GKIDS has announced that it will be screening Spirited Away: Live On Stage film as part of this year’s Studio Ghibli Fest lineup for two nights on October 1, 2026 and October 8, 2026. The film will be released in its original Japanese language with English subtitles.
GKIDS and Fathom Entertainment will release two separate filmed performances of the production in October 2026, with Kanna Hashimoto for the October 1 screening and Mone Kamishiraishi for the October 8 screening, who both play the lead heroine Chihiro.
The stage production based on Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away anime film was filmed during its 2022 run at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo, Japan. It was previously released in North American theaters in 2023.
Tony Award winner stage director and writer John Caird adapted and directed the stage production. Maoko Imai assisted with co-adaptation of the stage play and Brad Haak handled the musical orchestrations and arrangement, based on Joe Hisashi’s original musical score.
Other cast members in the stage play include:
- • Kotaro Daigo / Hiroki Miura as Haku
- • Koharu Sugawara / Tomohiko Tsujimoto as No Face
- • Miyu Sakihi / Fuu Hinami as Lin/Chihiro’s Mother
- • Tomorowo Taguchi / Satoshi Hashimoto as Kamajî
- • Mari Natsuki (reprising from the anime film) / Romi Park as Yubaba and Zeniba
GKIDS describes Spirited Away: Live On Stage as:
Hayao Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning animated feature film comes to life in this first-ever stage adaptation, full of dazzling sets, captivating musical numbers, and wondrous puppets of beloved characters. Adapted and directed by Tony Award®-winner John Caird (Les Misérables), two unique casts and performances were filmed during the show’s acclaimed 2022 run at Tokyo’s historic Imperial Theatre, featuring Kanna Hashimoto and Mone Kamishiraishi as Chihiro.
The stage adaptation of Spirited Away will have stops in Toronto and Los Angeles in 2027 and in London in 2028.
The Spirited Away anime film premiered in Japanese theaters on July 20, 2001. An English dub released from Disney was later released in North America on September 20, 2002.
Source: Press release
Update: Added information on stage play stops in Los Angeles, Toronto, and London.
