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Tezuka's Buddha Manga Inspires Stage Musical
posted on by Sarah Nelkin
Osamu Tezuka's Buddha manga is being adapted into a stage musical that is set to open in Japan in May. The Warabiza Theater Troupe, who is adapting the work, has adapted two other Tezuka manga into plays before (The Phoenix: Chapter of Ho-o and Atom from Mighty Atom/Astro Boy), but this is their first time doing a musical adaptation. Tadafumi Saitō wrote the script. The producer is Tamiya Kuriyama, and Masato Kōhi is scoring the music.
The cast is as follows:
- Miro Kaimoto as Buddha
- Asuka Enno as Migaila
- Kiyotaka Imai as Prasennajit
- Ao Mieno as Tatta
- Kazuaki Ishii as King Ruri
Tickets will be sold in advance on February 9 for the performances in Tokyo and Osaka. Another performance of the musical will run from June 15 to August 15 in Semboku City in the Akita Prefecture, where the theater troupe's main theater is located. The musical will go on a national tour in August, but the cast will vary depending on the time and area.
The story of Tezuka's original manga revolves around the titular character, born as Prince Siddhartha, who goes on a spiritual journey in hopes of bringing spiritual rebirth the people of his unhappy country.
Vertical publishes the manga in North America, and an anime film of the manga was released in 2011.
Sources: Oricon Style, Comic Natalie
