The New Year's Eve drama that has attracted much attention on social media this week is none other than the Broadway immersive musical "Broadway", which "breaks into" the eyes of Asian musical audiences for the first time in the form of an international Sino-foreign co-creation and performance team and an all-English singing. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812" (hereinafter referred to as "The Great Comet"). Why did this "Shanghai production" break out of the circle so quickly and receive widespread attention from all walks of life? The high reputation of the original work itself, the high level of production in Shanghai, and the high expectations it has given for the future of Chinese musicals may be the answer behind it.
The curtain opened, and the five rings in the sky curtain echoed the interlaced tracks on the stage. The gorgeous and spectacular Moscow ball scene was presented in front of the audience. "Overture" opens magnificently, with a polyphonic chorus composed of more than 20 actors and live actors explaining the complex character relationships one by one with relaxed and cheerful rhythms.
"The music is very high-end and the stage is so beautiful. You may not be able to see this kind of production in Las Vegas." A Douban netizen commented. The story and music of "The Great Comet" maintain the "original flavor" of the Broadway version, but all other aspects such as stage design, lighting, sound, vision, and costumes have made disruptive innovations, and they are all the intellectual property rights of Chinese production companies. Therefore, After only a few performances, the audience can see what an "innovative and groundbreaking new musical" is.
The most eye-catching thing is the unique immersive stage. The original idea for "The Great Comet" came from a tavern where writer and songwriter Dave was inspired when he was collecting music in Russia. Therefore, whether it is the Off-Broadway version or the later Broadway version, its stage is set up in a restaurant style. But for this Shanghai version of the stage production, Korean "national treasure" stage designer Oh Bi-young, who designed the Korean version of "The Great Comet", took a different approach and found inspiration from the comet's orbit - the entire stage was composed of one stage after another from top to bottom. It is composed of a red circle. The audience is seated in four circles according to the four major families in the play, surrounding the two circles of the main stage. The audience seems to be in the universe, and the actors are walking on one track after another, as if Interstellar.
's eye-catching stage is inseparable from the help of high technology. Chinese lighting designer Li Bowen designed nearly 600 lighting cue points to create a dreamlike stage atmosphere for the audience and actors, while sound design experts from China and the United States customized 65 suspended speakers for "The Great Comet" 10 sets of timax sound tracking systems fully ensure the biggest feature of this drama: immersion.
Such a unique stage is also a dream of Broadway actors. Cooper Golding, the actor who played the protagonist Pierre in "The Great Comet", once participated as the "Phantom" in the Broadway touring version of "The Phantom of the Opera".
This time, he traveled 14,000 kilometers to Shanghai. "Interactivity" is one of the reasons that attracted him. "We hope to make music happen around the audience, so that the 'fourth wall' of the drama does not exist at all. . The actors and the audience complete this performance together as part of each other, and the closer the better." His unique voice conditions vividly displayed the confusion, depth and decadence of the character Pierre, and won praise from the audience.
American "post-00s" rising star Naomi Diana, who plays Natasha in the drama, debuted as a child star at the age of 7 and has rich experience in stage performances. This is the first time she has appeared on the stage of a musical in China. She said: "Rehearsing this play in Shanghai, I am very happy to be loved by so many Chinese audiences. The story of this play is very resonant for young people - Although the heroine always falls in love easily, doesn't being young mean that she makes a lot of impulsive decisions?"
The strength of the actors has also been praised by their peers. On the evening of January 16, "The Great Comet" held a grand "Night of the Comet" red carpet ceremony. Musical actors Ye Qisheng, Jia Fan, Zhu Fu, Zhao Weigang, Jiang Qianru, well-known singers Wang Xiaokun, Luo Kaiyuan and nearly a hundred people attended the ceremony. Walk down the red carpet. Famous dancers Zhu Jiejing and Wang Jiajun also sat in the audience. During the dance session where she interacted with the audience, Zhu Jiejing was also invited to dance on stage, which aroused cheers from the audience.
"The Great Comet" is produced by Shanghai Grand Theater, Chang Yang Culture, and West Bund Grand Theatre, and co-produced by Shanghai Grand Theater Creative Center, West Bund Grand Theater, and Yuhua Culture. It will run until March 3. In addition, the Shanghai Grand Theater will also shoulder its social responsibility as a cultural landmark. In the future, it will set foot in community buildings and cultural spaces in People's Square, the West Bund and Lujiazui, and carry out activities in the form of theme sharing sessions and art workshops to better Promote musicals and build a more solid foundation for the original power of Chinese musicals.
Producer of the musical "The Great Comet" and general manager of the Shanghai Grand Theater, Zhang Xiaoding said frankly that the praise from all parties is the significance of the production team insisting on leading the production of this Broadway drama in Shanghai. "The Shanghai Grand Theater has proposed the 'introduction, localization, The original trilogy has been the consensus of China's musical industry for a long time. This time "The Great Comet" strives to establish Shanghai standards for domestic musical production: reaching the core copyrights of Broadway, selecting Chinese creative talents, and building a team for the world. , strengthen exchanges and mutual learning between China and foreign countries, and promote a new transformation and exploration of domestic musicals with new opportunities and new challenges."
Author:
Editor: Zhou Chen Editor: Su Zhan
Source: Shanghai Huangpu
