Soul of China in the heart of America
By Zhang Yuwei/Chen Jia
China Daily 01-30-2009
NEW YORK: The evening temperatures were freezing but the
performances were electrifying.
For the past two weeks, Americans have been getting a rare treat
on Broadway: an action-packed martial arts performance from China,
Soul of Shaolin.
"Ticket sales have exceeded our expectations," Don Frantz,
general manager of the show, said Thursday. The first Chinese show
on Broadway, from Jan 15 to 31, is even more popular among the
city's Asian community.
Soul of Shaolin has a cast of 33 young martial artists, and
tells the story of Hui Guang. The protagonist is separated from his
mother because of war when he is still a baby. He is found by Monk
Naluo and taken to Shaolin Temple, where he trains to become an
accomplished kungfu master.
The Marquis Theatre, which seats more than 1,600 people, was
almost full to capacity on the opening day, with the audience
giving the performers a long applause.
"You could never imagine to see such a performance on Broadway.
It's just amazing," said Gerd Breckling, a cameraman with a German
TV channel. He became interested in the show because he had seen
part of it during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
"It's beautiful! I would rate it 9 out of 10." He said he kept
fixing his binoculars almost throughout the show to capture every
single movement of the artists.
The 100-minute-show is divided into six scenes. Apart from the
less than 5-minute of English narration, the show is full of kungfu
performances interspersed by ballet and music.
"I understood the story perfectly, and I enjoyed the actors'
movements a lot," said Christina Clarry, history student in a
college. "It's spectacular!"
The show attracted not only kungfu fans but also people
interested in Chinese culture. Some members of the audience were
particularly interested in the actors' costumes. For instance, many
people asked Bai Guojun, who plays an abbot, if his white long
beard was real.
"It was interesting," said Kevin Holden, a university professor
who knows a little about Chinese literature but nothing about
kungfu.
"My friend got me a ticket ... he wanted to give me a surprise
of watching a live kungfu show," he said.
Yu Fei, who plays Hui Guang, was almost mobbed by the audience
after the show - everyone eager to take photographs with him or get
his autograph.
"It means a lot to us ... performing on Broadway, which offered
a great platform to us to spread Chinese culture and Shaolin
kungfu," said Yu, who has been practicing martial arts for eight
years.
"I didn't expect the Broadway audience to like it this
much."
The tricks the kungfu artists performed with sticks, bowls and
bricks wowed the audience the most. For many of them, watching such
a show was like "seeing a Bruce Lee movie being filmed in one
take".
The show has received widespread acclaim, with the array of
interviews with the media keeping them busy even off stage.
Soul of Shaolin was featured in CBS2 News morning show on Jan
17, where the main actors were invited to showcase their kungfu
skills.
The performance is the first of shows that will hit Broadway
every January with the aim of spreading knowledge about Chinese
culture.
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