Morning Musume's Ai Takahashi (24) is set to appear in a new production of the musical "Dance of the Vampires" ("Tanz der Vampire"), being performed this coming fall. The musical is Takahashi's first work that has been scheduled for after her graduation from Morning Musume later this year.
The musical, based on the Roman Polanski film "The Fearless Vampire Killers," had its first Japanese production performed in 2006. It appears that Yuichiro Yamaguchi (54) and Kenji Urai (29) are returning in their roles as Graf Von Krolock and Alfred. The heroine Sarah will again be double cast, this time by Takahashi and actress Rina Chinen (29).
"Dance of the Vampires" will be the last production of the year at the Imperial Garden Theater, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The curtain will go up on November 27, and performances will run until December 24.
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On Thursday, Morning Musume leader Ai Takahashi (24) attended a press conference for a new drama that she will star in. As this was her first time in front of the press since announcing her decision to graduate from Morning Musume, she also spoke about her plans for the future.
Takahashi's drama is part of a project called "Koi Choco," a collaboration between BS-TBS and candy company Morinaga Seika's Carre de Chocolat brand. The project will make use of an "augmented reality" application available on Android phones. When users take a photo of a package of the chocolate, a video clip from the drama will play.
The chocolate comes in four different flavors, and each of the four packages will be linked to a different video. There are two stories, titled "Bittersweet Angel" and "Amadan."
In "Bittersweet Angel," Takahashi will play Ayana, a cafe worker who is clumsy in love, while Dori Sakurada (19) will co-star as a young man named Anju who appears before her, calling himself an angel. The same story will be told from each of their perspectives, with "Ayana no Baai" lasting about 13 minutes in length and "Anju no Baai" lasting about 14 minutes in length.
The two parts of "Bittersweet Angel" will also be broadcast by BS-TBS on Valentine's Day (February 14) at 7:30pm. The drama and a making-of will be included on a DVD to be released on March 30.
"Bittersweet Angel" already became available on Thursday through the Android augmented reality application, along with the two parts of "Amadan," titled "Melodrama-hen" and "Seibugeki-hen." Details about "Amadan" have not been reported.
During the press conference, Takahashi stated that after taking on several acting roles, she has developed an interest in acting and wants to try taking on a variety of roles in the future. She also revealed that she is interested in going overseas, so she also hopes to do some language studies.
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