Description
Join us for a night of 80’s and 90’s J-Pop!
Once Osaka’s top cabaret, Den’en Universe closed in 1997 after its owner, Mitsuyo, left the cabaret in a massive financial debt and disappeared. The former performers Terumi and Tamaki vows to help reopen the cabaret Den’en Universe—one searching for the owner in Japan, the other in New York City.
In New York City, Tamaki meets Terumi’s daughter, Teruko, and learns about Mitsuyo’s whereabouts. Their journey leads them to Manhattan Kiss, a cabaret on the brink of closure, where secrets, dreams, and Showa-era tunes intertwine.
This is a work in progress showcase. The purpose of this performance is to support young and upcoming artists in NYC.
*Performed in Japanese with English narration.
*Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission
*This performance is not suitable for children under 8.
Cast
Layla Sazanami:
Layla Sazanami is a Tokyo-born stage actor based in New York. She trained at Takarazuka Music School, graduating as the top male-role performer, and spent 14 years with the Takarazuka Revue, appearing in 111 productions. Since moving to New York in 2021, she has continued performing in musicals and dinner shows while also working as a Performing Arts Empowerment Coach.
Karen Iwata:
Karen Iwata is a Japanese actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Delphini Diggory in the original cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Tokyo Show (2022-2023). She also received a Best Actress Award in a Leading Role in a Feature Film as a cast member of The Last Passenger (Global Nonviolent Film Festival (2023)).
Toshi Cappuccino:
Producer and theater reviewer Toshi Cappuccino could not resist the lure of the cabaret stage and started performing in New York in 2005. From humble beginnings, his performances soon found a boutique audience and in time would sell out in NY and other cities: Seattle, Honolulu, LA, Toronto and in cities across Japan. In 2019, he was invited to perform at the Japanese Festival which is the largest one in San Paulo, Brazil. From 2017 to 2019 he sang the Japanese anthem on Opening Day at the Fukuoka Dome baseball stadium. He lives in NYC with his husband Todd and their chihuahua Kintaro.
Photos by Shintaro Ueyama
Graphic Design: B Desighn Office
Cast
Ryuma Matsuzaka
Yasuharu Kawate
Richard Sayama
Yayoi Kubota
Karin Furui
Yurika Ono
Tamaki Horibe
Sakura Ofukata
Naoto Sawaki
Miyoko Hirakawa
Ducky & Patsy
Kanato Kubota
Leo Suzuki
Staff
Playwright: Masami Kawashima
Executive Producer: Miyoko Hirakawa
Associate Producer: Hiroshi Kono
Producer/ Dramaturge: Patrice Andrew Davidson
Director: Eddy Toru Ohno
Assistant Director: Shota Sekiguchi
Set Designer: Patrice Andrew Davidson
Costume Designer: Chihiro Takeshita
Lighting Designer: Takaaki Ando
Sound Designer / Orchestration: Kaneri Ekawa
Musical Director: Choco Yoshioka
Choreographers: Tomoko Ishikawa, Mami John, Kaneri Ekawa, Yurika Ono, Yasuharu Kawate, Richard Sayama, Shota Sekiguchi, Miyoko Hirakawa
Hair & Make Up Artist : Masayuki Akazawa, Naoko Kitano
Production Stage Manager / Dramaturge: Fumiko Tanaka
Assistant Stage Manager: Mai Fujita
Theatre
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
