The Takarazuka Revue is an all female musical theatre in Takarazuka, Japan. They perform all kinds of different stuff (adapted managa, folktales, western productions, etc) and these bitches perform it in style! Look at the giant feathers on that suit! I sure as hell couldn’t pull that off. There are five different troupes, all with their own styles, differences in material selection, and of course big stand out stars. The whole thing is a strange mix of tradition and experimentation.
Of course there’s also all sorts of gender and sexuality issues raised by having females playing both sides of the gender coin. Japanese culture in particular seems to have a bias against lesbianism. At one point the actresses were even forbidden from responding to fan mail or socialize with fans (who are predominantly female).
Once again, another item to file under crazy stuff I didn’t know about Japan.
