Cats ready to strut their stuff
By Joyce Zhang |
August 3, 2012, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH slinky movements, scratching behind their ears and swishing their long tails, a tribe of felines are getting ready to party among the garbage, just as they have done thousands of times since "Cats" premiered in London in 1981. But this summer, the cats will be doing their stuff in Chinese in Shanghai.
The Chinese version of "Cats" will be staged at the Shanghai Grand Theater from August 17 to 31.
This is the second time Shanghai-based United Asia Live Entertainment and Lloyd Webber's London-based Really Useful Group have teamed up to produce a Chinese version of a smash-hit musical. Last summer, their Chinese production of "Mamma Mia!" was a huge success in Shanghai.
"'Cats' is special among musicals. It contains no dialogue; the whole story is told through singing," says Fiz Shapur, music director of the Shanghai production. "There is quite a variety of different musical styles in the show. Whatever you are fond of, you may find it here."
Shapur has worked as music director of "Cats" for 30 years in the production of different versions. He has also worked on other classics such as "Les Miserables" and "Guys and Dolls."
Translating lyrics is the hardest part, says Shapur, as different numbers of syllables are needed in different languages to deliver the same meaning. Making the translated lyrics perfectly match the melody is not easy.
Coordinating movement with certain words is even more difficult, as the location of adjectives and verbs in a Chinese sentence is sometimes different from that in an English one, adds Shapur.
So quite a number of changes have to be made in choreography as well.
The 35 performers selected for the Chinese production have been rehearsing since May, undergoing a transformation into theatrical cats.
"We have to get rid of all behavior as a human and move like cats, which means we have to walk on our toes, jump high and crouch low quickly," says Chen Qin, a musical major graduate.
Every costume in the show is hand-made in Beijing, based on the New York design, says Ron Morrison, the costume consultant.
Each "cat" also has its own wig matching its fur. Yak fur was selected for the wigs, since it looks soft, but is easy to shape, says Wang Xiuwen, the hair consultant.
Date: August 17-31, 7:15pm; August 18-19, 25-26, 2pm
Address: 300 People's Ave
Tickets: 80-880 yuan (US$12.55-138.07)
Tel: 962-388
The Chinese version of "Cats" will be staged at the Shanghai Grand Theater from August 17 to 31.
This is the second time Shanghai-based United Asia Live Entertainment and Lloyd Webber's London-based Really Useful Group have teamed up to produce a Chinese version of a smash-hit musical. Last summer, their Chinese production of "Mamma Mia!" was a huge success in Shanghai.
"'Cats' is special among musicals. It contains no dialogue; the whole story is told through singing," says Fiz Shapur, music director of the Shanghai production. "There is quite a variety of different musical styles in the show. Whatever you are fond of, you may find it here."
Shapur has worked as music director of "Cats" for 30 years in the production of different versions. He has also worked on other classics such as "Les Miserables" and "Guys and Dolls."
Translating lyrics is the hardest part, says Shapur, as different numbers of syllables are needed in different languages to deliver the same meaning. Making the translated lyrics perfectly match the melody is not easy.
Coordinating movement with certain words is even more difficult, as the location of adjectives and verbs in a Chinese sentence is sometimes different from that in an English one, adds Shapur.
So quite a number of changes have to be made in choreography as well.
The 35 performers selected for the Chinese production have been rehearsing since May, undergoing a transformation into theatrical cats.
"We have to get rid of all behavior as a human and move like cats, which means we have to walk on our toes, jump high and crouch low quickly," says Chen Qin, a musical major graduate.
Every costume in the show is hand-made in Beijing, based on the New York design, says Ron Morrison, the costume consultant.
Each "cat" also has its own wig matching its fur. Yak fur was selected for the wigs, since it looks soft, but is easy to shape, says Wang Xiuwen, the hair consultant.
Date: August 17-31, 7:15pm; August 18-19, 25-26, 2pm
Address: 300 People's Ave
Tickets: 80-880 yuan (US$12.55-138.07)
Tel: 962-388
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