Snow Man’s Shota Watanabe Hopes for ‘DREAM BOYS’ Revival with Juniors Leading After Imperial Theatre Renovation”
On October 29, Snow Man’s Shota Watanabe and SixTONES’ Shintaro Morimoto concluded their stage performance of “DREAM BOYS” at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo.
Shota Watanabe (left) and Shintaro Morimoto (right) listening to Kazuya Kamenashi (Photo by Kentaro Nishiumi)
This marks the final performance at the current Imperial Theatre, which will temporarily close in February next year for renovations. At the end of the performance, Watanabe, with tears in his eyes, commented, “Including the performances by me and Shintaro, there have been a total of 768 shows since the original production. It is truly an honor for us to be the ones to bring it to a close.” Morimoto added, “I felt the greatness of entertainment, and I am glad to have stood on this stage for the final performance at this Imperial Theatre.”
Shota Watanabe impersonating Kazuya Kamenashi. Shintaro Morimoto on the right (Photo by Kentaro Nishiumi)
Originally premiered in 2004 with Hideaki Takizawa in the lead role, the play depicts the intense friendship between the protagonist and the boxing champion. Over the past two decades, KAT-TUN’s Kazuya Kamenashi held the longest tenure as the lead, from 2004 to 2012.
Kamenashi made a surprise appearance during the curtain call, singing a line from the play’s song “Kizuna.” Watanabe, smiling in surprise, exclaimed, “No way! I seriously didn’t hear about this.” Morimoto expressed his joy by saying, “I’m really happy to be standing on this stage with Kamenashi-kun again.”
Shota Watanabe (second from left) smiling as he receives a trophy from Kazuya Kamenashi (Photo by Kentaro Nishiumi)
Kamenashi presented trophies as commemorative gifts to the two. Reflecting on the final performance, he said, “I feel fortunate to see my juniors taking up the baton and evolving the performance into its current form.” Watanabe reminisced, “As juniors, Shintaro and I watched Kamenashi-kun lead ‘DREAM…’ from behind and stood on this stage. It’s deeply moving to now be in a position where I am the lead, setting an example for the juniors.”
Future performances are yet to be determined. Watanabe, having inherited the baton from many seniors, expressed his hopes by saying, “I hope that when the Imperial Theatre is renovated, ‘DREAM…’ will be revived and that one of our juniors will take on the role of lead.” He concluded the 20-year journey by saying, “For now, this marks the end. Thank you all very much for today.”
Performers smiling during the curtain call (Photo by Kentaro Nishiumi)
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