Stage musicals you have never seen before
SAIC Shanghai Culture Square, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is presenting 10 musicals in the debut of a season devoted to performances adapted or created in-house.
It includes six Chinese adaptations of foreign musicals, with three — “Romeo and Juliette,” “Maybe Happy Ending” and “Fan Letter” — making local debut.
“Romeo and Juliette,” a French musical based on Shakespeare’s play, premiered in Paris in 2001, with music and lyrics by Gerard Presgurvic. The Chinese version will premiere at the culture square in November.
“Maybe Happy Ending” and “Fan Letter” are award-winning musicals from South Korea. The Chinese version of “Maybe Happy Ending” will be performed in June; “Fan Letter” will be staged next January.
SAIC Shanghai Culture Square's debut season for performances adapted or created in-house includes six Chinese adaptations of foreign musicals.
The other three adaptations to be staged by the culture square are “Rachmaninoff,” “Spring Awakening” and “My Bucket List.” The three works have already been performed 241 times around China in the past three years.
“As a venue known for musical performances, we always wanted to organize a performance season showcasing our self-produced productions,” said Fei Yuanhong, its vice general manager.
The new season also features four productions emerging from the culture square’s program of nurturing original new musicals.
“We are finally ready to introduce a performance season featuring these original works,” he said.
Of the four original musicals, three come from winners of the venue’s first year of new-talent development. They were the judging panel’s top three picks in 2019 and are being brought to the stage in cooperation with professional production partners.
“Fan Letter” is among three Chinese adaptations of foreign musicals making debut in Shanghai.
“Lottery,” a suspense story about seven high-school students trapped on an isolated island who devise a draw to decide their survival chances, will be staged at the Great Theater of China in downtown Huangpu District on June 5-13.
“Once Upon a Time in Our Youth,” a musical with a surrealist romantic plot, will go before audiences at Theater Above on November 13-21.
“The Throne and the Poetry,” which focuses on the history of Li Yu, the last ruler of the Southern Tang Dynasty (AD 937-975), will premiere in Nanjing in neighboring Jiangsu Province in October. Its Shanghai debut at Shanghai Grand Theater will be in November.
The fourth original production, “A Musical Is Born,” takes audiences backstage during the creation of a musical. It was first performed at the Culture Square last September.
The work is described by Fei as an “off-plan production.” Its script follows people involved in the theater’s musical-nurturing project.
“A Musical Is Born” will be staged at Culture Square on September 23-26.
The original musical “The Throne and the Poetry” will be staged at Shanghai Grand Theater in November.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, international performances have been absent from domestic stages since the beginning of last year.
“We have been feeding audiences Chinese musicals since we resumed theater operation,” said Fei. “Chinese musical practitioners are seizing the opportunity to promote original musicals and develop the infant industry.”
Fei said Chinese musicals, especially those featuring rising young musical stars, have proven popular with younger audiences, filling the theater with people aged between 18 and 32.
“The average age of audiences has dropped a bit over the year, meaning new audiences have been attracted,” he said. “That’s good news.”
He added: “However, Chinese musical producers must resist the urge to be hasty or greedy in bringing new productions to the stage. Quality works take time. We need to develop the domestic musical industry step by step.”
