Shock (musical)
"SHOCK" (ショック) is a series of musical works starring Domoto Koichi (from the duo KinKi Kids), who is also in charge of the planning, music, story, and production under Johnny Kitagawa’s direction. SHOCK was originally based on the musical "" (1991, starring Shonentai), and premiered at the Imperial Theater in November 2000 under the title "MILLENNIUM SHOCK". It has been performed at the same theater every year since, with different modifications in the title, cast, plot and programs each year. In 2005, it was revamped entirely as “Endless SHOCK”, which has been its title until now. SHOCK's  annual performances are greatly anticipated, and it is dubbed “the stage of which tickets are the hardest to get in Japan” by the media. SHOCK reached its 400th performance in 2006, and it's 499th performance in 2007, attracting more than 80,000 audiences up until that point. SHOCK is the solo-starring stage play to achieve this feat in the shortest time at the Imperial Theater. April 2008, “Endless SHOCK” received the Grand Prize Award at the 33rd "" for high achievements in stage performance. This was the first time a musical starring an idol from Johnny & Associates won such an  honor. March 2009, Domoto Koichi set a new record for the highest number of solo-starring musical performances at the Imperial Theater. March 21, 2013, 12 years 5 months after its premiere, SHOCK reached its 1,000th performance, became the solo-starring musical play to achieve this in the shortest time in Japan. In April 2020, Domoto Koichi alone was awarded the Grand Prize of the 45th Kazuo Kikuta Drama Awards for his achievement for leading SHOCK series for twenty years, becoming the youngest single winner of this award. Until 2021, SHOCK has been performed for more than 1,800 times, becoming  the 2nd most-performed musical with the same leading actor in Japan, after Mori Mitsuko's “Hourouki” (performed 2,017 times). Overview. SHOCK is about the conflicts happening in a theater company, interspersed with the shows performed by said company - a "play within a play". The series focuses on the theme "Show must go on" with KOICHI, the company's leader as the protagonist. Through his collaborations, conflicts, and reconciliations with the company members, the musical portrays a "stage of life" where even life is sacrificed for the ultimate performances. Domoto Koichi said “I'm completely different from KOICHI”, but they  both share an unyielding, uncompromising attitude to the stage, even when facing injuries or accidents. Domoto Koichi himself also stated that he was able to cultivate such mindset thanks to continuously performing this play. The play has a diverse combination of famous musical numbers and original songs in various style, from New York Broadway to traditional Japanese. Aside from difficult choreographies, SHOCK also includes numerous flashy, dangerous acts such as flying, falling down an 8-metre high staircase... , and is said to be able to “surprise the audience every 5 minutes”. Under Johnny Kitagawa's production, SHOCK was originally intended  to be a play that can impress the audiences even if they don't understand the speech. However, as an actor, Domoto Koichi wanted the stage to convey deeper meaning, and asked Kitagawa to make thorough changes, including the plot. With Kitagawa's approval (“Just do what you like.”), Koichi started taking a substantial role in screenwriting, music composing and producing since 2005. After Endless SHOCK 2006, there were plans to end the SHOCK series and start a new play in 2007, also with Domoto Koichi as the producer and lead actor. However, due to high demand (demand for tickets  was 14 times higher than supply), it was decided that the play would be performed again in 2007. SHOCK continues to be performed every year since, and is said to be “the stage of which tickets are the hardest to get in Japan”. During the noon performance on January 23, 2008, due to electricity failure, the play was cancelled and moved to another date (February 17, 2008) for the first time. Domoto Koichi deeply regretted this, and wrote on the official site: “It is truly regrettable that the performance couldn’t continue like the theme ‘Show must go on’. To  the audiences who was looking forward to the stage, I sincerely apologize.” After the cancellation decision was made, all the cast came out to see the audiences off to the last one. The night performance that day still went on as scheduled. March 11, 2011, the Great Tohoku earthquake occurred during the noon performance's intermission. The audiences and some of the cast were evacuated to Koukyogaien, and the performance - incidentally, also SHOCK's 800th performance - was cancelled. Due to aftershocks and planned power outage, performances could not resume as planned, and the rest of the performances that year were  also cancelled. Cancellation announcement was made before the performance on the 13th by Domoto Koichi himself. He then shook hand with and saw all the audiences off. During the noon performance on March 19, 2015, a 650 kg LED panel used in stage setting collapsed, injured 6 people: Johnny's Jr. Kishi Takayoshi, 