| Source: Youth Times 2007-4-6 |
Reporter£ºCheng Minghui
Whenever you think of Broadway, you think of musicals. Just like in Hangzhou where many tourists would like to taste the West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce, visitors to New York will put watching Broadway musicals at the top of their travel schedules.
Following the performance of the Sound of Music in 2005, Anna and the King, one the most famous Broadway classics will be put on in Hangzhou from May 4th to May 6th. This is the first Broadway show on the Hangzhou Theatre since it joined the Broadway China Network on March this year. ¡°2,000 tickets have been reserved by groups, and only 1,500 tickets are available for sale now¡±, said Ke Chaogping, the manager of the Hangzhou Theatre. Stating that his target is to sell all tickets, he added he ¡°never thought of making money. Breaking even is the best result. We will offer 5% discount if the audience book tickets before April 8. ¡±
Children between 5 and 11 years old will be recruited for the performances
Anna and the King tells a love story between a Thailand king and an English teacher in Bangkok in the 1860s. As one of the most famous Broadway musicals, it has been shown for 56 years since its debut in 1951, thus becoming a legend in the history of musicals.
Why the Broadway shows are so popular all over the world? This musical may answer the question. ¡°The king in this show has 7 children. All of them will be played by local kids¡±, Mr. Ke introduced. He said, when the musical show is put on around the world, recruiting little actors and actresses among local kids is an oft-used promotional approach. You can imagine how many kids and parents will show their interests in this show starting from registration to final performance.
The 5-to-11 year old kids recruited this time are required to speak simple English. Therefore, all the candidates will be interviewed by teachers from America. Then the successful candidates will receive English, dancing and performance training. After the show is over, a performance certificate will be awarded to them as a memento.
42nd Street, another Broadway classic expected
Ke Chaoping said, ¡°Anna and the King will only be shown in Shenzhen and Zhejiang Province in its China tour. In Hangzhou, 3 performances will be given. After early direct contact with the Broadway producer, we successfully reduced the weekly cost from 4 million to 2 million.¡± The ticket price may be set lower. Ke added, ¡°The ticket prices range between RMB 80 and RMB 880. Two thirds of the tickets are between RMB 280 to 680¡±.
Although the successful introduction of Anna and the King cannot be completely attributed to the theatre¡¯s joining in the Broadway China Network, the advantage of being a network member is obvious. ¡°By that time, expenses in terms of introduction, traffic, etc will be shared among all members, which helps reduce the cost ¡±, said Ke Chaoping.
Another advantage is the access to rich performance resources. Several days before, Ke Chaoping and Tian Yuyuan, deputy director of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture met with Chen Jixin, chairman of BOBITMC and producers in the American side. ¡°If everything goes smooth, another classic musical-42nd Street will be introduced in the second half of this year. ¡±
It is possible that after the successful performance of Anna and the King in Hangzhou, seeing a Broadway musical will become a way of living for certain city residents in the future. |
