【前編】いきなりブロードウェイ！偶然？必然？のデビュー秘話！！

【前編】いきなりブロードウェイ！偶然？必然？のデビュー秘話！！

[Music] [Staff] Today, Ms. Romi, you’re sparkling and looking lovely. You’ve got to sparkle occasionally! Otherwise, you’ll rust away by keeping things stored. [Staff] Is it a set? The earrings and… No, they’re not a set; I’m just matching them. These earrings I bought because I liked them, you see. They looked a bit unusual, so I ended up buying them just by looking at them. I thought about how they might look, and then I found clothes like this. The colors matched, so I thought they would be just right. They’re a bit unusual earrings. [Staff] They suit you well. They’re amazing. But, these days have become quite good. People have started wearing just one earring when one falls off. I’m glad I didn’t throw them away. I don’t wear pierced earrings, you know. I’m scared. I can’t get my ears pierced. So, I put them all on, and they occasionally fall off. So, even though one side is missing, I can’t throw them away. I thought they were beautiful, and then I heard they were trending recently. I thought, "Oh, that’s good," and started wearing just one side. So, today’s story… When I first returned to Japan from America… The first thing I did was a play called "Spring Dance" at the Nihon Gekijou. And, during that time, Shuji Terayama came… And in the reviews at that time, I was referred to as "a woman born wearing high heels." I’ve never actually met him, but that title was given to me. Many people liked that title. "Born Wearing High Heels," I thought, "Wow, that’s interesting." As expected, coming from a writer. Right? It’s interesting. [Staff] What should we name the YouTube channel? [Staff] There’s no other option! I was a bit like, "Huh?! Why?!" But at that time, when it was said… But still, the way it was expressed was lovely. [Staff] Originally, you debuted in America… Hey! Even though I was thinking about that, I never watched it. I wanted to go to America, you know. That’s because of the story of "Daddy-Long-Legs," you see. And then, letters written by the parents of those who had gone there quickly turned into books. The daughters who studied abroad. Reading those, I felt really attracted and just thought, "I want to go." At that time, you see,Japan was in an era where you couldn’t take foreign currency out. Even if you had the money, nobody could go. Unless it was a dispatch from some special company, and also, you had to take an exam, administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something. It was an era where you couldn’t go unless you passed that exam,so I struggled on my own. I took the Ministry of Foreign Affairs exam, butfailed miserably. Right? Being a singer and dealing with Ministry of Foreign Affairs documents was so difficult, there was no way I could handle it in English. Besides, since I was in a music school, it had nothing to do with it. Even though it was a music school, you know, German was the main language. So after that, you could choose what you liked. Mostly, operas are mostly in Italian. And then, it was filled with German lieder. English was largely ignored in music school. I tried taking French but found it too difficult, so I quit. German was compulsory. You had to take it. But, since it couldn’t be helped, I took English. And simply wanting to go to America was influenced by such books. It was just after the war had ended and things had calmed down a bit, so… Since high school, I had been into movies, and even in college, I loved movies. So many American movies were coming out, and I thought it was wonderful. It was just amazing! And for some reason, even manga was being introduced in Japan. There was this manga called "Blondie," about a stylish married couple. They were so fashionable! The wife wore high heels at home. I admired it so much! So, wanting to go abroad, I thought, well, it’s better than going to school, and I longed for school life. Living in a girls’ dormitory. It’s from "Daddy-Long-Legs," you know, a story by Jean Webster. What’s interesting is that a stranger silently provides money and allows you to go to school. And when I saw that, school life seemed so enjoyable. So, I longed for it, managed to find a suitable guarantor, and thankfully, they signed properly, saying, "I guarantee everything," "I will take responsibility if something happens." It was tough, you know, signing with someone you’ve never met… someone who knows someone you know, and then signing, especially, when an American who came to Kure, a shipbuilding engineer… was such a person, you know? He signed even though we had never met, and thanks to that, I could go. I chose Boston, and people asked, "Why go to such a cold place?" But there’s Harvard University, you know? Even now, it’s very famous in Japan. There was a school at Harvard, and there were Harvard folks who were soldiers and came to Japan. I met them at that time, and we became acquainted. They used to come over to our place a lot. And this person became a soldier after graduating from college, and because there was a war for a few years, between Korea and America, everyone went to war, and Americans took a 2-week break and everyone, since Japan was next door, came to Japan to have fun. So during that time, a lot of soldiers came to Japan, took vacations, and had a lot of fun. Japan had already improved drastically after the war, so when I went to America, there was a significant increase in Japanophilia among Americans. So when I took a taxi in America, they always asked, "Japanese?" So when I said, "Yes," suddenly they’d sing, "Shina no Yo yo"♪, a song called "Shina no Yoru" from the old days. For some reason, everyone remembered it, and soldiers, all of them, sang that song. So when they saw Japanese people, taxi drivers would sing it. When they heard I was Japanese, they’d happily sing. And everyone would say, "We had a great time," because we were welcomed so warmly. Thanks to that, even though we were enemies for a while, I was truly able to have a good life in America. And the people were really… so nice, open-hearted and warm. They were smiling all year round. The word "hospitality" means kindness, but it’s not just kindness, it’s like… I wonder how to say it, it’s very heartwarming kindness, you know? I have received a lot of that kind of kindness. [Music] [Staff] So, Romi, were you originally aspiring to be an actress? No, no, no But you know, when I was in elementary school, I lived near places like Shukugawa and Ashiya, So, Takarazuka is right along the Hankyu line. So, I went to the Takarazuka Grand Theater. And I admired it. I thought, "Wow, it’s wonderful!" But I never thought about putting myself there. I was learning to sing, though. Since junior high. I learned in elementary but it was interrupted by the war. Normally, everyone starts with piano, but we didn’t have a piano at home. So my mother said, "How about singing?" It was kindergarten, back then. When everyone was singing together, there was a boy next to me who suddenly turned and