Actor Shoma Kai received the 50th Kikuta Kazuo Drama Award and attended the awards ceremony held in Tokyo on May 21. He expressed his joy at receiving the awards for his performances as Christian in "Moulin Rouge! The Musical" and Gabe in "Next to Normal," saying, "I'm honored to receive such an honorable award for two works that I love."
Kai appeared in the special effects drama "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid" (2016) as Parado/Kamen Rider Paradox. In 2020, he made his stage debut as Light Yagami in the musical "Death Note THE MUSICAL". After that, he appeared in leading roles in numerous grand musicals such as "RENT", "Marie Antoinette", "Romeo & Juliet", and "Elisabeth", quickly becoming a musical star.
He made his stage debut in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, and recalling, "I performed musicals under circumstances that restricted the audience's ability to make noise or laugh heartily, which is inappropriate for a live stage performance, and restricted the live space," he described himself as a "tenacious theater actor."
"I believe that Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a production that has ignited a new flame in Japan's theater world as the COVID-19 pandemic gradually subsides. This production made me realize once again that I really love the theater, and that I love the live world. I would be happy to continue to share the experience of being on a live stage with more audiences, cast members, and company members," he said, expressing his love for the stage.
In addition to Kai, other guests on stage included Kuriyama Tamiya, who won the grand prize for directing the plays "Orlando" and "Fan Letter,"Masami Nagasawa Masami and Asumi Rio, who won theater awards, director Ueda Ikko, and Ito Shiro and Hayashi Yoichi, who received the Kikuchi Kazuo Theater Award Special Award.
