NEWS: ......

Sometimes you find out theatre news that's interesting or exciting, and sometimes it just makes you go "WTF?"

In this case, it's the upcoming year's season for Toho Stages in Japan. Most of the schedule is pretty straightforward: there's a couple of new domestic shows, not to mention a few major classics - both old and new. Of course you can't forget Japan's love of Michael Kunze, with Elisabeth and Tanz der Vampire getting revived.

And then there are the interesting bits: Stephen Fry's adaptation of Me and My Girl is coming up, as is A New Brain by William Finn and, for the first time in ten years, a star-studded (or so a forum poster claims) Japanese revival of RENT.

Now, a lot of people find foreign language productions of musicals a bit odd and off-putting, especially ones where one suspects a massive cultural disconnect (such as when Toho did Fiddler on the Roof). But that's not cause for bewilderment.

What is? Looking at the lineup and seeing that somebody was dumb enough to resurrect Desperately Seeking Susan. And yes, it's the same cesspool that barely ran two weeks, but now with more Japanese and without even the original's pretty awesome logo art..

WTF Japan, seriously?