said, "You have a strange voice," "You sound like an adult." After that, I became a bundle of inferiority complex. I just opened my mouth and pretended I didn’t know. So, I learned. From then on, what they call vocal music, pure vocals, I learned from the first year of junior high to high school, all the way, and then, "What should I do? Should I go to music school?" After all, I wanted to go to America. So, dormitory life at music school was the main thing. I didn’t become a singer or anything. But there were many opportunities to go on stage and sing alone. That’s how music schools are. From that time on, I was already going on stage, with accompaniment… with a piano, so I was used to singing in front of people. I joined the opera club for my extracurricular activity, So from there, I gradually leaned more and more toward music. And my mother was really into music, so at home… The records ranged from classical to Hawaiian, and all the way to songs from American movies. A life filled with music, inside our house. So naturally, I got into music from there. [Music] [Staff] What was the trigger for your debut? Well, you see, when I first went to San Francisco, the teacher at the school there, from the "fashionable school" I mentioned earlier, next time, I might talk about it again, but I told the teacher from that "fashionable school" that, well, even though San Francisco is a beautiful city, it’s best to just visit there like on a honeymoon because, you know, it lacks vibrancy. It’s somehow lacking in energy. So, at that time, when I said I was going to New York, the teacher said, "New York is a city where," "well… it’s really lonely to be there alone." "It’s not as fun if you don’t have friends." "So, I’ll introduce you to some friends." So, hospitality came into play again here, and then they said, "I’ll call someone for you," and gave me an address. "When you arrive in New York, give them a call. Have lunch together," they said. "Yes! Thank you!" I said. So, I went to New York and immediately called for lunch. "Oh, I have a call! Let’s have lunch!" "On this date, at this place." So, I went and met them and had a meal. It seemed like the person was someone important in the restaurant industry in America. That person… treated us properly, you know. They seemed to be in their mid to late middle age. So, while we were being treated!! Someone came walking over from over there, looking like a slightly worse version of Dean Martin, you know, the American singer/actor/entertainer, introduced as "Ms. Romi Yamada" (to my lunch companion), and the person who greeted me looked at my face and said, "Do you have an interest in ‘The World of Suzie Wong’?" ‘The World of Suzie Wong’ was already a play being performed on Broadway. During my time in Boston, as a student, when we excitedly went to New York, one person would have a car, cards would come out saying, "Who wants to go?" And everyone would write their names down. We could fit six people in one of those big American cars, and we’d all chip in for gas. It’s about a six-hour drive to Boston, so, we’d all go together, and at the Broadway, at the cheapest seats on the third floor, and at that time, I happened to be watching ‘The World of Suzie Wong’. I didn’t fully understand it, 100% perfect, but I was watching it. So, since I was watching it, I thought, "Oh!" Then, I was asked, "Are you interested in ‘The World of Suzie Wong’?" I was asked, "Are you interested?" I didn’t really understand what they were saying, but since I had watched it, and found it interesting, I just said "Yes". Then they said, "What day?", "I’ll deliver the script," and suddenly, those words came up again, "I’ll deliver the script, so study the parts with lines." "On this date, at the stage door of this theater." And that was it. [Staff] Wow!! (Surprised) You don’t need to explain in such detail. It was an audition But they didn’t even use the word "audition". They just said, "Please come." [Staff] During lunch? During lunch. (With the person resembling Dean Martin) standing over there, and the two of us sitting here, nodding along. Now I understand it’s an audition. Right! But back then, we didn’t really know what they were talking about, right? At Broadway. So, (as instructed) I went, and that turned out to be the audition. [music] So, the man I met was named Tony Rivers, and he was the president of a production company. He was the president of a talent agency. In America, not just anyone can attend auditions. They don’t do open calls. You need to be properly affiliated with a reputable production company. The opportunities are routed through the production company. So, you have to go through a production company to attend auditions. But not everyone can go through a production company because not everyone is affiliated. I happened to meet the president of the production company by chance at a restaurant. So, I went as promised. Only the president of the production company was at the entrance. So, we were called in one by one… next, next, next. There were about 20 people, I guess. They asked me to talk about myself. So, I talked about myself, saying things like "I sing!" But my voice is mezzo-soprano… on the lower side, you know. So, when it comes to opera, all the main roles are soprano. With high voices like "Ho hooo~♪", they sing even in Madame Butterfly, right? But for me, um… as a mezzo-soprano… the only role I could do, even if I could, is Carmen. But Carmen is… a very sexy female role… I said, "I’m not even a bit sexy at all…" The judges burst out laughing. There were about 7 or 8 people sitting in dark seats. From where I was, it was just a dim light standing there. So, just talking on and on like that, everyone burst into laughter. So, after a few of us had finished all the auditions, then… "Ms. Yamada, please stay." "Everyone else, thank you very much." "Thank you very much" seemed to mean goodbye. Everyone left one by one. And among them was one person, a Japanese person, you see. Their name was Japanese, but… Wow, there was someone wearing a stunning cheongsam, you know, (since the story was set in Hong Kong), with a dragon like this… I was really overwhelmed. I’m just a nobody, you know. I was dressed very plainly because I’m a student. So, I was like, "Huh? What?!" Things just kept moving forward while I didn’t understand anything. Then they said, "Alright, let’s go together, Ms. Yamada." I walked along, bewildered, and there was… His name was David Merrick, you see, known as the "God of Broadway." A renowned producer, a Harvard University graduate. He always makes sure the works he’s involved in become hits. So, he stood up, greeted, and shook hands across the table. Then he said, "Alright! Right away, to the Immigration Office." Doesn’t that mean a foreigner is taking someone else’s job? When working in America, since I have a foreign nationality, I… So, I have to explain that it’s a role necessary to work in America, where I can work, potentially displacing an American worker. [Music]

