"Neverland Away": stage play with aMI TOKITO

There is going to be a stage play next month called “Neverland Away.” It will be held from 3/11 to 3/15 at the Tokyo Art Theater West. One of the supporting members of the cast will be aMI TOKITO! (Note that I got this information from the blog of aMI TOKITO. I did my best with the translation, but I can’t verify that everything is 100% accurate.)

From the posted photos, there are 13 cast members. It is the story of Peter Pan. The twist is that the kids are grown up. aMI TOKITO plays a mermaid. I imagine it isn’t too big of a role, but they put her photo on the promotional materials, along with the other cast members. The cast was doing a read-through (where they sit around tables arranged in a ‘U’ shape and read the script) on 2/12. aMI seemed really excited about it. Of course, that’s probably part of the deal when you are a performer in an event like that . . . you have to promote it to your fans and try to get as many people as possible to buy tickets and attend. She has 21,000+ followers on Twitter, so if that is a measure of her influence and popularity, she could be an asset to any live event.

I imagine that there would be significant expense to stage a production of this type. Due to the nature of the story, there will have to be flying effects for at least some of the performers. It seems kind of odd that it is scheduled for only five days. I mean, it would have to be hard to earn back enough money to cover the fixed costs of setting up the production. I guess the producers know what they are doing, though. Unless it’s like a ‘labor of love’ for somebody (or a vehicle for money laundering).

I saw a video of “Cry for Help,” a stage play from ~2005. aMI TOKITO played the lead. It also featured the members of “The Possible” as well as Mari Yaguchi. I was impressed by aMI’s performance, both her acting and her singing. I thought she should have gotten more lead roles. Maybe it is a testament to the power of Tsunku. If he likes a girl and wants to promote her, then she will be the lead in a play. I wonder if aMI and Tsunku still communicate . . . if they are still friends. I also wonder if the members of “The Possible” are still active in the entertainment industry, or if not, what they are up to. Well, aMI has been working in entertainment for more than a decade now. While she isn’t a ‘big’ star, she seems to keep busy with one thing or another. Ten years is a fairly long time to remain in the public eye and be employed as an entertainer. I think most idols come and go in ~ five years.

OK, I’m going to keep supporting aMI TOKITO, and I urge you to continue to support your favorite idols!