Thanks to the internet, we can now hear about things that aren’t happening near us. Such was the case when Spirited Away adapted to the stage as a musical in 2022. The animated film had won the Oscar for writer-director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli nearly two decades before. The photos from the production being staged at Tokyo’s historic Imperial Theatre captured the fantastical qualities of the film. John Caird had adapted and directed the project. He won the Tony for directing Les Misérables on Broadway so he knew how to bring an epic feel to the stage. I was ready for Spirited Away to arrive on Broadway and eventually see the Broadway touring company at my nearby theater. But it turns out there’s no date for Spirited Away’s on the Great White Way. The photos felt like a giant tease until word arrived that they have videotaped the Tokyo performances so we can all experience Spirited Away – Live On Stage.
Because they have more performances a week in Japan than Broadway, the producers and director Caird decided to not burn out the cast from doing 10 or more performances a week. The play takes three hours (counting intermission). He hired an entire second cast that performed half the shows during the run in Japan. The Blu-ray contains both performances on separate discs. Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi play Chihiro. No matter which version you watch first, both actresses are wonderful as the lead. This is a huge production that pulls out so many tricks including a video screen, flamboyant costumes and elaborate moving sets. There’s a lot of puppetry on stage. Instead of hiding the puppeteers, they wear brown outfits and work their creations in plain sight.
The play follows the plot of the movie. Ten-year-old Chihiro in the backseat as her parents drive to their new house. Dad takes a wrong turn and think he can make a cross country shortcut to get back to their new suburban community. Except they end up in what appears to be an abandoned amusement park. Mom and Dad take advantage of an unattended restaurant to partake in a pig out that has an unexpected consequence. Turns out the place is a spirit trap. Chihiro must rescue her transformed folks from becoming the next round of dinner. Her adventure takes her in a realm of magic, dragons and witches with enormous heads. She finds herself having to take strange jobs in order to earn her way up and out of the mysterious land. Things remain constantly weird for her as she ends up at bath house cleaning up the muddiest of monsters. Is she ever going to get her folks free before they end up at a rib joint?
Spirited Away – Live On Stage is a great way to experience either version of the show without having to fly all the way to Japan. Visually the camera angles get us into the action without being stage intrusive. The musical doesn’t overdo the musical numbers. It is interesting how they adapt animated moments into stage craft. Stick around for the curtain call at the end to see where they hid the orchestra. I’m not sure why Kamishiraishi’s version is six minutes longer. Spirited Away – Live On Stage is a fun way to re-experience the movie and see it with two different and excellent casts.
The Video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. They do a great job filming the performances. You feel like you bought the best seat in the house. The Audio is Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0. You are seeing the show on stage so there’s no need to wrap the sound around the movie. The performances are subtitled in English.
Shout! Studios and GKIDS present Spirited Away – Live On Stage. Directed by John Caird. Starring Kanna Hashimoto, Mone Kamishiraishi, Kotarou Daigo, Hiroki Miura, Koharu Sugawara, Tomohiko Tsujimoto, Miyu Sakihi & Fuu Hinami. Running Times: 160 (Kamishiraishi version) & 154 (Hashimoto version) minutes. Boxset Contents: 2 performances on 2 Blu-ray discs. Rating: Not Rated. Release Date: November 7, 2023.