ご視聴ありがとうございます！

今回のお話は『アメリカデビュー編』ということで、ロミさんの生い立ちや、どのような経緯でブロードウェイの主役に？！というお話を聞かせていただきました。
チャンネル名「ハイヒールを履いて生まれてきたような女」の由来も話していただいてます。

この一連のエピソードを映画化してほしいぐらい、本当に素敵かつ面白い人生を歩んでらして、ますますロミさんに興味津々になってしまいました。

冒頭でも触れていますが、イヤリングも衣装もキラキラしていて、そしてロミさんご自身もキラキラしていて、撮影中に「綺麗だな〜(うっとり)」となっていました。
やっぱり90歳なんて信じられない…

余談ですが、今回フルテロップじゃないので「字幕」を付けてみました。
よろしければ、画面上にある字幕ボタンをオンにしてご覧ください。
（説明欄担当：Mana）

出演：ロミ・山田
企画/構成：ひとみ
撮影/編集：Mana

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〈ロミ・山田〉
◇1933年（昭和8年）8月8日生まれ
◆日本の女優・歌手
◇国立音楽大学 声楽科卒業
◆1960年、名プロデューサーDavid Merrickに見いだされ、地方公演の配役として『スージー・ウォン役』に大抜擢される。
◇1961年、ブロードウェイ・ミュージカル『フラワー・ドラム・ソング』の主役メイ・リーを得て、全米各地およびラスベガスでミュージカル・スターとして活躍。
◆1967年、「知りすぎたのね」（作詞・作曲なかにし礼）をリリース、４５万枚のヒットとなる。

女優・歌手としてだけではなく、明るいキャラクターでコメンテーターとしても人気を博す。

■オフィシャルサイト

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0:00 オープニング
0:05 本日のファッション
1:05 チャンネル名の由来
1:57 渡米までの道のり
6:40 音楽と共に歩んできた人生
8:25 デビューのきっかけ
11:42 オーディション裏話
14:01 女優生活の始まり

〜後編へ続く〜

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http://dova-s.jp/
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#ロミ山田 #ブロードウェイ #90歳