Plays to showcase financial scandals, passion and family
Shanghai Grand Theater will present three productions by Beijing’s Magnificent Culture in the coming five months.
Ponzi, the first of three productions that will start its run on July 10, is the Chinese adaptation of French musical Le Systeme de Ponzi.
Written and directed by David Lescot, Le Systeme de Ponzi tells the life story of Charles Ponzi, an Italian swindler who scammed thousands of people in the United States and Canada. The musical also presents a humorous and satirical view of the economic ups and downs in Europe and the US through the decades. When the musical premiered in France in 2012, it featured just eight actors portraying more than 100 different characters.
Zhang Liang, lead actor in Ponzi,
says the quick rhythm, colorful music and rich stage props of the production reflect international contemporary theater.
“I was surprised and honored when Wang Keran invited me to star in Ponzi,” said Zhang at a news conference introducing the upcoming Magnificent Culture theater series.
“I enjoy the interaction with the audience very much in live theater. Stage performances have been challenging, stimulating and greatly
satisfying. For many years to come, I will make live theater performances the focus of my career.”
Also starring in Ponzi are singer turned talk show host Dai Jun and Shanghai Opera House’s mezzo-soprano Wang Weiqian. After two performances at the Shanghai Grand Theater on July 10 and 11, Ponzi will go on to tour seven Chinese cities, including Xiamen in Fujian province, Beijing and Chengdu in Sichuan province.
In October, former China Central Television hostess Zhou Tao will play the lead role in Love Letters, an original play written by Shang Dong, Zhang Yue and Wang Keran. Wang is also the artistic director of
Magnificent Culture.
The play follows the correspondence between a man and a woman spanning more than 40 years beginning from 1975 during their middle school years. Through love, disappointments and aspirations, the play “reflects China’s social changes through the past 40 years”, says Zhu Guang, head of the culture and entertainment department at Xinmin Evening News.
Following its run in Shanghai, the play will be performed at the Shenzhen Grand Theater in Guangdong province on Dec 4 and 5.
From Oct 22-24, Magnificent Culture will stage its Thunderstorm series, its third Shanghai project of the year.
Thunderstorm is a modern Chinese classic written by the late dramatist Cao Yu in the 1930s about a family tragedy, and Thunderstorm II is an interpretation of Thunderstorm’s main story by Wan Fang, who is Cao’s daughter. Performances of the two productions in Shanghai will mark the seventh leg of a 10stop national tour for the Thunderstorm series that will kick off in September.
Founded in 2008, Magnificent Culture has produced many successful plays such as The Village, A Dream Like a Dream Winterreise.