clinch

女優の米倉涼子さんがBroadway デビューを飾りました。短期間の登板でしたが，中学時代に彼女に英語を教えた先生は喜んでおられることでしょう。
ボクシングでおなじみのclinchは，clinch a dealという形で「方をつける，まとめる」という意味ですが，彼女が演じたChicagoのRoxieにはぴったりの語彙選択です。（UG）

Japanese actress Yonekura debuts on Broadway with lead role in "Chicago"

NEW YORK (Kyodo) -- Japanese actress Ryoko Yonekura made her debut on Broadway on Tuesday evening with the lead role in the musical "Chicago" -- the first Japanese woman to take a lead role in a Broadway musical in 54 years.

The last Japanese actress to head the cast on Broadway was Miyoshi Umeki, also known in Japan as Nancy Umeki, who starred in "Flower Drum Song" in 1958.

Yonekura, who performed mostly in English, with some lines in Japanese, told reporters after the show that her hands were still shaking.

"Although it was fun, I got so nervous that I almost didn't feel it was fun," she said.

Set in Chicago in the late 1920s, the musical revolves around Roxie Hart, who is imprisoned for killing a lover who was trying to dump her. Roxie, played by Yonekura, tries to win acquittal by hiring a skillful lawyer.

Yonekura had played Roxie in the Japanese version of the musical in 2008 and 2010. Talks began around January 2011 on her possible appearance in the Broadway version, and a deal was clinched in March this year, according to people informed about the matter.

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20120712p2g00m0et032000c.html