Five weeks after the sudden passing of Sayaka Kanda, who was cast as the main heroine Maetel, the official website for Galaxy Express 999: THE MUSICAL, a new musical adaptation of Leiji Matsumoto's sci-fi adventure manga series Galaxy Express 999, announced today that the show is currently being adjusted for relaunch.
The show was originally scheduled to be performed at Nihon Seinenkan Hall in Tokyo from 8, to 18, 2022. Along with Kanda, singer-songwriter Akinori Nakagawa, who played the protagonist Tetsuro Hoshino in the manga's two straight play adaptations in 2018 and 2019, Galaxy Express 999 ~ Galaxy Opera ~ and Galaxy Express 999: Farewell, Maetel ~ My Eternity ~, had been set to reprise his role.
The statement writes, "The executive committee of 'Galaxy Express 999 THE MUSICAL' had been considering the cancellation of the show as one of the options for the future. As a result of repeated discussions, we have come to the decision that we will pay close attention to the mental care of the cast and staff and make adjustments to carry out the show. One of the reasons is that we received words of encouragement to hold the show in our talks with people from Kanda-san's office."
The new cast for Maetel will be announced as soon as decided. The general sales of the tickets, which was originally set to begin on January 29, will be postponed and the new schedule will be announced later.
At the end of the statement, it says, "We would like to express our heartfelt respect to Sayaka Kanda-san. And we believe in the potential of entertainment and will deliver this show to everyone with the help of the great power of the original manga."
『銀河鉄道999 THE MUSICAL』の上演につきまして、協議を重ねて参りましたが、公演の実施に向けて調整を進めていく判断に至りましたことをご報告させて頂きます。
メーテル役につきましては各所調整の上決まり次第ご案内申し上げます。
詳細は公式HPをご確認ください。https://t.co/CpJ4rqKM2i
— 銀河鉄道999 THE MUSICAL (@999_TheMusical) January 26, 2022
Original key visual:
Source: "Galaxy Express 999: THE MUSICAL" official website
©Leiji Matsumoto, Toei Animation
©"Galaxy Express 999: THE MUSICAL" Executive Committee
Source: Crunchyroll
