It has been announced that actor Yu Shirota will be appearing in the 29th episode of WOWOW's musical program "Live Broadcast! Yoshio Inoue Musical Hour 'Yoshio's Musical'," which will be broadcast and streamed live on January 8th next year. Shirota will appear in the musical "PRETTY WOMAN The Musical," which will begin performances on January 22nd, playing the role of Edward, a young businessman who falls in love with the main character, and will also be in charge of writing the Japanese version of the script and translating the lyrics.
Also appearing in the program will be former Takarazuka Revue top actress Madoka Hoshikaze and former member of the idol group Angerme, actress Meimi Tamura. Hoshikaze and Tamura will double-cast as the lead role of Vivian in the musical.
"PRETTY WOMAN The Musical" is based on the 1990 hit movie "Pretty Woman," and is directed by Jerry Mitchell, who has adapted many movies into musicals, including "Legally Blonde," "Hairspray," and "Kinky Boots," which was performed from April to June this year. This will be the first time the musical is performed with a Japanese cast.
Shirota has not only starred in musicals but has also directed musicals such as "Phantom" and "Curtains," but this is his first time translating a Japanese script and lyrics.
Hoshikaze has continued to work mainly in musicals since leaving the Takarazuka Revue. She appeared in "Newsies" and "1789: The Lovers of the Bastille," and in October of this year she played the lead role in the musical "Marie Curie." Tamura has appeared in musicals such as "Kinky Boots" and "SIX," and also voiced the role of Nessarose in the film "Wicked," released in 2024, and its sequel, "Wicked: The Eternal Promise," scheduled for release in March 2026.
On the program, Shirota will talk about the creation of staging an overseas musical in Japanese, while Hoshikaze and Tamura will talk about the behind-the-scenes stories and difficulties they faced in creating the role of Vivian, an updated version of the musical in which she plays a strong-willed woman who seizes control of her own life. The program also includes the debut of songs from "PRETTY WOMAN The Musical."
The 29th episode of "Live Broadcast! Yoshio Inoue Musical Hour 'Yoshio's Musical'" will be broadcast live and streamed live on WOWOW Live and WOWOW On Demand from 10:00 p.m. on January 8th next year.
