A beautiful, heartfelt new musical based on the Manga by Naoshi Arakawa, Your Lie In April demonstrates the phenomenal vocal and musical talents of its cast with a stunning original score and exciting direction and choreography.
Your Lie In April at The Harold Pinter Theatre is a beautiful new musical adaptation of the Manga by Naoshi Arakawa, telling the story of piano prodigy Kōsei Arima and the arrival of new student and violinist Kaori Miyazono. Alongside his friends Tsubaki and Ryota, Kōsei navigates a complicated friendship with Kaori alongside his relationship with music following the death of his mother. Together, the group of friends support and challenge each other throughout their final year of school and tell a story of love, grief, and friendship.
This original score by Frank Wildhorn includes some outstanding solos and brilliant ensemble numbers. It also includes some truly beautiful instrumental solos with phenomenal piano by Zheng Xi Yong and mesmerising violin by Akiko Ishikawa.
Complemented by beautiful set design including a revolving stage, full grand piano, and a blossom tree and bridge, along with gorgeous costumes, the team have managed to create the world of Kōsei and his friends and bring this heartfelt tale to life.
Nick Winston’s exciting direction and choreography, particularly displayed by the talented ensemble, creates the energy of a school and the tension of a music recital competition, allowing the audience to feel invested in each of the characters’ performances and the pressure and high stakes felt by these talented students. The use of clever video design also demonstrates scene changes and time passing. There are moments throughout that the Harold Pinter Theatre’s design blocks some of the action from mid-back stalls, particularly scenes utilising the theatre boxes. However, these are rare and despite the overhang of the circle and a few pillars the plot never feels confusing.
Your Lie In April’s talented company are making history on the West End, with an entirely East and South East Asian cast, they tell this popular Manga story with incredible vocals and acting, but more importantly with phenomenal emotion and commitment.
Zheng Xi Yong as Kōsei Arima demonstrates brilliant acting and some gorgeous standout vocal moments, and is particularly impressive in his multiple piano solos, which result in a well-deserved standing ovation mid show!
Mia Kobayashi as Kaori Miyazono has one of the most incredible voices I’ve heard on the West End, her heartfelt, emotional delivery of solos along with her powerful vocals are stunning and she portrays Kaori with brilliant humour and character, as well as emotion and heart.
Rachel Clare Chan as Tsubaki Sawabe is such an engaging character, she brings amazing energy to the stage every time she joins a scene and demonstrates her gorgeous vocals in both her solos and ensemble numbers.
Dean John-Wilson as Ryota Watari also has a beautiful voice and gorgeous tone, portraying the comedic, slightly overconfident but very charming, Ryota brilliantly.
This original musical has taken a beloved Manga and brought it to the stage excellently. For those that know and love the original source material it will allow the heartfelt story to be seen in a different way, and for those that haven’t it will introduce this beautiful tale of the importance of music, love, and friendship to a new audience! I also particularly loved that the programme’s were written right to left to reflect the traditional structure of Manga!
A new musical created by a fantastic team and performed by an exceptional cast of young performers, Your Lie In April is a beautiful production that deserves to be seen by both Manga and theatre lovers. It is a definite success for the adaptation of Manga to musical, and combines all aspects of great musical theatre to create a beautiful show!
Creative Team:
- Book by Riko Sakaguchi
- English Language Book by Rinne B. Groff
- Music by Frank Wildhorn
- Lyrics by Carly Robyn Green and Tracy Miller
- Music Arrangement and Orchestration by Jason Howland
- Direction and Choreography by Nick Winston
- Co-Direction by Jordan Murphy
- Musical Supervision by Katy Richardson
- Musical Direction and Conduction by Chris Poon
- Set Design by Justin Williams
- Costume Design by Kimie Nakano
- Sound Design by Adam Fisher and Rob Bettle
- Lighting Design by Rory Beaton
- Video Design by Dan Light
Cast:
- Zheng Xi Yong as Kōsei Arima
- Mia Kobayashi as Kaori Miyazono
- Rachel Clare Chan as Tsubaki Sawabe
- Dean John-Wilson as Ryota Watari
- Lucy Park as Kōsei’s Mother
Ensemble:
- Chris Fung, Eu Jin Hwang, Mairi Ikegami, Gracie Lai, Imogen Law Hing Choy, Jojo Meredith, Daniel Nardone, Ericka Posadas, Ernest Stroud, Ria Tanaka, Kevin Tristan
- Young Kōsei/Little Boy: Timothy Jian Soon, Eoin Mcloughney, Theo Oh