Wataru Kozuki

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Wataru Kozuki
Born June 28, 1971 (1971-06-28) (age 36)
Iruma, Japan
Occupation actress
Years active 1989-Now

Wataru Kozuki (湖月わたる Kozuki Wataru?, born June 28, 1971) is a Japanese performing artist and a former member of the Takarazuka Revue, where she specialized in playing male characters (Otokoyaku). She joined the revue in 1989 and resigned in 2006. She is from Iruma, Saitama and her blood type is B.

Her nickname is Wataru.

She is the only Otokoyaku and the only student to be top in her class. (There is no other musumeyaku in her class reach the status of top star). Also, she is the first otokoyaku top star to be joined the company during the Heisei era.

Contents

[edit] Troupe History

  • 1989 - 1997 Star
  • 1998 - 1999 Cosmos
  • 2000 - 2002 Superior Members
  • 2003 - 2006 Star

[edit] General Information

When she gained the top star status of Star Troupe, where she started her Takarazuka career, she became the tallest of the five in 2003 (with Sumire Haruno for Flower, Jun Shibuki for Moon, Hikaru Asami for Snow and Yōka Wao for Cosmos) with a height of 174 cm. Because of her height, she provided a strong male image on the stage. She progressed gradually after graduating from the New Actor Stow cast. One of her notable roles in the 1990s is Lord Henry Wotton of The Picture of Dorian Gray. In 1997, she got her first Takarazuka Bow Hall show (Angels at Dawn)

One of the characteristics of her Takarazuka career is she had participated in the most overseas performances among her generation: New York in 1992, London in 1994, Hong Kong in 1998 (the founding of Cosmos Troupes with Asato Shizuki, Yōka Wao, Mari Hanafusa and Hikaru Asami) and Seoul in 2005 (performing Rose of Versailles as a part of the celebration of the establishment of Japan-Korea relationship).

Upon the founding the Cosmos Troupe, she participated in her second production of Elisabeth in 1998 and got great applause with her portrayal of Luigi Lucheni. In the 1998 production of Wuthering Heights, she had the role of Edgar (portrayed by Kei Aran in the previous Snow production, who later succeeded her to be the top star of Star Troupe). During the founding era of Cosmos, she got her second Bow Hall lead (The Tempest, as a part of Bow Shakespeare Series) in 1999.

When Yōka Wao succeeded Asato Shizuki as the top star of Cosmos Troupe, she became the second man of Wao. However, it was short lived because in June 2000, the directors of the company made a radical change on the troupe structure by sending the second and third tier actresses of each troupe to the Senka, which served as the waiting list for top stars of the troupes. She and Sakiho Juri were the two from Cosmos that were sent to the "New" Senka (Ten in total, and the most junior, Kouki Naruse from Snow Troupe joined later on, dubbed "Senka's Eleven"). When she participated in Wao's top star debute show at Grand Theater (Nostalgia Across the Sea), she and Juri could be considered as members of Senka instead of Cosmos Troupe.

During her Senka era, she participated in the production of Cosmos, Star, Snow and Moon. Also, she got a lead of show at the Tokyo special performance Singing in the Midnight (a production of Snow Troupe). Joining her as female lead was Hikaru Asami, a former troupe mate of Cosmos. When she participated in the Senka-Flower and Senka-Snow production of Gone with the Wind in 2002, she became the first to be in all five troupe productions in the company.

Upon the resignation of Tatsuki Kouju, who previously transferred to Senka from Snow Troupe (one of the "Senka's Eleven"), she became the top star of Star Troupe and made two records among the "Senka's Eleven":

  • The only one that had not participated any show of her preceder
  • The longest running as top star among the five from "Senka's Eleven" who gained the top star status

Also, she is the last of the Eleven to resign from the company.

In 2006, while having the Star production of Rose of Versailles, she had special appearance in the Snow production, this is the first performance with former troupe mate Hikaru Asami since they performed Gone with the Wind together in 2002 and is the last with their resignation in November and December of the same year.

Her first performance after the resignation is the Japanese production of Damn Yankees as Lola.

[edit] Notable Performance and Role

[edit] Takarazuka Era

[edit] Star New Actor Era

  • I Won't Forget the Young Day's Song - Maki Bunshirou (First leading role)
  • Casanova, Memento of a Dream - Casanova
  • A Map Without Borders - Herman (Her role in regular cast is John Miller)
  • The Story of a Sword, Love, and a Rainbow - Edmond

[edit] Star Era

[edit] Cosmos Era

[edit] Senka Era

[edit] With Cosmos Troupe
  • Nostalgia Across the Sea - Akizuki Kuroudo
  • Castel Mirage - Richard Taylor (only at Grand Theater)

[edit] With Moon Troupe
  • Great Pirates - Edgar (only at Tokyo)
  • At the End of a Long Spring - Claude

[edit] With Snow Troupe
  • Singing in the Midnight - Lo Man-fu (leading)
  • In Search of El Dorado - Soujirou Gotou

[edit] With Star Troupe

[edit] Star Top Star Era

  • A Song for Kingdoms (Takarazuka's own version of Aida) - Radames (Top Star Debute at Grand Theater)
  • Eternal Prayer: The Revolution of the World of Louis XVII - Louis
  • A Love Story in 1914 - Aristide Bruant
  • Ch'ang-an, Full of Swirling Flowers - Hsan Tsung
  • Shigure Hill Road in Nagasaki - Unosuke (with special appearance of Yu Todoroki)
  • Rose of Versailles - Fersen and Marie-Antoinette - Hans Axel Von Fersen
  • Rose of Versailles - Oscar and Andre - Andre (Special appearance for Snow Troupe, shared with Sumire Haruno, Kei Aran, Jun Sena, Natsuki Mizu and Kei Takashiro)
  • Copacabana - Stephen/Toni Forte
  • Too Short a Time to Fall in Love - Fred Walbask(Michael Wayne) (Last musical with Takarazuka)

[edit] Personal Concert

  • Next I
  • Aqua - The Blue Sky
  • Across

[edit] Performance after Takarazuka

[edit] Stage

[edit] Concert

  • ACHE (20th Anniversery Concert/Live Stage)

[edit] Wao, Kozuki and Elisabeth

Yōka Wao, who is a year senior than Kozuki, shares some similarities of their career related to Elisabeth:

  • Both are the veterans from the production of 1997 Snow and Star when they participated in the Cosmos production.
  • Wao portrayed Elmer in the Takarazuka run in the 1997 Snow production and Kozuki portrayed the same role in both locations.
  • They became the top stars of the company later on (Cosmos and Star)
  • During their junior years and before the founding of Cosmos Troupe, they had been in the same troupes with legend Mari Hanafusa, who is the only star that portrayed Elisabeth in both Snow and Cosmos Production.
Preceded by
Tatsuki Kouju		 Top Star (Otokoyaku) for Star Troupe
2003-2006		 Succeeded by
Kei Aran
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