On Saturday, September 7, 2024, a one-of-a-kind musical reading performance incorporating Nakata’s own performance was performed for one day only.
In this article, we will report on the performance, in which Nakata performed 10 songs live to tell the tale of the protagonist “I”‘s mysterious encounter and growth, as well as an email interview with Nakata and Hamano after the show.
“Monochrome Cinderella” is an unprecedented musical reading play. Nakata and Hamano said in a pre-show interview that they were worried about how it would be received, and perhaps the audience shared the same sentiment, as a somewhat tense atmosphere hung over the venue.
Hamano’s voice was lowered into the silence of the venue as “I”. He said that the time he spent with “her” who appeared before him may have been an illusion, but “something” that was there is still engraved in his heart. Nakata’s guitar and singing voice resounded loudly from the center of the stage, and the first song “Cinderella” began to play.
The lyrics, such as “The dream you saw,” which hint at the story, seem to fit well with this reading drama. The play has only just begun, but it’s a song that makes you want to listen to it again after the play is over.
During the play, Nakata, who was surrounded by instruments in the center of the stage, not only sang but also played sound effects and background music. Thanks to that, the music and the play intersected seamlessly, and there was even a cool touch where an arranged version of “STONEFLOWER” was played if you turned on the radio during a conversation between “I” and the president. The play was filled with mechanisms that would resonate with Nakata fans as well as pure fans of recitation plays.
After the song, the reading play begins again with me narrating. I work at a small publishing company. I’m an ordinary guy who didn’t have anything in particular that I wanted to do since I was a student, and I didn’t have a clear idea of who I wanted to be. Hamano reads out about his upbringing in a flat voice that is neither boastful nor servile.
One day, while the narrator was living a fairly busy life, his boss asked him to return a book to the library, and the story shifted to the library late at night.
The gentle sound of the guitar resounds and “Tsuki no Urai” begins. As the song makes you think of the moon shining at night, creating a mood in the venue, “I” finds a woman in a library late at night.
As the “Outlineless Thing” plays, symbolizing my mysterious encounter, time passes and it is the next day. Nothing in particular happened in the library, and I didn’t have any conversation. But the image of her is burned into my mind. And so, as if suddenly reminded, I begin to think, “I want to see her again.”
“Gravity” pushed me forward as I headed towards the library, as if I was freed from gravity. Nakata’s lead brought applause from the audience. The atmosphere in the venue became more relaxed, as if a thread of tension had been released.
The story returns to the library. With no particular clues, “I” picks up a book that describes the history of Shinjuku. However, “I” senses something is wrong, and the next thing “I” knows, I’m in the streets of Nishi-Shinjuku at night. Still, “I” is about to go back to the library to return the book. “Where are you going in such a hurry?” “She” calls out to me.
Even though we have finally met again, “I” talks to “her” calmly, and “she” speaks to “me” even though it is their first meeting. Just looking at their relationship, it seems strange, but a somewhat dreamy conversation unfolds. However, suddenly, “she” bursts out laughing and says, “If I keep waiting for you, I’ll never be able to go anywhere,” before disappearing into the streets of Nishi-Shinjuku.
The next scene begins with the performance of “Little Changes.” I wake up at a desk in the library. Was my meeting with “her” just a dream? However, even though it was a dream, I feel like it wasn’t a dream, and I can’t help but feel restless, so I go looking for “her” again.
As “Where the Night Goes” creates a dramatic atmosphere, as one would expect, “I” and “She” are reunited. However, this time it is not a dream, but a real reunion. “I” was worried about what to say, but perhaps because of the book I had in my hand, or perhaps it was fate, “She” asked me, “Do you like walks?” and “Let’s go for a walk.”
“I” was a little surprised, but I followed her. The first thing I asked her was, “Who exactly are you?” To which “she” replied, “I’m me,” but perhaps not expecting a real answer, I didn’t pursue the question any further and just enjoyed the satisfying time I spent with her.
I’m sure that both “I” and the audience thought that the “duplicity” would resonate and that I would be awakened from my dream again. However, this time, it seems that this was not the case. “She” showed up at “I”‘s house, and “I” spent a satisfying time with her, engaging in trivial conversation. “Maybe you’re not an angel after all,” I told “her,” and at 7:23, “I” fell asleep.
I wanted to wake up to hear your voice and see you. The story comes to an end as the gentle melody of “Sono Nukumori no Naka de” fills the venue, each phrase of which links with my feelings.
A few years later, “she” has indeed disappeared. All that remains in “me”‘s hands is the blank book “she” left behind. I think they might be the shoes “she” left behind, but they are actually “my” own shoes. At the same time, I cherish a ray of hope in my heart that when something is drawn in this blank book, “I” will be able to become someone, and that I might one day be able to meet “her” again.
EDを飾るのは「マテリアル」。大事なものを失い、いつか訪れるかもしれない“彼女”との再会を胸に、前を向こうとする“僕”の成長がこの曲にすべて詰まっていたと気付かされるフレーズの数々。“僕”の自分探しとも言えるこの物語の最後に相応しい一曲でした。
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