Episode 17: A Play for a New Era (3) Fin
Opening to such tremendous public interest that every seat prepared, from the general seats to the premium seats, was filled, the play [The Maid and the Villainess Are in Love]—
Much like the original works on which it was based, it presented a shock different from existing plays right from the very beginning.
It began with the radical choice of extinguishing every light inside the theater, plunging the place into darkness.
Though it startled the audience, who were trapped in the dark for a brief moment—
Flash!
When the lights came on afterward, illuminating only the stage and drawing everyone’s focus there,
The gazes of the audience, confined in darkness, naturally followed the sole light descending from above and turned toward the stage.
Gulp—
“Wow…”
And as the actors appeared beneath that single light, the audience could not help but feel an overwhelming, mysterious atmosphere from them.
Moreover, Wade had selected people whose appearances were as close as possible to the original characters, then applied meticulous makeup and costumes, making them look as if they had truly leapt straight out of the originals.
Combined with the mysterious atmosphere they had felt earlier, the audience began to feel an exhilaration and immersion as though this were no longer reality.
On top of that, there was this clear sound.
“Oh-ho. Is this… a magic tool? I can hear them very clearly even from here.”
“Yes. It seems they installed them so the sound would reach not only these premium seats above, but even the back of the general seats.”
Magic tools that amplified and transmitted sound had been placed throughout the theater.
Thanks to that, every audience member, regardless of their seat, could clearly hear the actors’ voices and lines.
The audience was able to move beyond the simple awareness that this was a theatrical performance, instead feeling the vivid sense of actually watching the parties’ story unfold right beside them.
Needless to say, that allowed them to immerse themselves even further in the play.
What was interesting was that even after building up the atmosphere to such an extent,
The content of the play was not some grand and sacred tale, but a light love story.
As if everything shown up until now had not been intended to bewitch people,
But was merely one part of the production, presented indifferently.
Of course, that did not mean the audience’s focus and immersion were broken.
Because even after that, unfamiliar yet fascinating stage effects captured their eyes and ears.
“Wow, that painting in the back really looks like a noble’s grand mansion.
Look over there too. They even recreated the garden and tea table.”
“This really makes it feel like they’re talking in a duke’s garden, doesn’t it?”
First of all,
Large, three-dimensional background paintings, each different for every important scene, began to be set up.
From the alley where the loan shark dragged Mary away to the ducal mansion where Michael lived.
From the ducal mansion to the ducal garden in full bloom.
And from the ducal garden to the lively festival streets.
Seeing the staff swiftly and precisely change the backdrops in the brief moments between scene transitions,
One could only realize how much practice they must have gone through and admire them.
The backdrops that were set up in that way fit the current situation in the play perfectly, helping the audience become immersed without any sense of incongruity.
It was enough to make one feel as though the stage itself was being whisked from place to place by magic.
On top of that, the background music that began to play at just the right moments gradually adjusted the tempo of the play as though seeping into it.
In urgent situations, it gave a sense of tension.
Conversely, in peaceful and ordinary situations, it gave a sense of comfort.
It also helped regulate the pacing, allowing the audience to relax their bodies when it was time to relax.
And among all those elements, the most important one by far was—
“The actors’ performances are quite excellent.
They are similar to, or perhaps even better than, the actors I personally employ.”
“As expected, it must be thanks to Lord Aria teaching them directly.”
The actors’ performances, too, had changed beyond comparison after receiving Aria’s special training.
“Was I supposed to give up on love and accept an engagement, only to have it stolen from me like this?!
Why! O Goddess, why have you abandoned my love, yet aided theirs alone?!”
“Do I love Lady Clarine?
As a servant, I have never harbored such presumptuous feelings toward my mistress— Ah! Y-yes! That’s right! In truth, I have loved you, my lady!
So please stop trying to throw yourself into the pond while crying, my lady!”
With confident vocal projection and acting, they delivered their lines clearly to the audience.
As though they had truly become the characters they were portraying, they used every element—voice, expression, gestures—to convey heartrending emotion.
That firmly drew the audience into the characters’ feelings, making them laugh and cry, grow angry and rejoice alongside them.
Even the songs inserted throughout the play were performed well, without gasping for breath or making mistakes in pitch or lyrics.
“Lady Clarine. I know that the true love you desire is not Michael.
If that is the case, for the sake of that true love, why not join hands with us and break off the engagement?”
“Huh? This part is different from the original.
Originally, Clarine thinks of it herself.”
“Idiot, it said it was adapted to suit the play.
Just shut up and watch.”
The story of the play as well—
In order to connect the stories of the two works into one, it had gone through slight adaptation and added originality.
So even for audience members who already knew the originals, it could provide fresh enjoyment without feeling stale or boring.
“Haa— Mary, Mary is moving.
She’s so wonderful and precious.”
“Sniffle. Clarine is so pitiful.
She’ll be able to properly find her true love, right?”
Above all, the destructive power of the “characters moving in real life,” which had been the very reason Wade attempted to turn the works into a play, was far greater than the audience had imagined.
