42ND STREET
Chinese theater goers find familiarity in 42nd Street
11-12-2007
Edited by Bi Mingxin
WUHAN - Broadway musical comedy "42nd Street", which opens in
Beijing on Tuesday, is striking a chord among Chinese audiences
with its tale of small-time characters finding fame and fortune in
the big city.
The show has just wrapped up eight performances in the central
China city of Wuhan, where thousands of spectators found the
theater classic was a major highlight of the ongoing Eighth China
Arts Festival, which opened last Monday.
Organizers estimate more than 110,000 viewers have flocked to the
theater despite the ceiling price hitting 1,280 yuan (US$170) per
ticket.
"The story was set in the US in the 1930s, but we can find many of
its plots in today's China - young guys working their way up and
suffering losses on the stock market for example," said Xie Xin, a
white-collar worker who spent 680 yuan (US$90) to see the
show.
The tap dance-themed musical, telling the story of Peggy Sawyer, a
young chorus girl who works her way up to become a Broadway star,
won the Tony Award in 1981 and 2001.
"42nd Street" has also been shown in major Chinese cities including
Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo and Hefei since September, and
Beijing will host eight performances from Tuesday, said Beijing
Oriental Broadway International Theatre Management Co. Ltd., an
organizer of the musical's China tour.
It is the latest in a string of Broadway-style musicals to come to
China, following hist such as "Mamma Mia!", "The Sound of Music"
and Disney's musical version of "The Lion King".
--
Source Press Article: (webpage)
Chinese
theater goers find familiarity in 42nd Street
<< back