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The term "action-musical" may be new to most theatre-goers in the world, but not those in Vancouver.
In May 2001, "Of Heaven and Earth," the first action-musical produced by Four Brothers Entertainment, made its Canadian debut at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. The centre has become an eye-catching showcase for the genre which draws inspiration from Chinese and Western culture.
Based on an old Chinese tale, "Of Heaven and Earth" features the sophisticated combination of human movement. It amazed local audiences with its unprecedented mix of Chinese panache with stunning acrobatics, martial arts and traditional Chinese dance numbers.
"Of Heaven and Earth" is the first in a series of action-musicals, the theatrical genre which Four Brothers Entertainment creates and promotes. The next one, currently at the pre-production stage and intriguingly named "Terracotta Warriors," is scheduled to premiere next spring at the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts.
An action-musical, according to Dennis Law, producer of the show and one of the four Law brothers, is movement set against a background of song, music and unique sound effects within the context of a compelling story.
"An action-musical offers a new and different experience for the audience by telling a simple, but compelling story through an extravagant display of versatility and virtuosity of the human body," he explained.
"I mean action in the widest sense of the word and I don't just mean drop-dead kung fu," adds Law. "The show involves romance, passion as well as breathtaking fighting," says Law, who expects the choreography will be new to Western audiences.
Besides traditional Chinese art forms, action-musicals also feature cutting-edge technology and Western sensitivities. "It is something like Broadway, but new and more appealing to wider-based Broadway audiences," he says.
"In this new genre, endless variations of technical virtuosity and expression of the human body will replace traditional comic dialogue, tuneful songs and light-hearted romance as the centerpiece of a Broadway show," he said.
"Of Heaven and Earth" is about the wrath of a god and the love affairs between a man named Niulang and a goddess named Zhinu, while "Terracotta Warriors" is based on the history of the Qin Dynasty (BC 221-206), the first empire of China.
The story begins with a grave robber who enters an ancient tomb and discovers the Terracotta Army and thereafter enters into the dream of a Terracotta Warrior in the Qin Dynasty. The show will also tell the love story of Emperor Qin Shihuang, founder of the Qin Dynasty, and one of his concubines.
As with "Of Heaven and Earth," "Terracotta Warriors" boasts art direction by Tim Yip, the 2000 Academy Award winner of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
Yip's bold costumes and dazzling set designs, coupled with creative stage lighting, provides a provocative backdrop to the fable of the emperor falling for a woman from a poor family.
"Action- musicals require a kind of uncluttered simplicity on stage that does not compromise their visual beauty," says Yip. "A Sunset Boulevard set with 47 trucks of buildings is just not going to do me any good, so we used the highest-tech ideas for this stage. We make live theatre almost go beyond the cinema. We can change scenes rapidly. In 'Of Heaven and Earth,' we have the earth turning, we juxtapose heaven and earth with a switch and the image moves like abstract art."
Law says: "I'd like this to break out the Chinese action on live stage, much like 'Crouching Tiger' broke through for kung fu films."
Raised in Hong Kong, Dennis Law and his three brothers went to the United States to attend university. Dennis, Ronald and Christopher graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, while Jeremy studied at the University of Colorado. All four later went on to the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and eventually went into practice, separately, in Colorado. They all entered different specialized fields of medicine, with Dennis becoming a thoracic surgeon, Ronald a cardiologist, Christopher a plastic surgeon and Jeremy an orthopedic surgeon.
Each has a touch of the philanthropist and in their adopted state of Colorado they support a range of arts, health and humanitarian organizations including Opera Colorado, the Colorado Ballet, scholarships at the University of Pennsylvania, the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver University, the Alliance for Contemporary Art and the Asian Art Association of the Denver Art Museum, among others.
The brothers are also directors of the family's Hong Kong-based Joseph & Loretta Law Foundation, which has supported a wide variety of charitable and community causes since 1994, many of them in the areas of East-West cultural exchange.
The brothers also founded the Four Brothers Entertainment. In 1997, the entertainment company produced "Warriors of Virtue," an MGM-distributed action-fantasy family film and the highest budget American motion picture ever produced in China. The children's film embraced the five classic virtues of their Chinese heritage - benevolence, righteousness, order, wisdom, and loyalty.
In December 2000, Four Brothers Entertainment purchased the former Ford Theatre in Vancouver for US$7.75 million. The move breathed new life into the theatre, which, having been closed for more than three years, was renamed the Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. Here is showcased a broad range of entertainment and corporate events, including the opening show in May 2001 "Of Heaven and Earth."
(China Daily May 7, 2003)
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