News

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Stage Musical Cancels 2 More Opening Days

The official website for the stage musical of "Phantom Blood," the first arc of Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga, announced on Thursday that the staff is canceling the musical's February 10-11 performances, not long after canceling performances on its first three days (February 6-8) on Sunday. TOHO and the Imperial Theater venue explained that they will require more time than expected to ensure the safety of the staff and cast.

TOHO and the Imperial Theater announced that they are offering ticket refunds. They are also offering to pay the cancelation fees for transportation and lodging arrangements of ticket holders, or the transportation and lodging costs of ticket holders in case they are not able to cancel. The staff is also looking into streaming later performances for free to ticket holders of canceled performances.

The staff explained that the earlier cancelations of the February 6-8 performances were due to arrangements for the opening taking more time than expected. The musical will now run in Tokyo's Imperial Theater on February 12-28. (The production is not performing on Fridays.) It will then run at Hokkaido's Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater Hitaru from March 26-30 and Hyogo Performing Arts Center – KOBELCO Grand Hall from April 9-14.

The cast includes:

Yūya Matsushita and Shotaro Arisawa as Jonathan Joestar

Mamoru Miyano as Dio Brando

Miisha Shimizu as Erina Pendleton

Young Dais as Robert E.O. Speedwagon

Yoshihisa Higashiyama and Yūsuke Hirose as Will A Zeppeli

Yamato Kochi as Jack the Ripper

Jumpei Shimada as Wang Chan

Kong Kuwata as Dario Brando

Tetsuya Bessho as George Joestar I

Nei Hasegawa is directing the musical. Hasegawa previously directed, scripted, and choreographed the stage adaptation of Araki's Shikei Shikkōchū Datsugoku Shinkōchū manga in 2015. French composer Dove Attia is composing the music for the production. Tsuneyasu Motoyashi (My Hero Academia stage productions) is penning the script.

Viz Media is releasing the various JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series in English, including Phantom Blood. Viz Media describes the beginning of the arc:

Young Jonathan Joestar's life is forever changed when he meets his new adopted brother, Dio. For some reason, Dio has a smoldering grudge against him and derives pleasure from seeing him suffer. But every man has his limits, as Dio finds out. This is the beginning of a long and hateful relationship!

The first arc inspired a 2000-2002 original video anime run, a 2007 anime film prequel, and a 2012-2013 television anime series.

Araki launched The JOJOLands manga, the ninth and latest part of his JoJo's Bizarre Adventure manga series, in Ultra Jump in February 2023.

Sources: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure musical's website, Comic Natalie