SF Jazz reading play closes

SF Jazz’s reading play “Proto-Deus no Hakobune” ended its nine-show run in Ikebukuro on April 12 after a six-day engagement at Owlspot. (sfjazzreading.com) The production ran from April 7 to April 12 at Owlspot, a theater formally known as the Toshima City Theatre Arts Exchange Center in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district. Tickets were priced at 9,900 yen, tax included. (sfjazzreading.com) Its final day had two performances, at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., with Yoshimasa Hosoya and Shohei Komatsu appearing in both closing casts. Kaori Maeda and Chiharu Shigematsu joined the matinee, while Ami Koshimizu and Aoi Ichikawa appeared in the evening show. (sfjazzreading.com; animemaps.com) The show mixed an original science-fiction reading play with a live jazz session. Piano player Hitomi Nambo and saxophonist Masashi Endo performed at all nine shows. (sfjazzreading.com) The story is set on a spaceship that cannot return to Earth after a mission, turning the production into a locked-room mystery in space. The ship’s artificial-intelligence navigator, Proto-Deus, tells the crew that their return coordinates no longer match any existing planet. (sfjazzreading.com) Script and direction came from Naru Kawamoto, and the official site billed the cast as 38 voice actors plus two musicians. The rotating lineup covered five roles across the run, with different performers assigned to each performance. (sfjazzreading.com) That format put established anime and game voice actors onstage in a reading-play setup, where performers deliver a scripted drama live without a fully staged conventional play. The official schedule listed a different five-person cast for each of the nine performances. (sfjazzreading.com) With the April 12 performances complete, “Proto-Deus no Hakobune” closed as scheduled, ending a short Tokyo run built around live jazz, rotating casts, and a science-fiction mystery aboard a stranded ship. (sfjazzreading.com)