Watch Spirited Away play recreate stressful 'stink spirit' bath scene for the stage
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Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away is one of the most magical movies of the 21st century. The anime masterpiece follows a young girl named Chihiro (or "Sen"), who must work in a witch's bathhouse helping spirits after her parents are transformed into pigs. Despite the fantasy premise, Spirited Away is a great coming-of-age story and almost universally acclaimed as one of the modern high points of the animation art form: It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003, and last year was included on Sight & Sound's once-a-decade critics' poll of the greatest films of all time (one of only two animated titles to make the list, along with Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro).
But Spirited Away is so powerful that it has now transcended its original art form. A theatrical adaptation of Spirited Away played stages across Japan last year, starting at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo before moving on to theaters in Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Nagoya. Good news for American fans of Miyazaki: The Imperial Theater production was filmed, and will be screened in select theaters by GKids on four upcoming dates.
To whet your appetite, EW can present an exclusive clip from the filmed production of Spirited Away: Live on Stage, which you can watch above.
GKIDS (2) How the original film version of 'Spirited Away' compares to the theatrical adaptation.
It hails from the scene where a very smelly spirit shows up at the bathhouse. Though everyone else is repulsed, Sen alone detects that he's actually hurting and needs help. Soon the rest of the bathhouse personnel join her in trying to free their customer from his dirty curse.
Two different actresses were cast as Sen/Chihiro: Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi. Japanese theatrical productions put on more shows a week than their American equivalents (nine or 10, as opposed to the Broadway standard of seven), so director Jon Caird put together two different casts to handle the load. The above clip features Hashimoto as Sen, while Yubaba is played by Mari Natsuki — who, magically enough, was the original Japanese voice actor for the character in the film.
This clip is obviously only a select glimpse of the show's magic. If you want to see what other classic Spirited Away characters, like No-Face, look like on stage, check out the previously-released production photos.
Spirited Away: Live on Stage will screen in select theaters on April 23 and 25 (the Hashimoto version) and on April 27 and May 2 (the Kamishiraishi version). Tickets can be found on GKids' website.
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