Little Lark of London

Your Lie in April, a musical based on the manga ‘YOUR LIE IN APRIL’ by Naoshi Arakawa, is coming to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane as a concert production on 8 and 9 April. With a book by Riko Sakaguchi (English Language Book by Rinne B. Groff), music by Frank Wildhorn, Lyrics by Carly Robyn Green and Tracy Miller and Direction and Choreography by Nick Winston, the show “Brings to life the poignant story of Kōsei Arima, a young piano prodigy, and his inability to play following his mother’s death. He strikes a friendship with violinist Kaori Miyazono and she slowly encourages him to perform again.”

At a recent rehearsal, we had the chance to talk with four of the cast members – Zheng Xi Yong (Kōsei Arima), Rumi Sutton (Kaori Miyazono), Rachel Clare Chan (Tsubaki Sawabe) and Dean John-Wilson (Ryōta Watari). We discussed what it has been like joining this concert production and what makes Your Lie in April so special.

For those unfamiliar with the story, can you tell us a bit about your character and the role they play in Your Lie in April?

Zheng: So he [Kōsei Arima] is a piano prodigy pushed by his mom to play the piano, quite heavily. And he loses the ability to hear music after his mom dies. But through his friends’ support, and also meeting a special person called Kaori, he develops the courage to play music again and come out of his shell!

Rumi: So my character is called Kaori Miyazono, and she is a violinist. I don’t want to give too much away, but she plays with a heart and soul in a world where that is not encouraged. In a musical world where, especially competitively, you play by the note, by the score, as it’s written. And that ends up inspiring a lot of people, most importantly Kōsei, who is our lead in this show. He’s gone through a lot of trauma with his music growing up and it really unfolds his story as a person. My role in this show is to aid and abet, along with love! There’s so much love. It’s beautiful.

Dean: So different from any of the roles that I’ve ever played in my thirteen years of performing professionally! He is the college football captain. He is the best footballer, or at least he thinks he is! I kind of based this character on Joey from Friends, so he has these one-liners, he’s a bit dumb, he thinks he’s cooler than he actually is, he falls head over heels for everyone. He’s a bit of a “Jack the Lad”- he loves girls. There’s one term left and he has one more football game to play. He thinks it’s going to be the easiest game. And he has one penalty left to shoot. All is residing on this one shot, and he thinks it’s going to be so easy, goes to kick it and completely misses. He’s just let his whole team down. And he only had one shot, because he can’t go back. That is his kind of downfall. That puts him in a state of turmoil. 

Rachel: It’s centralized around two music students who find each other and are going through all sorts in life – it’s quite coming of age as well. And together, this group of four friends find a way to battle the odds and get through high school together. There’s a lot of different themes that are represented in the story. But these characters are just a beautiful group of friends that find each other through their hardships. 

What has it been like joining this production of Your Lie in April? What made you want to join it?

Zheng: So I started classical piano when I was six and then I became obsessed with it, but I knew I never really wanted to be a concert pianist – not the life for me. I’d always been singing since around the same time, so I didn’t really transition from one to the other. They just existed side by side for the years growing up. And then it just reached a point where I’m like, “Well, I need to choose something to be my career!” I loved musical theatre, so there we go. But I’ve kept up the piano. So when I first heard that they were doing this show and I heard it was about classical music and he [Kōsei] plays classical piano, straight away I sent to my agent, “I have to play him. I was born to play this part.” So it started from that. And then I did my research on the show and I just found the story so beautiful, which gave me even more of a reason to want to do it! 

Rumi: It’s been absolutely beautiful! A whirlwind, because this is Week Two of two! [Laughs] I can’t believe we’ve only known each other for a week so far because everybody’s beautiful. It’s the classic, isn’t it? “Oh, everyone’s so lovely” – but they genuinely are! And the music, it’s dreamy. As soon as I first heard Frank’s music, it was a go-to. I sang his songs for my drama school audition! The way he plays with melody and music, it’s so beautiful. As soon as I got this job, I was like, “This is going to be an incredible experience.” And it really has been! I don’t want it to end, I really don’t! 

