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Nogizaka46 Idols' Sailor Moon Musical Casts Mai Shiraishi as Queen Serenity

The official website for the Sailor Moon franchise revealed on Thursday that Nogizaka46 member Mai Shiraishi will play the character Queen Serenity in the new stage musical from the Nogizaka46 idol group. Shiraishi will appear in her role in a video that will play during the performance.

The musical will run at The Tennōzu Galaxy Theatre in Tokyo from June 8 to 24, and at the TBS Akasaka ACT Theater in Tokyo from September 21 to 30. As previously announced, the Nogizaka46 members will play the main roles in the musical. The cast members are divided into "Team Moon" and "Team Star" groups, with two different sets of five actresses playing the same main roles. The two teams will alternate each day of the show's run. The website offers a detailed schedule of which teams are performing on which dates and times.

The "Team Moon" cast includes:

• Mizuki Yamashita as Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon
• Riria. Itō as Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury
• Kazumi Takayama as Rei Hino/Sailor Mars
• Ami Nōjō as Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter
• Hina Higuchi as Minako Aino/Sailor Venus

The "Team Star" cast includes:

• Sayuri Inoue as Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon
• Miria Watanabe as Ami Mizuno/Sailor Mercury
• Ranze Terada as Rei Hino/Sailor Mars
• Minami Umezawa as Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter
• Kana Nakada as Minako Aino/Sailor Venus

Other cast members include:

• Mikako Ishii (Setsuna Meiō/Sailor Pluto in previous musicals) as Tuxedo Mask/Mamoru Chiba
• Nami Tamaki as Queen Beryl
• Chihiro Andō as Kunzite
• Sari Kojima as Zoisite
• Shin as Nephrite
• Rina Takeda as Jadeite
• Yuka Yamauchi as Naru Osaka
• Marina Tanoue as Gurio Umino
• Mayuko Kawamoto, Mayu Kaburagi, Kumiko Saitō, Ayuka Kurachi, Minami Watanabe, Mami Mitsuoka as Ensemble

"Worry Kinoshita" (Haikyu!! stage plays) is directing the new musical.

Last year's Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon -Le Mouvement Final- concluded the story that began in the first new Sailor Moon musical, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon -La Reconquista-, in 2013. The musical ran in Tokyo from September 8-18, in Aichi from September 23-24, and in Osaka from September 29 to October 1. The musical's final performance, recorded on October 1 last year in Osaka, screened in some theaters in the United States in March, and also began screening in some theaters in Canada early this month.

2013's Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon -La Reconquista- was followed by Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon -Petite Étrangère- in 2014, Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon -Un Nouveau Voyage- in 2015, and Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon -Amour Eternal- in 2016. The original actresses for the Inner Guardians graduated from their roles after -Un Nouveau Voyage- and a new cast was announced for the fourth musical.

Source: Comic Natalie