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The story
On her own radio show, Hello! Project’s Okamura Minami revealed that at the time of recording she was still in rehearsals, saying “the day before this airs is opening night,” and voicing worry over whether the show would actually open safely. On the thread, information crossed that the BEYOOOOONDS-starring stage play had in fact been canceled, sparking a heated debate over the decision to cancel and refund rather than bring in understudies. Fans who’d been thrilled to win tickets only to have the show canceled expressed their disappointment, and comparisons to how past infection outbreaks were handled also became a talking point.
What people said
(omitted)
Right now, at the time we're recording this, we're smack in the middle of rehearsals, so…
That line's got some good comedic flavor too
BEYOOOOONDS in particular has the lowest Blu-ray/DVD sales, and it seems like nobody's that interested unless it's live
If the lead were some huge star who couldn't perform, maybe, but it's not even on that level
There's just no money for understudies or double-casting
If they did anything, it'd be more like running it team-style with the same show, like the trainee stage play "Nega Posi Posi" did before
Where would they even pull an understudy from?
Could someone really be ready after just one day of rehearsal?
though for the group it's basically fatal
So what if you got your money back — people cleared their schedules and paid for travel too
You're supposed to factor that risk in when you apply
It's written right there in the application terms
That's the same risk you take with any concert or event
and it was fun because you could post live comments while watching, kind of like Niconico
it was a comedy, so the comment section got really lively
if BEYOOOOONDS can do the show next week, streaming it would be a good idea too
😜 "It's cancelled~"
They're probably silently blocking people left and right lol (quietly blocking complainers on social media)
This isn't the time to be doing release events and stuff
Don't they have a trainee ensemble or something?
Huh? You're supposed to prepare for this kind of thing in advance
Aren't they taking the production way too lightly
Is this being run by amateurs?
Back in the day the response to infections was a lot more lax
Since COVID, even a single infected person causes a huge fuss
They probably did learn — that's exactly why they canceled and refunded instead of forcing it through this time
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Hello! Project shows are often recorded well before they air, so comments made at taping can end up colliding with later real-world events. In this case, Okamura Minami’s remark — wondering whether they’d actually make it to opening night — ended up overlapping with the play’s real cancellation. The thread split mainly over the understudy issue: some questioned whether the production was under-prepared, pointing to the possibility of trainee stand-ins or the team-based system used in past trainee productions, while others defended the decision, arguing there simply wasn’t the budget to arrange understudies or double-casting. There was also a gap in perspective around the refunds — while ticket money was returned, that didn’t cover out-of-pocket costs like travel expenses or the hassle of rearranging schedules for fans who’d planned trips, creating friction with the view that “it’s fine since they already refunded it.”
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread: “[Sad News] Okamura Minami: “At the time of recording we’re still rehearsing, but the day before this airs is opening night, and I’m nervous about whether we’ll actually get there safely!”“
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