The Story Behind the Opening Bell of the Musical "The Little Prince"

The musical "The Little Prince" by theater company Ongakuza is scheduled to be performed starting this month in many locations around Japan. It is a musical based on "Le Petit Prince" written by Frenchman Antoine de Saint-EXUPERY, and its eventful story started long before it opened. "Le Petit Prince" is a children's book, but it contains many words and ideas that are suggestive to adults including the famous words "What is essential is invisible to the eye." The bestselling book has sold 50 million copies worldwide including 6 million in Japan.

This is not the first performance of "The Little Prince." In 1993, Ongakuza, which was just waiting for the opening bell, received a sudden unexpected message from the ?itions Gallimard in France which manages the copyright for Saint Exup?y. They said Ongakuza was not permitted to produce the musical. Ongakuza had received the performance rights from their USA agent, but Gallimard said the rights had already expired.

The Ongakuza staff faced a panic situation. After desperate requests by the staff and repeated questions and answers, Ongakuza received approval only for this performance as there was no fault on their part. However, Gallimard stated they had no intention of allowing the musical to be produced by any theater companies anywhere. They said that fundamentally the musical does not honor the original book since musicals are a part of culture born in the USA.

Subsequently, the worst scenario - of having to cancel the performance - was avoided. Everyone who was concerned about the situation tried to do their best to at least ensure the performance would be re-staged. The performance was so popular that they received the National Art Festival Award from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. However, Gallimard continued to refuse Ongakuza's request to re-stage the performance.

One year passed. After continuing tenacious negotiations, Ongakuza was successful in inviting Gallimard staff and a bereaved family representative of Saint Exup?y to Japan. However, they pointed out in detail the differences between the production and the original book such as how Ongakuza had reinterpreted the plot so that the pilot in the story reflected the author, added a prologue and epilogue, and adopted English words and a rock music style reminiscent of broadway musicals.

These details were difficult for Ongakuza to accept because they wanted to create an original production adding a new interpretation so that "Le Petit Prince" would be more suitable for an oriental audience. Ongakuza productions are created differently from the production styles of ordinary theater companies that request a scriptwriter and director to create a production. Their work is produced in a unique manner called a "worm hole project" where the company director AIKAWA Reiko herself directs her team to create the script and direct the performance.

When negotiations came to a dead end, director Aikawa, who was negotiating through an interpreter, suddenly said, "I'll speak to them directly." She set her eyes on the bereaved family representative and talked in Japanese about her passion for the production. This softened their hard attitude and a miracle occurred. The representative nodded saying, "We have the same spirit."

The great Hanshin earthquake struck France, too
The Ongakuza staff saw a ray of light. After the representatives returned home, Ongakuza sent a script which was written to mirror the book as closely as possible. However, it was not accepted as it was still different from the original. The correspondence continued for a long time and the project team felt lost. When the production seemed to be in desperate straights, the great Hanshin earthquake struck. It was January 17, 1995. At the end of the month, a letter arrived at the Ongakuza office.

The letter was from a father who had lost his son and daughter in the earthquake. He had been a fan of Ongakuza and had taken his now-dead children to the performances. "The Little Prince" was the first musical his children saw, and they were impressed. He put patches of the "Le Petit Princes" on the clothes of his children and a card containing the musical lyrics was placed in the coffin. In the letter, he wrote "They will be stars and watch us," which are similar to words used in The Little Prince.

This changed the mood of the project members from "Someday, we will do this again" to "We have to do it!" A revised plan was created immediately and the music composer and producer flew to Paris. With this visit, the situation changed and the exclusive musical and performance rights were granted to Ongakuza. They were the only rights of their kind granted in the world. However, on the other hand, severe restrictions, such as that the stage had to be as accurate as possible to that in the original book, were set.

That restriction has since been taken away for the current performances as the rights period of the original book have expired and the production team has created a new interpretation that they have wanted to do for a long time. It expresses the intention of the work that one can feel from Saint Exup?y's footprint. It is a further evolution of the 1998 performance that gained a reputation for its unique stage designs including one where the desert was expressed using a sheet of cloth. A new face, NODA Kumiko was selected to play the role of prince.

"When I heard I was selected to play the role of prince, at first I felt anxious about whether I could accomplish it, but soon after I made up my mind that I would do it. I think the prince is not a human being, but something like a soul. It is very deep. Listen to my laughing in the stage show," Kumiko smiles. The story of "The Little Prince" has moved to the stage now with new members - and finally the real curtain opens.

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