42ND STREET
Producer: Shanghai, Another Broadway in 20 years
08-13-2007
Written by Michelle Qiao
The story of a naive chorus girl-turned-overnight sensation on
Broadway in the 1930s comes to Shanghai in the musical "42nd
Street" next month. Its producer predicts Shanghai will become
another Broadway in less than 20 years.
The Shanghai summer is heated by Western musicals. Following the
month-long blockbuster "Mamma Mia!," the Broadway musical comedy
"42nd Street" will stage for two weeks in September.
Marsha Yuen, one of the young talents from the TV singing
competition "My Show," a Chinese version of "American Idol," will
join 34 American actors in the Broadway show.
It is based on a classic 1933 movie of the same name, telling the
story of Peggy Sawyer, a country girl who arrives in the big city
and becomes a chorus girl, then an overnight sensation on
Broadway.
"'42nd Street' is an authentic Broadway show," says Bob Nederlander
Jr, president and CEO of Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment,
producer of the show. Every year since 2002, one or two musicals
were introduced into the Chinese market but among them "Notre-Dame
de Paris" was from France, while "Les Miserables," "Cats" and "The
Phantom of the Opera" were productions of the West End in
London.
This time the whole cast of "42nd Street" performing in Shanghai
was handpicked by Mark Bramle, the co-author and the director of
the Tony Award-winning cast of the 2001 revival production.
"Not many touring musicals can claim to have the playwright
participating in the casting process, let alone directing it,"
Nederlander adds. "Therefore, it is genuinely 'Made in
Broadway'."
Telling a typical American dream-come-true story, the show features
dazzling American-style Broadway tap dance and 1930s nostalgia
culture. The musical was originally performed on Broadway in 1980
for nine years and the 2001 revival received eight Tony Awards
nominations, winning two.
"There is great potential in Shanghai and the rest of China for the
culture industry. We will bring three newly created musicals to
China next year. And I believe Shanghai will take less than 20
years to become another Broadway," says the producer.
Another French musical magic show, "The Doll World," opens next
week. The show, which premiered in 2004, tells the story of ancient
animals and extra-terrestrial creatures, highlighted by many dances
and original French songs.
"Western musicals are quite successful in the box office in China
right now," says Nederlander Jr. "But the tickets are high. And all
of our shows will have low priced tickets, even 100-yuan (US$13.20)
tickets, just like on Broadway."
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Source Press Article: (webpage)
Producer:
Shanghai, Another Broadway in 20 years
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