| Source: Hangzhou Net Source: Hangzhou Daily |
www.sohu.com 2007-4-7
Soon after the founding of ¡°Broadway China Network¡± in Beijing last month, it has been too impatient to wait to play its trump and launched the market-testing trip in the performance market in China. Yesterday, Hangzhou Theatre played the high profile in announcing that the classical Broadway musical The King and I (Anna and the King) , which was respected as the legend in the musical history in United States, would be held for three times in a row during the May 1st golden holiday. This is also the market-testing performance since Hangzhou Theatre joined the ¡°Broadway China Network¡±. If it is operating well, Hangzhou audience will be able to enjoy more typical Broadway Classics at their doorway.
Another market-testing approach of The King and I in China is been done in Shenzhen where the musical has been performed for 7 times running. In the coming three years, China is not included in the list of its performance vacancy.
The same Broadway, different operation
Journalist Chen jiuzhi
intern: Zhang Jiu
It was not long before that ¡°Broadway¡± (Bai Lao Hui in Chinese characters) remained to be a faraway as well as mysterious word to Chinese audience. Their dazzling stages, gorgeous ornament, pleasant music, passionate group dancing all contribute to an aspired stage wonder.
It was not long before that the minimum appearance fee of Broadway was maintained at RMB 4 million for 8 performances. The high costs, huge risks and market volume make many show runners bow in dismay.
When the outflow party plays down its profile and the show runners embolden, ¡°Broadway¡± seems to be increasingly within the reach of the Chinese audience.
As early as that before ¡°Broadway China Network¡± was founded, General Manager of Hangzhou Theatre Ke Chaoping has already started an active cooperation with the US side and intended to introduce The King and I into Hangzhou. However, the appearance fee of RMB 4 million for 8 consecutive performances has really been a test of patience for both sides. When Hangzhou was introducing the Broadway classic the Sound of Music for the first time in 2005, we were also faced with such a hurdle. The result was that Hangzhou stepped across the hurdle but tumbled.
Ke Chaoping did not want to take such a risk. Instead, he joined the ¡°Theatre¡± Network appropriately. The benefits are alluring: regarding all the Classical Broadway musicals, the theatres in the network will be sharing the benefits as well as risks. The scaled benefits will be achieved. Along with the musicals, the well-developed models in terms of theatre management, program arrangement, ticketing will be introduced.
What benefits may it bring to the audience? Ke Chaoping counted on his fingers and worked out the accounts: ¡°The total costs of Hangzhou¡¯s introducing the famous Broadway musicals Sound of Music exceeded RMB 4 million. When it joined the network, it would introduce another renowned musical The King and I with the costs of less than RMB 2 million for the mere 3 performances. Accordingly, the ticket price would be lowered. It is just the first bite-taking. If the performance achieves a significant success, Hangzhou theatre will introduce increasing number of excellent classical Broadway musicals. We are in the process of negotiating the introduction of 42nd Street.¡±
The Same Classics with Different Markets
As one of the classical Broadway musicals, Sound of Music has won enormous public acclaims. However, it was the loser in the market. Will the coming of ¡°The King¡± suffer the same mistake?
Undoubtedly, ¡°The King¡±, similar to the Sound of Music, is also one of the most classical musicals in Broadway and of glamorous background. Since its debut in 1951, it endured its fame and popularity for 56 years and had won Oscar Awards for 6 times and Tony Awards for best musical for 8 times. Such a classical program with over 50,000 performances worldwide is worthy of being the legend in the history of musicals.
¡°The King¡± inherited the same makings of Broadway, demonstrating the concentration of multiple themes covering the East and West, the civilized and the barbarian, autocracy and democracy, men and women. The musical that had been adapted from the novel of Margaret Landon Anna and The King told the story that in the 1860s, King of Sian had invited a young and beautiful female teacher Anna from the United Kingdom to teach imperial etiquette to 7 children in order to introduce the Western culture in Thailand. The female teacher made the powerful and stubborn Sian King gradually recognize the value of human liberty. Meanwhile, she was deeply fascinated by the Eastern culture and won the king¡¯s love. Ke Chaoping indicated that there were only 4800 seats in the 3 performances of ¡°The King¡± in Hangzhou. 2000 seats out of it had been booked by the group. There were only 1500 tickets available to the society. The tickets with the price between RMB 280 and 680 accounted for 2/3 of the total. It is not worrying that such price range could not be attracted to the audience in Hangzhou.
URL: http://news.sohu.com/20070407/n249263154.shtml |
