such as Liberty City Anime Con and the growing Anime NYC convention. My attendance at these happenings is one of the main reasons that the Pop Culture content has grown so much and even become a part of our overall byline. It’s also at these events that I see scores of Sailor Moon cosplaying being done and while I myself am not too up on the franchise, I love what it does for the fans of it and how it helps their own creative presentations. One of the points about this particular press release that I liked so much was its definitions and brief history of Sailor Moon. That is surely helpful to other newbies. So I am not too sure that I will be seeing this particular event when it hits NYC next year but I will look into it and either way, when I receive any news about it I will make sure to share it with you here for good measure. I’ll close up here and ask what you think about this news and if its something that you think you might attend for yourself or pehaps with siblings or your own kids. Chime in down below in the comments section and I will see you next time around.
Official Links:
Sailor Moon: http://sailormoon-official.com/stage/superlive/us
Instagram: @sailormoon_thesuperlive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SailorMoonTheSuperLive/