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PLAYZONE (プレイゾーン) was an annual musical produced by Japanese entertainment company Johnny & Associates from 1986 to 2008. It was lead by idol group Shonentai under the supervision of former company president Johnny Kitagawa.
| Playzone | |
|---|---|
| Original title | プレイゾーン |
| Characters | Shonentai |
| Date premiered | July 5th, 1986 |
| Original language | Japanese |
| Genre | Science Fiction, Romance, Comedy |
During the summer of 1986 Shonentai would perform Playzone Mystery for the first time at Aoyama Theatre, since then they began to perform their original Playzone musicals every summer.
This would continue uninterrupted for 23 years up until August 31st, 2008, when Shonentai took part on their last PLAYZONE performance ever. On the years to come, younger generations of Johnny & Associates acts would inherit the musical's legacy.
Shonentai performed Playzone a total of 957 times, attracting an estimated 1.38 million viewers.[1] Since Shonentai's retirement in 2009, and up until Playzone's end in 2015, the musical was performed an additional 275 times, and the number of attendees reached an approximated 1.7 million, in a total 1.232 performances in 30 years of annual, uninterrupted, production. [2]
Previous Performances
edit1986
editThe show was titled Playzone '86 Mystery and ran for 30 performances from July 5 to July 27, 1986.
Choreography for songs performed in the film, such as "The Twilight Zone" and "Diamond Eyes," was done by Michael Peters, who also choreographed for artists like Michael Jackson.
1987
editThe show was titled Playzone '87 Time-19 and ran for 30 performances from July 3 to July 26, 1987. It was a musical version of the film Nineteen, also starring Shonentai. During the production Katsuhide Uekusa was involved in a traffic accident and was unable to perform for three days, during this time fellow members Kazukiyo Nishikori and Noriyuki Higashiyama memorised his lines to cover his part.[3]
1988
editThe play was titled Plazone '88 (カプリッチョ －天使と悪魔の狂想曲). It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 4 to July 31, 1988, and at the Osaka Festival Hall from August 23rd to August 31st. A total of 51 performances were done, and during it's production Playzone reached a total of 100 performances total.
1989
editThe play was titled Playzone '89 Again. It was performed at Aoyama Theater from July 6 to July 30, 1989, at the Aichi Welfare Pension Hall from August 3 to August 7, and at the Festival Hall from August 13 to August 19. Adding up to a total of 53 performances.
1990
editThe play was performed under the title Playzone '90 MASK Kamen. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 7 to July 29, 1990, and at the Festival Hall from August 11 to August 19. A total of 42 performances were done. The play staged within the play, Hamlet, was directed by Yukio Ninagawa. [4] During its production Playzone reached the 200th performance milestone.
1991
editIt was performed under the title Playzone '91 Shock. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 4 to July 28, 1991, and at the Festival Hall from August 10 to August 14. A total of 41 performances were done.
1992
editThe play was titled Playzone '92 さらば Diary. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 11 to August 2, 1992, and at the Festival Hall from August 12 to 16, with a total of 39 performances.
1993
editThe play was titled Playzone '93 Window. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 8 to August 1, 1993, and at the Festival Hall from August 13 to 19. A total of 41 performances were done, reaching the 300 performances total milestone.
1994
editThe play was titled Playzone '94 Moon. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 5 to July 31, 1994, and at the Festival Hall from August 4 to August 12. A total of 45 performances were done. Pplayzone's total audience managed to exceed 500,000 during the productions.
1995
editThe play was titled Playzone '95 King and Joker: Dreams and Passion in the Film World. It was shown at Aoyama Theatre from July 7 to July 30, 1995, and at the Festival Hall from August 9 to August 13. A total of 40 performances were done. Kazukiyo Nishikori was in charge of the script and direction. During it's production Playzone reached 400 performances.
1996
editThe play was titled Playzone '96 Rhythm. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 21 to August 11, 1996, and at the Festival Hall from August 13 to 15, with a total of 38 performances.
1997
editThe play was titled Playzone '97 Rhythm II. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 12 to August 3, 1997, and at the Festival Hall from August 8 to August 11. A total of 35 performances were done.
1998
editThe show was titled Plazone '98 5 night's. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 12 to August 9, 1998, and at the Osaka Festival Hall from August 15 to August 17. A total of 40 performances were done, and the 500th Playzone performance was reached.
1999
editThe play was titled Playzone '99 Goodbye & Hello End of the Century New Century. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 11 to August 4, 1999, and at the Festival Hall from August 12 to 15. A total of 41 performances were done.
2000
editThe play was titled Playzone '00 Theme Park. It was performed at Aoyama Theatre from July 16 to August 10, 2000, and at the Festival Hall from August 14 to the 20. A total of 40 performances were done, and the 600th Playzone performance was done during its production.
2001
editThe show was titled "PLAYZONE'01 New Century" EMOTION". It was performed at Aoyama Theater from July 14th to August 8th, 2001, and at the Festival Hall from August 13th to the 17th. A total of 44 performances were done.
2002
editThe play was titled "PLAYZONE'02 Love History". It was performed at Aoyama Theater from July 14th to August 8th, 2002, and at the Festival Hall from August 11th to August 15th. A total of 42 performances were held. The total PLAYZONE audience exceeded 1 million people by the end of it's production.
2003
editThe play was titled "PLAYZONE'03 Vacation". It was performed at Aoyama Theater from July 14th to August 6th, 2003, and at the Festival Hall from August 11th to August 17th. A total of 40 performances were done, and PLAYZONE passed the 700 performances total milestone.
2004
editThe play was titled "PLAYZONE'04 WEST SIDE STORY". It was performed at Aoyama Theater from July 2nd to August 5th, 2004, and at the Festival Hall from August 9th to August 16th. A total of 51 performances were held.
Due to copyright restrictions, which mandate that Broadway productions cannot in principle be made into any type or videos or audio recordings, PLAYZONE'04 has not been made into CDs or films, as it is customary for the PLAYZONE series . It was also the only PLAYZONE production not included in the "Shonentai 35th Anniversary PLAYZONE BOX 1986-2008" released in 2020.
2005
editThe show was titled "PLAYZONE'05 ~20th Anniversary~ Twenty Years ...And Towards the Unseen Future ". It was performed from July 6th to August 4th, 2005 at Aoyama Theater, and from August 13th to the 17th at Osaka Festival Hall, totaling 44 performances. As it was a 20th anniversary Performa, a 30-meter long welcome gate with a production cost of 50 million yen was installed at the entrance to the theater, an additionally, a giant cake-shaped with the number "20" was displayed in the lobby, and candles with the names of the performers were lit. The evening performance on July the 14th marked the 800th performance in PLAYZONE's history.
2006
editThe play was performed under the title "PLAYZONE'06 Change". It was performed from July 9th to August 5th, 2006, for a total of 40 performances. Okamura Shunichi participated as both writer and director, and choreographer Vincent Patterson was also involved in the production.
2007
editThe play was titled "PLAYZONE'07 Change2Chance" and ran for 40 performances from July 9th to September 7th, 2007. Starting that year, Osaka performances were held at the Umeda Arts Theater. PLAYZONE reached 900 performances.
2008
editThe show was titled "Shonentai PLAYZONE FINAL 1986-2008 ~SHOW TIME Hit Series Change". It was performed from July 6th to August 8th, 2008 at Aoyama Theater, and from August 26th to August 31at at Umeda Arts Theater for a total of 45 performances. It was the last PLAYZONE starring Shonentai. It looked back on the 23-year history of the group , and was presented in show format, featuring songs from previous PLAYZONE's and a medley of Shonentai hits. After the final performance of their 950th show at Aoyama Theater, the band members proposed and built an special outdoor stage in front of the theater, where they held their first-ever “fan farewell event” Dressed in tuxedos, the band performed two songs, “Masked Ball” and “Baby Baby Baby".
Additional Works
edit- On November 22nd, 1997, Johnny & Associates re-released the first 11 films in the Playzone series. With the exception of PLAYZONE'96 RHYTHM, the film features comments from the members about each play, and the final cast and producer credits have been replaced with a digest video of the main story.
- Cassette tapes and CDs of Playzone were released by Warner Pioneer, while videos were released by Pony Canyon. After November 22nd, 1997, CDs, videos, and DVDs were released by Johnny & Associates.
| Name | Soundtrack | VHS | DVD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PLAYZONE MYSTERY | October 30th, 1986(CT) March 8th, 1986(CD) |
September 5th, 1986 | - |
| 2 | PLAYZON'87 TIME-19 | October 28th, 1987 | November 22nd, 1987 | - |
| 3 | PLAYZONE'88 カプリッチョ －天使と悪魔の狂想曲－ | June 10th, 1988 | August 21st, 1988 | - |
| 4 | PLAYZONE'89 Again | September 21st, 1989 | September 21st, 1989 | - |
| 5 | PLAYZONE'90 SHOW劇 MASK(仮面) | June 30th, 1990 | September 12th, 1990 | - |
| 6 | PLAYZONE'91 SHOCK | - | September 16th, 1991 | - |
| 7 | PLAYZONE'92 さらばDiary | - | October 7th, 1992 | - |
| 8 | PLAYZONE'93 WINDOW | - | October 6th, 1993 | - |
| 9 | PLAYZONE'94 MOON | June 17th, 1994 | October 7th, 1994 | - |
| 10 | PLAYZONE'95 KING & JOKER | - | October 4th, 1995 | - |
| 11 | PLAYZONE'96 RHYTHM | July 10th, 1997 | October 2nd, 1996 | - |
| 12 | PLAYZONE'97 RHYTHMⅡ | July 21st, 1997 | October 22nd, 1997 | - |
| 13 | PLAYZONE 1998 5night's | August 25th, 1998 | October 28th, 1998 | - |
| 14 | PLAYZONE 1999 Goodbye&Hello | July 7th, 1999 | October 20th, 1999 | - |
| 15 | PLAYZONE 2000 THEME PARK | August 2nd, 2000 | October 25th, 2000 | - |
| 16 | PLAYZONE 2001 EMOTION〜新世紀〜 | August 1st, 2001 | - | October 24th, 2001 |
| 17 | PLAYZONE 2002 愛史 | July 31st, 2002 | - | October 23rd, 2002 |
| 18 | PLAYZONE 2003 Vacation | August 6th, 2003 | - | October 22nd, 2003 |
| 19 | PLAYZONE 2004 WEST SIDE STORY | - | - | - |
| 20 | PLAYZONE 2005 〜20th Anniversary〜Twenty Years…そしてまだ見ぬ未来へ | August 10th, 2005 | - | October 29th, 2005 |
| 21 | PLAYZONE 2006 Change | October 24th, 2006 | - | July 24th, 2006 |
| 22 | PLAYZONE 2007 Change2Chance | September 5th, 2007 | - | - |
| 23 | PLAYZONE FINAL 1986-2008〜SHOW TIME Hit Series〜 Change | - | - | March 4th, 2009 |
| 24 | PLAYZONE 2009 〜太陽からの手紙〜 | August 26th, 2009 | - | December 2nd, 2009 |
| 25 | PLAYZONE 2010 ROAD TO PLAYZONE | July 28th, 2010 | - | November 10th, 2010 |
| 26 | PLAYZONE'11 SONG & DANC’N. | July 20th, 2011 | - | November 2nd, 2011 |
| 27 | PLAYZONE'12 SONG & DANC'N. PARTⅡ | July 19th, 2012 | - | October 31st, 2012 |
| 28 | PLAYZONE'13 SONG & DANC'N. PARTⅢ | July 3rd, 2013 | - | November 7th, 2013 |
| 29 | PLAYZONE 1986････2014 ★ありがとう！〜青山劇場★ | July 30th, 2014 | - | November 26th, 2014 |
| 30 | ★さよなら！〜青山劇場★ PLAYZONE 30YEARS ★1232公演 | - | - | July 1st, 2015 |