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Thepastsummerofferedaninterestingvarietyofmusicalperformances.WhiletheChineseversionofMamaMia!
oneofthemostpopularmusicalsintheworld,toursChinaona200-performancerun,homegrownmusicalsarealsogainingground.
LoveUTeresa,anoriginalmusicalaboutinfluentialTaiwaneseChinesepopsingerTeresaTeng（1953-95）,hasbeenstagedinBeijingsinceAugust5.TheBrokenBridge,alarge-scalemusicalfeaturingacross-Straitslovestoryspanning60yearsproducedwithfundsfromtheHangzhouMunicipalGovernment,willbestagedinthefamoustourismcityinZhejiangProvincefromSeptember15to22.Musicalsforchildren,suchasTheVagrantLifeofSanmaoandSesameStreet,arealsopiquingtheinterestofyoungeraudiences.
MusicalproductionsinChinaaregoingthroughatri-phaseddevelopment:
fosteringthemarketandaudiencesbyintroducingfor-
eignclassics;learningstandardproductionandoperationproceduresandestablishingprofessionalteamsbyreproducingclassicmusicals;andcreatingoriginalmusicalswithChineseelementsandstagingthemoverseas,saidZhangYu,ChairmanoftheChinaArtsandEntertainmentGroup,oneofthethreeinvestorsfortheChineseversionofMamaMia!
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Marketyettoform
Althoughmusicaltheaterhasattractedlotsofpublicattentionthissummer,peopleworkingintheindustryhaveacommonviewthatthemarketstillneedstimetodevelop.
Despiteitsglobalpresenceforthepasttwocenturies,musicalsarrivedonthescenerelativelylateinChinacomparedwithmovieandstageperformancegenres,suchasconcerts,opera,balletanddrama.Chinesetheatercirclesbeganstudyingandproducingmusicalsinthe1980salongsidethedevelopmentofpopularmusic.
China’sfirsthomegrownmusical,OurModernYouth,wasproducedbytheChinaNationalOperaHousein1982.Itwasfollowedbyanumberofmusicalproductionsbyacademiesandvariousoperaanddramatroupesthroughthe1980sand90s.
“Buttherereallyisn’tamarketformusicalsinChinajustyet,”saidSanBao,China’srenownedcomposer,whocomposedmusicformusicalssuchasTheGoldSand,ButterfliesandTheVagrantLifeofSanmao.
“Althoughtherearedozensoforiginalmusicalseachyear,Chineseaudiencesknowlittleaboutmusicals,nottomentiongettinginthehabitofgoingtomusicalsandappreciatingthem,”saidSanBao.“IthinkitwilltakeChinaatleast50yearstoformamaturemusicaltheatermarket.”
LiSuyou,afamousproducerandformerteacherattheShanghaiConservatoryofMusic,sharedthesameview.
“Onlyifaudiencesizeincreasesenough,thentheysupportpeopleworkingintheindustry.Butthenumberofpeoplewillingandabletopaytoseemusicalshasn’tformed,whichiswhywethinkthemarkethasn’treallycomeintoexistence,”Lisaid.
Inaddition,ChineseaudiencesoftenconfusemusicaltheaterwithoperaordramabecausetheconceptissonewthatfewChinesereallyunderstandit,saidZhangAojia,heroineoftheChineseversionofMamaMia!
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ThemarketformusicalsinChinahasyettotakeshape,butitwillbehugeonceformed,giventhecountry’slargepopulation,saidLi.
“If1percentofChinesepeoplearewill-ingtobuyticketsformusicals,themarketwillbebeyondimagination,”saidLi.“NowBroadwayandWestEndproducersarekeepingasharpeyeonthemarketperformanceoftheChineseversionofMamaMia!
.TheywilldashtoChinaassoonastheyfindit’salucrativebusiness,justlikeHollywoodhaddonewithitsmovieindustry.”
Theoretically,Chinesehavenoobstaclesinappreciatingmusicals,saidZhang.
“TheyshouldenjoythisstageperformancebecauseofChina’slonghistoryoftraditionalChineseoperas,”shesaid.“Musicalsarevivid,directandexaggeratedperformances,andsoaretraditionalChineseoperas.Forinstance,inPekingopera,onesyllablecanlastformorethanoneminutetoexpressacharacter’sinnerworld,andfacialmakeupisusedtoexaggeratepeople’scharacters.”
Stagechallenges
AlackoftalentpresentsthebiggestchallengeforthemusicaltheaterindustryinChina.
“It’sabrandnewbusinesswhichrequiresallkindsofprofessionals,”saidLi.“AlackoftalentisthecommonproblemforallpostsinChinesemusicals,includingproducers,composers,playwrights,stagedirectors,actors,andcostumedesigners.”
Whilerecruitingactorsforhis2011production,TheVagrantLifeofSanmao,SanBaofoundthelackoftalentedactorsandactressesparticularlybothersome.TheproductionisbasedonSanmao,awellknowncomicbookcharactercreatedin1935byZhangLeping.
