Musical actor Yoshio Inoue is the MC of WOWOW's program "Live Broadcast! Yoshio Inoue Musical Hour 'Yoshio's Musical'" which will tell you all about the charms of musicals. The 23rd episode will be broadcast live from 10pm on May 21st and will feature Keisuke Higashi, Shotaro Arisawa, Shoma Kai, and Yuya Matsushita from the Broadway musical "Kinky Boots".
"Kinky Boots" is a musical adaptation of the 2005 film of the same name, with a screenplay by Harvey Fierstein, lyrics and music by Cyndi Lauper, and direction and choreography by Jerry Mitchell. The story follows Charlie, who inherits a long-established shoe factory that has fallen into financial difficulty, as he meets drag queen Lola, casts aside discrimination and prejudice, creates "Kinky Boots" for drag queens, and revives the factory.
Since its premiere in 2016, the play has been performed in Japan in 2019 and 2022. For the 2025 performance, the main cast will be almost entirely new, with Azuma and Arisawa double-casting as Charlie, and Kai and Matsushita double-casting as Lola. The live broadcast will take place just before the Tokyo performance ends and the Osaka performance begins, providing an opportunity to hear the cast's thoughts on the currently running play and behind-the-scenes stories. There are also plans for them to sing songs from "Kinky Boots."
Higashi co-starred with Inoue in the musical "Ragtime." In "Yoshio's Mu," he appeared as a cast member in the musical "VIOLET" in March last year, and in March this year, he appeared in a video comment in an episode where Nozomu Kotaki (WEST.) made a guest appearance. Arisawa and Matsushita each appeared as guests and co-starred in the "Imperial Theater CONCERT "THE BEST New HISTORY COMING," which was performed in February this year and where Inoue made a regular appearance and served as MC. Kai, who will be appearing in "Yoshio's Mu" for the third time, played the role of Christian in a double cast with Inoue in "Moulin Rouge! The Musical," and co-starred as a regular cast member in the 2023 "Elisabeth" Hakataza performance and the "Imperial Theater CONCERT "THE BEST New HISTORY COMING."
