Actress Norika Fujiwara has been given the starring role in her first appearance in a production of a Broadway musical. The work is Bob Martin and Don McKellar's "The Drowsy Chaperone," which is currently in the middle of a tour across North America.

The Japanese production will be put on by noted director Amon Miyamoto. Fujiwara and Miyamoto both visited the U.S. last December to watch the musical in person. After that, Fujiwara began training herself for the part of the protagonist Janet, taking singing lessons twice a week and dance lessons once a week.

The musical will begin its run in Japan next January at the Nissay Theatre in Tokyo.