Lion King in Japan with all Asian cast.

What do you expect though? In a country where the ethnicity of its people is overwhelmingly Japanese, would you actually hire people from other countries and teach them a new language so they can perform in the production for a few months? Most musical productions in Japan are localized unless it's a special engagement, so the language barrier is one thing that might cost the producers a ton if they intend to find performers of African heritage. This is also one of the repertoire productions by Shiki, which is one of the major theater companies in Japan and does most of the work among themselves.

would you actually hire people from other countries and teach them a new language so they can perform in the production for a few months?

Opera singers do that as a career...

I'm more interested in what that Zazu skeleton set piece is, and why Zazu is being treated as an actual puppet, with the performer hidden. I've never seen that in a LK production before.

Updated On: 5/27/18 at 09:51 PM

Call_me_jorge said: "I think rafiki had to be African"

Well she's not in this production.

Yep Japanese

Am I wrong to presume that there is an actors union in Japan that probably dictates that a majority, if not all, of the cast to be of Japanese citizenship ?

And since it’s been running for over a decade, it would be safe to assume that they successfully obtained the permission. I think another reason the Disney gave green light is that those shows sell incredibly well. I tried to get a pair of last-minute tickets, but they were all terrible seats that you would pay no more than what a meal costs for. Most tickets are sold months in advance and the price difference between the best seats and the worst seats is way smaller than broadway shows.

One thing I need to mention is that Shiki likes to open a show for a few months and then replace it with a new show, only to bring it back years later. They own theaters across the country so no need to negotiate and share profits with local producers. Quite a fascinating business model.

Does anyone have pictures of the marquee/theater that the show is playing in Japan? Curious to see all that.

Tag said: "I'm more interested in what that Zazuskeleton set piece is, and why Zazu is being treated as an actual puppet, with the performer hidden. I've never seen that in a LK production before."

It's just that scene, when Zazu is in the cage, I believe thats how its done everywhere else.

As for the African cast members, Japan has been the only production that does not do this (it also has another person credited as director or co-director, not sure if that comes into it) all other productions have South African Rafikis, language or not, (China Germany Holand Mexico France Spain Brazil (Singapore was in english) the only other one that didn't have was Korea, but that production was done by Shiki from Japan. and when you think about it, Rafiki does not have to learn that much of the host country's language to perform, only Circle of Life and He Lives in You.

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It usually becomes noticeable with Rafiki when she does the chanting. Rafiki on both of the Japan cast recordings sound rather forced in the chanting. It just sounds more authentic when the person playing the role is accustomed to those languages and knows what they are chanting and can make improvisations. Of course there are people that understudy the role from time to time that are not from SA and learn the chants like everyone else, I just have never seen someone in that position live to hear how they sound, I got close last time I saw the show but in that instance the U/S stepped in during Act 2.

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"Japan has also done Sister Act with an all-Japanese cast."



why

LizzieCurry said: "Japan has also done Sister Act with an all-Japanese cast.

Didn't Seoul do an all-Korean-cast Kinky Boots?"

Yes, I saw that Korean cast. Japan has also done an all Japanese Kinky Boots, but the international tour has also stopped there with Adam Kaplan (Newsies, A Bronx Tale) as Charlie. I have seen both Kinky Boots shows in Japan and the all Japanese cast was great. Here's a clip!

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Tag said: "would you actually hire people from other countries and teach them a new language so they can perform in the production for a few months?

Opera singers do that as a career..."

opera singers don’t learn an infinite amount of roles. They tend to have several roles in their canon and they play them continually. You don’t find opera singers learning an entire show they will only perform once.