In order to follow the theater’s request to remain quiet,
At every important scene in the play, everyone had to forcibly hold back their admiration or whisper softly into one another’s ears.
“Mary! Michael! I hope the two of you build a happy family as well.”
“Lady Clarine and Lube, you will surely have a happy married life too!
Because Michael and I will help make sure of it!”
And in the final scene, which had been changed into a joint wedding ceremony for the couple of Mary and Michael and the couple of Clarine and Lube,
The moment both couples finally kissed at the same time and reached their happy ending—
“This is it! This is true love!
Kraaagh! It’s so sweet my teeth are going to rot!”
“Damn it! You’d better stay happy forever!
If you don’t, I’ll blow this theater up!”
“One more time! One more time!”
The audience, unable to hold back any longer, poured out the cheers and standing ovation they had been suppressing for hours.
The result of the first media mix was—
By anyone’s standards, a massive success.
***
“We won!”
The moment the play ended, I heard the thunderous cheers begin to shake the theater, and I knew by instinct.
The theatrical adaptation, our first media mix, had been a great success!
All the hardships and investment costs that had gone into preparing this play flashed through my mind like a panorama.
But now, all of those were nothing more than seasoning for the sweetness of success!
With a reaction like this, it seemed there would be no shortage at all of audiences to attract in the future.
If I compared it to my past life, the level of fervor was enough to call it a guaranteed ten-million-ticket movie.
“No, if we’re doing this, we should finish it properly.
Director? Let’s hand out the goods we prepared while we’re at it!”
“Pardon? Weren’t those originally prepared as bait in case the box-office performance was worse than expected?”
“Look over there. If we toss the firewood called merchandise into that heat right now, won’t it blaze up like hellfire?”
“Ah! I’ll prepare it at once!”
So, in order to drive the nail in completely, I ordered the director, who had once been the theater owner, to release the service goods.
Originally, if the response had been worse than expected, we had prepared them to lure in the audience.
But at this point, I judged it would be better to distribute them now and make this fervor grow even hotter.
“Thank you for watching our play today.
We have commemorative gifts for our visiting audience members, so please receive them on your way out!”
“A commemorative gift? What is it?”
“A performance poster bearing the signatures of the actors who participated in today’s show!”
“What! A performance poster? We can receive something like that?”
“And it even has the actors’ signatures on it?!
Me! Give one to me first!”
And that judgment hit the mark precisely. The already blazing heat exploded even hotter.
In truth, a slightly adorable capitalist scent had been added here as well.
For premium seats, a signed poster was guaranteed, and they also had the right to choose the signature of their favorite actor.
For special seats, they could not choose the actor, but they were guaranteed to receive a signed poster.
For general seats, the poster itself was given out by lottery.
Mm.
Yes, to be honest, it was gacha.
And not just any gacha, but a complete gacha filled with capitalism, where you had to collect every actor’s signature separately!
If you collected every actor’s signature, I even had plans to give out a play script bearing my signature as a completion reward.
I did worry quite a bit over whether it was all right to unleash something this wicked upon this world.
‘Well, whatever.
It’s not as if I’m taking money and selling them. They’re just commemorative extras given as a bonus.’
So it should be fine, right?
Of course, once you obtained one, it was only natural that you would want to collect the next signature too.
Along with the play’s quality, this became a driving force that made even people who had already watched the play come back again.
As a result—
—What is the long line stretching out in front of the theater?!
Let us learn about the sensational play now showing at “Siren’s Song”!—
A long line formed in front of the theater, made up of customers visiting after hearing rumors and customers returning for repeat viewings, and it even ended up in the newspaper.
“Theater owner! Let’s expand the theater right now!
All those people are money. Money!”
“Now, now, calling our guests money?
Watch your tongue. Someone might hear.
Still, do begin expanding the theater quickly.”
Naturally, we immediately began expanding the theater.
You have to row when the tide comes in.
And it was not only customers wanting to watch the play who came flooding in.
Starting with inquiries about advertisements, inquiries about opening shops in the food court also began pouring in.
Duke Lucid, who could be called the client behind this plan, also visited while holding a souvenir poster in one hand.
He spared no praise for both the contents of the play and the results of the plan.
“Keep doing things just like this.
Even I want to come and watch it again, so it will be of great help to public opinion in favor of reforming the slums.”
It seemed the slum reform was going rather well.
“In that case, it is time to use the other method.”
“The other method… You mean the new work?! Have you completed it?”
“Yes. While preparing the performance, I wrote it whenever I had time and finished it.”
“Hohoho! I was soaking in the lingering emotion of the play until just now.
But after hearing that, I can hardly restrain myself from wanting to read it immediately.
So? What is the new work about?”
Duke Lucid, his eyes sparkling like a boy’s despite his age, asked about the contents of the new work I had written.
To that duke, I gave a condensed explanation that would let him grasp the contents of this new work at once.
“It’s an overpowered growth story where the protagonist, thought to be a slum orphan, turns out to be an EX-rank magic genius and gets pampered with head-pats.”
“…What in the world is that bizarre incantation?”
Ah, I accidentally condensed it too much.
Mm… Let’s just say I was preventing spoilers for the duke.