The performance is titled “祭 GALA”/”Matsuri GALA,” combining the kanji for “festival” with the word “GALA,” representing a festival in both Japanese and English. It is a celebratory piece that blends Japanese and Western elements. The characters “ヒ” for Iwamoto Hikaru, “夕” for Fukazawa Tatsuya, and “リ” for Miyadate Ryota are also brilliantly engraved within the logo.
These three individuals, who continue to dash through various genres such as dramas and music with vigor, joined hands to deliver a glamorous and energetic stage fitting for the title “Matsuri GALA” and became a significant force together.
Known for their diverse talents as members of the popular group Snow Man, they challenged themselves with a new production on the familiar stage of Shinbashi Enbujo, promising a new form of entertainment with the show running from April 1st to the 29th.
Iwamoto, Fukazawa, and Miyadate took on the lead roles and direction. While these three have accumulated numerous appearances at Shinbashi Enbujo, including the “Takizawa Kabuki” series, they created a completely new form of entertainment that blends Eastern and Western elements with GALA.
Additionally, Iwamoto choreographed, Miyadate oversaw the costumes, and the opening costumes was designed by the globally renowned fashion designer Junya Koshino.
In addition to the three, the other cast members included Hayashi Ren, Wada Yuki, Nakamura Kodai from SpeciaL, Terazawa Kotou, Matsuura Ginji, Hamura Jinsei from Go!Go!kids, Adachi Kei, Takemura Masato, Watanabe Shin, and Horiguchi Yuto.
Starting from “Takizawa Enbujo” in 2006, the venue is closely connected to Snow Man, as “Takizawa Kabuki” unfortunately closed its curtain last year. Before the start of the new Shinbashi Enbujo performance, Miyadate expressed his deep emotions by saying, “First of all, I feel like saying ‘I’m home.’ I’m filled with excitement. The staff at Shinbashi Enbujo welcomed us back with ‘Welcome home,’ so I replied with ‘I’m home.’“
Fukazawa also looked around the venue and said, “Shinbashi Enbujo is a place where we have learned a lot. It feels very reassuring to be here. There are old friends here who are so close that we exchange birthday presents. I’m happy to stand on a stage filled with various emotions.” Iwamoto, expressing his joy, said, “It’s really grateful to be able to come here every April. This month, it feels like ‘spring’ is coming, just like the cherry blossoms.”
Iwamoto further added, “I want everyone to enjoy themselves. This production is based on the concept of making people smile, so I hope the audience enjoys themselves without worrying about the people around them. Eventually, I hope to develop it into entertainment that can be enjoyed both domestically and internationally.”
Fukazawa, with a wry smile, said, “I’ve given it my all,” and continued, “We want to share smiles and enjoyable moments with everyone. Our motto is to enjoy ourselves in delivering entertainment. If everyone can enjoy it together, that would be great. I hope we can go overseas someday.“
As for the overseas part, the show might not have spread its wings across the borders of Japan yet, but instead, it came to GALA. Author Kenyth came all the way across the globe to watch the magnificent show, and Dumpling Box has the honor of sharing his thoughts about his experience. Let’s read what he has to share about GALA!
My trip to Japan was a truly enchanting experience, and one of the highlights was witnessing the unique blend of traditional Kabuki and modern pop culture in the GALA performance, a theatrical masterpiece written and self-produced by three Snow Man members: Hikaru Iwamoto, Tatsuya Fukazawa, and Ryota Miyadate.
Transporting the audience through a digital Torii gate into the ethereal spirit realm, GALA’s opening number was a true spectacle. Sparkling with the unmistakable Snow Man energy, the song served as a perfect introduction to their electrifying world.
As the most romantic member of Japan’s most famous male idol group, Ryota Miyadate’s first solo song was a jazz-inspired love song fitting its performer.
“Moon” was Tatsuya Fukazawa’s first solo song, and it was sensitive and sweet, just like affectionately called Fukka.
The only thing I can say about Hikaru Iwamoto’s first solo song is that it is HOT. Acrobatic and fun, in addition to his glorious vocals, he also shows off his impressive physique.
Another highlight – at least for me – was an underworld version of the unit song VROOM VROOM VROOM from Snow Man’s third album, i DO ME.
Seated in the center row, I was immersed in the performance. The energy of the Miyadate fans around me heightened the experience, especially when our beloved Mr. Romantic was within arm’s reach.
While I do not understand a lot of Japanese, one of the things I love about Snow Man is that you can only partially comprehend the words to understand their emotions. Joining them on stage were incredibly talented Juniors from SpeciaL and Go!Go!kids.
It’s been several weeks since the performance, yet I still find myself floating in the memories.
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