News
Berryz Kobo, C-ute Idols Star in 1st Cat's Eye Stage Play
posted on by Egan Loo
Members of the idol group Berryz Kobo and C-ute will star in the first stage play inspired by Cat's Eye, the classic caper manga by City Hunter creator Tsukasa Hōjō. The September issue of Tokuma Shoten's Comic Zenon magazine made the announcement of Gekidan Geki-Hello's 12th production. The original manga followed three sisters who run the Cat's Eye café by day, and steal art as cat thieves by night.
Saki Shimizu, Maasa Sudou, Yurina Kumai, and Risako Sugaya will headline the cast from Berryz Kobo, while C-ute is represented by Maimi Yajima, Saki Nakajima, and Mai Hagiwara. The idols will play the same roles in two versions of the play. Andrew Tamon Niwa (Tokyo Girl, Keitai Deka, Koi Suru Nichiyōbi), the man who "discovered" such talent as Aoi Miyazaki, Maki Horikita, and Kaho, is producing the play on behalf of the satellite and cable channel BS-TBS.
The original manga ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1981 to 1985. Hojo has been collaborating with Shin Asai (art) and Sakura Nakameguro (scenario) on a Cat's Ai remake manga in Comic Zenon since the magazine debuted in 2010. The first manga also inspired a television anime series, a live-action television special, and a live-action film. The stage version moves the sisters' Tokyo café from the Shinjuku ward to the Kichijōji neighborhood. (The real Cafe Zenon is located in Kichijōji.)
The play will run from September 22 to September 30 at Tokyo's Ikebukuro Sunshine Theater, followed by a October 13-14 run at the Osaka Ion Cosmetics Theater Brava! stage.
Source: Mainchi Shimbun's Mantan Web
Image © Tsukasa Hōjō/NSP 1981
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history