2 dancers, 2 acrobat actors, and 1 staff member. The two performances that day were cancelled, and Domoto Koichi came out in full stage costume to apologize to the audiences for the accident and the cancellation. Performance restarted the next day without the use of LED panel  and part of the program changed. There were mixed opinions about restarting performances so soon after such a serious accident, but the decision was made with support from the cast and staff, even the injured ones, to convey the theme of the play: continue to move forward despite unfavorable circumstances. May 20, 2015, Toho announced that the accident was caused by an inclination due to partial failure of the stage floor, and that reinforcement work was planned to correct this. Toho also officially prohibit future use of mobile LED panels on its stage for caution's sake. On September 17  of the same year, during the Osaka tour, the actress who played the owner role, Maeda Bibari, fell and broke her left shoulder while walking to Umeda Arts Theatre from her hotel. She still acted in two performances on the 17th, but was hospitalized after the night performance and was told to rest for 1.5 month for the break to heal. Uekusa Katsuhide from Shonentai, who played the owner during 2009 - 2012, stepped in for Maeda from the performance on the 18th until the last one in 2015. Uekusa received direct appeal from Johnny Kitagawa and Domoto Koichi on the  evening of the 17th, arrived in Osaka around noon on the 18th, and only had 4 hours to practice with all the cast. Nevertheless, the performances went on smoothly as usual. In April 2020, Koichi alone was awarded the Grand Prize of the 45th Kazuo Kikuta Drama Awards for his achievement for leading SHOCK series for twenty years, becoming the youngest single winner of this award. Until 2021, SHOCK has been performed for more than 1,800 times, becoming the 2nd most-performed musical with the same leading actor in Japan, after Mori Mitsuko's “Hourouki” (performed 2,017 times). MILLENNIUM SHOCK  (2000). Performance period. November 2–26, 2000 (Imperial Theatre) (38 performances) Story. KOICHI, leader of a travelling theatre company, decides to carry on performances despite the injuries of fellow member TSUBASA, and this brings about conflicts with other members of the company. At such a time, the company receives an invitation to perform at Broadway - where KOICHI's older brother died 3 years before. Despite opposition from others, KOICHI pushes on to Broadway, and meets a mysterious person who claimed to be his deceased brother's friend... SHOW 劇・SHOCK (2001 - 2002). Story. To fulfill his deceased brother's wish, KOICHI continues  performing every day with “Show must go on” in mind. His performances are popular, and he receives invitation to perform at the Broadway theatre Imperial Garden Theatre. However, he faces strong opposition from the company because it was where his brother died, and because he wants to leave behind TSUBASA, whose future as a dancer was abruptly cut off due to an accident when performing. Still, KOICHI leaves for New York, leaving behind his brother's ex-wife SAKIHO, SAKIHO's current husband TAKU, and a disappointed TSUBASA. A lot of troubles are waiting for KOICHI there... SHOCK is Real  Shock (2003). Performance period. January 8 - February 25, 2003 (Imperial Theatre) (76 performances) Story. Almost the same as SHOW 劇・SHOCK, but with some changes in characters’ names (characters are named based on the casts’ real names) and the mastermind. Shocking SHOCK (2004). Performance period. February 6–29, 2004 (Imperial Theatre) (38 performances) Story. Generally the same as SHOCK is real Shock (different production). Endless SHOCK (2005 - 2020). Plot and characters were significantly changed. Starting 2013, the owner's role was changed to a woman, new songs and programs were added, but the main storyline remains the same. Story. The show KOICHI  performs at his childhood friend's small off-Broadway theater (starting 2013, the childhood friend setting was removed) receives high acclaim on the newspaper. This opens up a way to go on-Broadway for the theater. KOICHI who sets his heart on Broadway, the owner (name changed depended on the cast) who wants to protect his theater, the fellow company member (name changed depended on the cast) who considers KOICHI as his rival, RIKA who blindly worships KOICHI... Each of them pursued their own ambition, and the company that used to be so close to each other starts falling apart . One day, the rival member who often clashes with KOICHI switches the prop sword used on stage for a real one to test KOICHI's creed of beliefs “Show must go on”... Endless SHOCK -Eternal- (2020 - 2021). A spin-off of the original Endless SHOCK to comply with the prevention of coronavirus. The musical is shortened to 2 hours, and some of the performances are deleted (such as falling down the staircase and some flying). Story. Three years after KOICHI's death, the same members gathered again to mourn KOICHI and looked back to what happened during that period. Section::::"Play  within a play". Mainly famous scenes from popular works, including: