A hotbed for musicals in China -Chinaculture.org

Original Chinese musicals that will be presented during the first Shanghai International Musical Festival in March include My Farewell Lady, Art School Musical, Liao Zhai Rocks and Ba-Dun. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Shanghai will cement its status as the prime stage for foreign and domestic productions in the country by hosting an international festival this year, Zhang Kun reports.

As China's largest and most vibrant market for musicals, Shanghai will host its first international musical festival to promote original Chinese productions starting in March, said officials during a news conference for the festival in late December.

The most significant part of the festival program is a showcase of six Chinese musical productions which will be presented at the SAIC Shanghai Culture Square in March and April.

"These productions from Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore present rich colors and diverse musical styles in different contexts of Chinese culture," says Zhang Jie, general manager of Shanghai Culture Square, the leading theater for musical performances in the city.

Fei Yuanhong, artistic director of Shanghai Culture Square

One of the musicals that will be staged is My Farewell Lady by the All U People Theatre from Taiwan. Based on the story of a legendary beauty in the Three Kingdoms folklore, the production features music that was created by famous Chinese singer-songwriter Wakin Chau. The production marks the first time that Chau has ever worked on a musical and he says that he enjoys the studio's comical and satirical style, and the way the story reflects how women are frequently objectified.

"I have been in the live entertainment industry for 35 years. Every time I make a new album, I attempt to do something different, but I'm often disappointed in the end. This time, I very much appreciate the opportunity to create something that is very different," says Chau during his recent trip to Shanghai.

Chau adds that he found the project exciting because he was able to break free from the traditional process of songwriting to create music for particular scenes, contexts and narratives.

Shanghai Culture Square has been the primary venue for musical productions in the city for the past eight years, presenting not only Broadway shows but also musicals from all over the world. The theater has since 2012 been presenting special showcases of original Chinese musical productions every spring.

"We have witnessed the evolution and development of Chinese musicals," says Fei Yuanhong, artistic director of the theater.

"At the beginning, my colleagues and I had to work really hard to look for musicals in Chinese, but in recent years we had to turn down more production requests because there were too many for us to take on."

Although many more Chinese musicals are being produced, Fei and other industry insiders point out that there is still much room for improvement. For instance, Fei says, there has yet to be an original Chinese musical with long-standing tours and performances.

An incubation project started by Shanghai Culture Square in January, which is the first of its kind in China, aims to improve the standards of Chinese musicals. The project invites playwrights and composers to submit creations that have never been produced before. Five works will be selected to enter the incubation process and the deadline for submissions is March 31.

During the incubation, creators will be paired with an experienced musician or director to create a musical. The two best musicals will advance to the next phase when a creative team will be formed and trial performances scheduled. Shanghai Culture Square said that it is planning to take the winning project into commercial production by 2020.

"Good original stories are rare and precious and the incubation project hopes to give good stories all the necessary support. People are hungry for good musicals that can tell our stories," Fei says.

"Also, a high-quality musical will provide a great channel to promote Chinese culture to global audiences."

Wang Haixiao, a producer with Shanghai Culture Square, says: "A musical is a multidisciplinary project consisting of music, dance and theater. It's a long process full of uncertainty. You have to learn through practice, and we hope to see in the future Chinese productions that endure for many years of performance."

Shanghai Culture Square will also be organizing a competition for musical songs later this month. Singers will undergo three rounds of competition before the winners are announced in May.

"The competition is meant to introduce musicals and their most celebrated songs to the wider public, as well as to promote Shanghai Culture Square as a leading platform for the musical industry," Zhang says.

Another initiative by Shanghai Culture Square is an international forum on the development of the musical industry in China that will take place in April.

Also in attendance at the news conference announcing the festival as a special guest was veteran pop musician Jonathan Lee, who spoke about a new musical consisting of a dozen of his most celebrated songs. The show will be produced by China Broadway Entertainment Co Ltd, a Beijing-based live entertainment production and management group that had previously achieved success by producing China's first jukebox musical, The Jay Chou Musical, a few years ago.

Lee's musical will feature John Rando, the same director as The Jay Chou Musical. While Chou is a singer-songwriter best known for depicting youthful sentiments and love stories, Lee appeals more to mature and sophisticated urban women in Chinese society. Zhong Lifang, producer of China Broadway Entertainment, says that it was her ambition to present Lee's evergreen hit songs in a new context.

"If we do a good job, a hundred years later, people will still be moved by big brother Lee's songs in the theater."

Lee's musical, which has yet to be officially named, is expected to premiere by the end of the year.

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn