Interview with "Kanagawa Prefectural Geki Musical" judge Norimasa Fujisawa, Nobuhiro Sasaura of the winning group "Mojamoja Head to Hera Hera Megane", and lead actress Kumiko Noda <Part 2>
“Jigeki musicals” with a rich regional flavor that can only be seen in Kanagawa
In Kanagawa Prefecture, we support ``chigeki'' with a rich regional flavor, incorporating local legends and folk tales as themes. As part of this effort, on January 29th, we held a public competition for a ``Jigeki Musical'' at the Kanagawa Prefectural Youth Center Hall. The performers will be the four groups that passed the first round of screening. They each performed musicals based on ``The Cat on the Landing'', ``Yokosuka Museum of Art'', ``Chubya'', and ``The Father of the Yokohama Channel''.
The grand prize was won by Nobuhiro Sasaura and Shoko Kawada's theater unit ``Mojamoja Head to Flattened Glasses.'' We performed ``Japan, Yokohama Ohama-sama,'' which is based on the entertainment inn ``Chub-ya'' in Honmoku, where the present and past intertwine.
Continuing from the previous report, we present interviews with singer Norimasa Fujisawa, who served as a judge, Nobuhiro Sasaura of "Mojamoja Head to Hera Hera Megane", and lead actress Kumiko Noda.
Interview with judge Norimasa Fujisawa: “I felt an overflowing love for Kanagawa.”
After the performance, we spoke to singer Norimasa Fujisawa, who served as a judge. Mr. Fujisawa says that it is his first time to judge, but what was the deciding factor in choosing the winning organization?
Norimasa Fujisawa
A vocalist who advocates a style called "pop opera," which is a fusion of pop music and opera.
"Fujisawa Norimasa Birthday Live 2017" will be held at Billboard Live TOKYO on March 5th (Sunday), "Fujisawa Norimasa Symphonic Concert 2017 ~Hibiki~" will be held at Tokyo Metropolitan Theater Concert Hall on April 20th (Thursday), May 20th "Fujisawa Norimasa SPRING CONCERT 2017" will be held at Machida Civic Hall on Sunday (Saturday).
—— It seems that Mr. Fujisawa was quite confused about the judging process.
Fujisawa: In the first place, it was my first time to judge. Judging was difficult because I had always been on the side of being listened to and watched as a singer. I learned a lot, and I was even more nervous than my own live performance (lol).
There were 4 groups this time, and each had an interesting story. Although it didn't win, ``Yokohama Citizen Children's Musical'' was also very good. It really touched my heart, and I was moved by the bond between the families. Children's singing voices will probably continue to change and become more colorful. I was able to see how persuasive he was for his age, and I also felt the future.
Also, each group was full of love for Kanagawa. I think they carefully dug into the history. I had trouble deciding which team to choose until the very end.
—— What points did you focus on when judging?
Fujisawa: I'm sorry to sound biased, but my focus is still on the sound. We placed great emphasis on singing, vocalization, and sound production. With musicals, it's important to get the message across through the sound.
``A shaggy head and floppy glasses'' was amazing from the beginning. The brushes on the drums were so realistic that Sugiyama-san, who was sitting next to me, and I asked each other, "Is that real sound?" The arrangement is stylish, and the jazzy, blues-like songs are cool. I was immediately drawn into the world view.
