Spirited Away stage show is going from the Spirit Realm to US theaters

GKids has the film rights to the stage adaptation of Spirited Away, and it knows how to use them

By Matt Schimkowitz  |  February 8, 2023 | 8:03pm
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Spirited Away stage show is going from the Spirit Realm to US theaters
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Chihiro (Mone Kamishiraish) and Kaonashi (Tomohiro Tsujimoto) Photo: GKids

Do you hear the people? Singing a song of No Face on the train? It is the music of the people who will not be kids again.

GKids announced earlier today that Spirited Away would be the next anime classic from Hayao Miyazaki to tread the boards, courtesy of Tony-winner John Caird, whose landmark production Les Misérables explains the stupid parody above. The announcement follows the stage adaptation of Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro and answers the prayers of Miyazaki-obsessed theater kids.

In the announcement, GKids said it acquired the North American film audiovisual distribution rights for Spirited Away: Live On Stage. GKids plans on releasing a filmed performance of last year’s hit production of Spirited Away at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo. But GKids is doing us one better; per the press release, it’s releasing two separate filmed performances starring Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, double-cast as Chihirko. Additionally, the original voice actor who played Yubaba and her twin sister Zeniba in the film, Mari Natsuki, reprises the role for this stage production.

“We are thrilled to offer this unique opportunity for Studio Ghibli fans in America to experience the stage production that wowed Japanese press and audiences last year,” said GKIDS’ President David Jesteadt. “This imaginative stage adaptation by the legendary John Caird, featuring two wonderful performances by lead actors Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi, helps bring to life one of the greatest films of all time in a dazzling new way.”

The stage version of Spirted Away ran throughout 2022 and is one of two successful stage adaptations of Miyazaki classics. Earlier this year, Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company wrapped a critically-acclaimed production of My Neighbor Totoro.

GKids says Spirited Away: Live On Stage should reach U.S. theaters this spring.

 
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