Dean: I did another little show before this, Death Note, which happened to be a big hit. I got the call from Nick [Winston] who said, “Listen, I have something else lined up, which I think you’d be right for if you’re available.” And I said, “Let me look at the script!” So I looked at the script, looked at the music. This is almost like the polar opposite to Death Note. I imagine Death Note being black if it was colour, and this being white. It’s really bright and airy. Both shows have a bunch of heart. But I think this one, when I read it, is so dramatic. And something else that I love about the way Frank has put this music together is all of the classical music influences in it, and then the soulful, poppier sound as well, the musical theatre sound, and putting those two together. It’s brilliant. And the voices in this cast are just incredible. It’s lovely to be in a room filled with such talent.

Rachel: I played Sayu in Death Note, which was done by the same team, and that was my first job out of drama school. I’ve always had the best time with this team! Everything that they come up with is so brilliant, and I just had the best time. What drew me to the story, this musical, was that it’s so much about young people and their experience in the world, and also how music can change lives. Music has changed my life so much since I was a child growing up around musical theatre and classical music and ballet and things like that. I can really relate to the trajectory that they go on. And it’s just really exciting to also work on an English language premiere of a show. This has never been done in English before, so it’s an incredible opportunity to originate a role and get to try your hand on these characters for the very first time. I love the music, I love the script and the anime’s an amazing piece of source material as well!

For those of you who were in Death Note the Musical, what is it like taking on another manga adaptation for the stage?

Dean: Very similar rehearsal process to this. We have two weeks, lots of material, lots of songs, things getting cut, things getting added . . . Very, very intense. I just think of the rehearsal process being the same as every rehearsal process – just get in, do the rehearsals, then get on perform, and that’s it. I couldn’t prepare myself for what I was about to experience. Stage door was incredible. An hour and a half long doing signings every night. And it’s so wonderful to see fans of anime being brought into the musical theatre world. We love our musical theatre fans, of course, we do! But this has opened another gateway to brand new fans, and it’s introducing them to storytelling and live storytelling. And I think Frank, our producers and Nick have really hit a new niche in musical theatre and me bringing that to the stage. We should do Dragon Ball Z next! 

Rachel: These processes are so much fun, because a lot of the material that they write for musical theatre, especially when it’s based on animes, [is] honouring the source material. There are so many parallels that are drawn between the anime and what we sing and say. It’s really fun to look at all the different influences that they take in costume, design, hair, makeup, everything. And obviously, it all being set in Japan and what that specific culture is like, so it’s really exciting to get to portray these things. And with anime surrounding Asian stories, it’s really exciting as an Asian musical theatre actor to be able to create new pieces of work that showcase Asian stories.

Do you have any favourite songs so far, either that you perform or you get to listen to?

Zheng: There’s just too many bangers – I love all of them! Even lyrically, as well. They all tell such beautiful stories. I haven’t decided on one yet.

Rumi: I would say my favourite song to perform is “Perfect” because it is the perfect “I Want” song, pardon the pun! [Laughs] It’s just stunning. My favourite song to listen to . . . I love the ensemble numbers because the way that Frank writes harmony is beautiful. I actually really like “The Beautiful Game” that Dean leads and then the ensemble join in. The harmonies in that are just beautiful. 

Rachel: I think my favourite song in the show is “Just Like A Movie,” which also comes back as a reprise. Specifically the reprise – I love it! It’s the most cinematic piece of music and it really captures what the characters are feeling in that moment, so I love that song.

What do you hope audiences take away from Your Lie in April?

Zheng: From the music side, I hope audiences who aren’t familiar with classical music, see how beautiful it can be, and for classical musicians to get their fill of that. And from a story perspective, I hope they feel the sense of uplift that the story gave me in terms of how love and friendship can help one to overcome trauma and grief.

Rumi: I hope they feel inspired – it sounds so cliche! – to live every day like it’s the last, and to love and appreciate those around you. A lot of what the manga hones in on is that my character, especially, has gone through this change where she chooses to live for herself and for happiness and joy and to play music the way that she wants to. And the way that draws other people in towards her is just so apparent in the way that it’s written and it should put a smile on people’s faces.

And how would you describe Your Lie in April in one word?

Zheng: Perfect.

Rumi: Beautiful. 

Dean: Soulful.

Rachel: Connection. 

Your Lie in April runs on 8 and 9 April at Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Tickets can be purchased here.