$4.50 Theater Company

$4.50 Theater Company is a Japanese theater and entertainment company known in Japanese as Gekidan Yondoru Gojussento. It was established in 2017 by Japanese producer Yasushi Akimoto and Max Matsuura, an Avex executive and producer, and is operated by Avex AY Factory, LLC, an Avex subsidiary. The company was formed through an audition process attended by approximately 5,000 applicants. Thirty-one members were selected, and about 90 percent of those members reportedly had no previous acting experience, giving the project a deliberately developmental and talent-building character. The company’s name was inspired by an anecdote about Janis Joplin. According to the company’s documented history, the figure refers to the total value of coins Joplin was holding in her hand when she died. The unusual name connects the theater project to Akimoto’s stated admiration for Joplin while also giving the troupe a distinctive identity within Japan’s entertainment market. Although its core identity is theatrical, the company’s members are presented as multipurpose entertainers rather than stage performers exclusively. Their activities include acting, modeling, television appearances, and music-related work. This cross-media approach reflects the wider Avex entertainment model, in which performers may develop visibility across live performance, recorded music, advertising, television, and other commercial formats. The company received early commercial exposure beyond the stage when it announced on October 30, 2017 that its members would appear in advertising for the PlayStation 4 version of Call of Duty: WWII. The announcement illustrated the company’s role as both a theater troupe and a platform for introducing emerging performers to broader entertainment and promotional opportunities. Publicly documented information about the company’s individual productions, later leadership, headquarters, current membership, and subsequent corporate developments is limited in the supplied reference material. Accordingly, the company is best characterized as an Avex-operated Japanese theater and talent-development venture founded in 2017, with activities extending into modeling, television, music, and advertising.

The $4.50 Theater Company was established in Japan in 2017 by producers Yasushi Akimoto and Max Matsuura. The project was operated by Avex AY Factory, LLC, a subsidiary of Avex, placing the troupe within the broader Avex entertainment ecosystem. Its creation combined a theater-company format with a structured audition and talent-development model. Approximately 5,000 people attended the auditions used to form the initial ensemble. Thirty-one members were chosen. The company’s profile emphasized that around 90 percent of the selected performers had no prior acting experience, suggesting that the troupe was intended not only to present performers who were already established but also to develop new talent through performance and related entertainment work. The company’s name is derived from a story concerning Janis Joplin, whom producer Yasushi Akimoto is known to admire. The stated reference is the total value of coins Joplin was holding when she died. This explanation gives the company a distinctive cultural reference and accounts for its unusual dollar-and-cent name. Despite being organized as a theater company, the group’s activities extend beyond conventional stage work. Members also participate in modeling, television programs, music, and other entertainment engagements. This broad activity profile is consistent with the Japanese commercial-entertainment system, where performers often build careers across several media rather than remaining limited to a single discipline. The company’s first documented promotional activity came soon after its formation. On October 30, 2017, it announced that its members would appear in advertising for the PlayStation 4 edition of Call of Duty: WWII. The announcement demonstrated how the troupe could function as a source of recognizable promotional talent as well as a theatrical ensemble. The available reference material does not identify particular theatrical productions, later membership changes, subsequent executives, a standalone website, or detailed financial and operational results. The documented history therefore supports a concise account: the company was founded in 2017, recruited a largely inexperienced ensemble through a large audition, operated under Avex through Avex AY Factory, and developed a cross-media identity spanning theater, television, modeling, music, and advertising.

• 2017

  Company established

  [1]$4.50 Theater Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Yasushi Akimoto and Max Matsuura established the Japanese theater company, which was operated by Avex AY Factory, LLC.

• 2017

  Initial ensemble selected through auditions

  [1]$4.50 Theater Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Approximately 5,000 people attended auditions, from which 31 members were selected; around 90 percent reportedly had no acting experience.

• 2017

  Call of Duty: WWII advertising announcement

  [1]$4.50 Theater Companyen.wikipedia.org

  The company announced on October 30 that its members would appear in advertising for the PlayStation 4 version of Call of Duty: WWII.

A Japanese theater and emerging-talent platform combining stage performance with cross-media entertainment activities under the Avex group.

• Live theater · 2017

  Theater performances

  The company’s core activity is theatrical performance by its member ensemble. The available reference identifies the organization as a theater company but does not provide titles, venues, production dates, or repertory details for specific plays.

• Entertainment talent · 2017

  Cross-media performer activities

  Members are involved in activities beyond stage theater, including modeling, television appearances, music, and other entertainment work. This broadens the company’s function from a conventional troupe into a platform for developing and deploying multipurpose performers.

• 2017Call of Duty: WWII PlayStation 4 advertising appearance

  Japan

  The company announced that members would appear in advertising for the PlayStation 4 version of Call of Duty: WWII.

  Outcome. The announcement provided an early documented example of the troupe’s members working in commercial promotion outside theatrical performance.

  Source

1. 1$4.50 Theater Companyen.wikipedia.org