“AlthoughChinahasseveraluniversitiesofferingmusicalstageperformancecourses,99percentoftheirgraduateswillturntoother‘morepromising’careers,suchasactinginmoviesorTVshows,”saidSanBao.“Forinstance,SunHonglei,agraduatefromtheCentralAcademyofDramawhomajoredinmusicalperformancehasmadeanameforhimselfbystarringinmoviesandTVshows.”SunplayedasupportingroleinForeverEnthralled,a2009biopicdirectedbyChenKaigeofMeiLanfang,oneofChina’spremierePekingoperamaestros.
Differentfromotherperformances,musicalsusuallyfeatureaproducer-centeredproductionmodel.
ZhangYuwasconcernedabouttheshortageofcompetentproducersintheindustry.
“Producersshouldhavetheforesighttoseethecomparativelymainstreamandlastingtrendformusicalproductions,andselectinvestors,actorsandothercrewaccordingly,assuccessfulmusicalswillusuallyremainonstageforyears,ifnotdecades,“hesaid.
Asidefromfosteringadeeppoolofactingtalent,it’sequallyimportantforthebusinesstoestablishstandardsforproducingqualitymusicals.
“MusicalproductionisamaturebusinessinBroadwayandtheWestEnd,withstandardproductionprocedureslikethatofacarfactoryorachemicalplant,”Lisaid.
Forinstance,“inBroadwayproductions,stagemanagersareresponsiblefortakingcontrolofeverythingonthestagewithallkindsofinformationinhandtosendoutcuesforothercrewmembers,”saidLi.“InChinamoststagemanagersdon’tevenhaveapaperinhandwheninstructingotherstaff.Instead,theyjustcopytheexperienceofdirectingeveningshowsordramas.”
Originalproduction
MusicaltheaterbusinessinsidersholddifferentideasonthebestcoursetofosterthepopularityofmusicalsinChina.
LiDun,afamousproducerwhoproducedoriginalmusicalsincludingButterfliesandLoveUTeresa,saidemphasizingChineseelementswillhelpmusicalstoprosperinChina.
LiDunandhisButterfliesareconsideredtrailblazersforChina-producedmusicals.Themusical,whichisbasedonaclassicChineselovetragedybetweenLiangShanboandZhuYingtai,wasstagedinmorethan20citiesinSouthKorea,Europe,theUnitedStatesandCanada.ThemusicalalsowonthespecialprizeattheInternationalMusicalFestivalinSouthKorea.
LiDun’slatestworkLoveUTeresa,isnowbeingperformedinmajorcitiesacrossChina.TengwasahouseholdnameontheChinesemainlandinthe1980s.HersweetvoiceandsongsarestillrecognizablethroughoutEastAsiatoday.
“BroadwaymusicalsentertainaudienceswhileLondon’saremoredramatic.Chinesemusicalswillfindtheirownplaceinbetweenthetwostyles,”LiDunsaid.
LiDunadvocatedoriginalproductionalsobecause“theinvestmentinbuyingthereproductionrightsforanoverseasmusicalandstagingaChineseversion,likeinthecaseofMamaMia!
canfundproductionofseveralhomegrownmusicals.”
TheproductionandoperationcostsoftheChineseversionofMamaMia!
estimatedat70millionyuan（$11million）,isnearlythreetimesthatofButterflies.
“IntroductingtoomanyforeignmusicalswillstifledevelopmentoforiginalmusicalsinChina,”LiDunsaid.
ButZhangYuandLiSuyoubelievethroughstagingoverseasproductionsandChinese-versionreproductions,arealinterestinmusicalswillbecultivatedandprofessionalswilllearnaboutinternationalproductionstandards.
LiSuyou,forinstance,saidhehadlearnedalotfromfailuresinstagingoriginalmusicalswithauthenticflavorsinthepastdecades.
“TheChinesereproductionofMamaMia!
thistimedemonstratesvividlythestandardprocedureofmusicalproductionandtrainslotsofprofessionalswhileofferingtheChineseapreciousopportunitytoenjoyanauthenticmusical,“hesaid.
Lilearnedthattheinvolvementofbigstate-ownedenterprisesensuredsufficientfundsandhigh-qualityproduction.TwoofthethreeinvestorsfortheChinese-versionMamaMia!
arestate-ownedenterprises.
“It’sfeasibletocultivateviewers’interestsinmusicalsthroughinvitinggovernmentinvestmentsintoreproductionofforeignclassics,”saidLi.
Withtheirgovernmentbackground,theseenterprisesareabletoinvestmoreinluxuryvisionproduction,renttheatersatbargainpricesandlaunchlarge-scalepromotions,hesaid.
Presentinghappy,joyfulproductionsisthefirstprincipletoprovidesuccessfulmusicalsinChina.“MostChinesepeoplearenotfamiliarwithmusicals,andtheygotothetheaterstoenjoythejoyfulatmosphereitbrings,”Lisaid.
Butfewhomegrownmusicalshavebeenprofitableinthepastthreedecades.JinFuzai,aprofessorattheShanghaiConservatoryofMusic,wascautiousaboutlarge-scaleproductionsoforiginalmusicalsinChinaduetoastill-developingindustrychain.
“Thenatureofartisticcreationrequireslargeinvestmentsandentailshighrisksformusicalproduction,“saidJin.“EveninBroadwayortheWestEndwheretheindustryismat
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