During a salon at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Aug 4, American composer Frank Wildhorn played the piano as the lead singers, Li Weiling (right),
presented several songs from the Chinese musical No Longer Human.CHINA DAILY
Frank Wildhorn, the composer of the Chinese musical No Longer Human, held a salon at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Aug 4, unveiling the creative process of the show, his amazement with the quality of the production, the strength of the actors, and the possibility of composing musicals based on original Chinese stories.
A new round of performances for No Longer Human kicked off at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Aug 3 and will run until Sunday.
This is the first original Chinese musical creation by the American, whose is well-known for being the creator of the 1999 musical Jekyll and Hyde, a classic that has been translated into more than 30 languages. His other works like The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dracula and Death Note, have all been successful at the box office as well.
Adapted from the autobiographical novel of the same title by Japanese writer Dazai Osamu (1909-48), No Longer Human is the first Chinese musical composition by the American musician.
The novel was published following the author's suicide at the age of 38. In the novel, Yozo the hero is incapable of revealing his true self to others and turns to alcoholism and drug abuse before his final disappearance. Most of the incidents depicted in the story were based on true life experiences.
Seeing how the novel was a bestseller in China, Liang Yibing, the president of Shanghai-based musical company Ranspace, decided to adapt it for musical theater and hire Wildhorn as the composer.
During a salon at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Aug 4, American composer Frank Wildhorn played the piano as the lead singers, Bai Jugang presented several songs from the Chinese musical No Longer Human. CHINA DAILY
The production premiered in December 2021 and starred Liu Lingfei and Bai Jugang in turn as Yozo the hero and Dazai, the author himself. Back in the 1990s, Wildhorn was a successful songwriter, and the song Where Do Broken Hearts Go that he composed for the late Whitney Houston propelled the singer to the top of the Billboard charts for seven weeks.
Last year, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra performed Wildhorn's Danube Symphony for the first time at the Vienna Musikverein in Austria.
The American, who has worked on international projects in the Czech Republic, South Korea and Japan, says the best stories can transcend culture and languages, and that being married to a Japanese wife has resulted in an Asian influence in his creations.
As a prolific artist who has to manage multiple commissions simultaneously, Wildhorn says he has to constantly reinvent himself to produce good work.
He adds that he was pleased with his maiden experience of creating an original Chinese musical, and he would consider creating more productions in Chinese in the future.
According to Wildhorn, some new ideas might come from Chinese cinema as he is a huge fan of certain Chinese films.
He says he usually adopts a hands-on approach with his creations, but the onset of the pandemic made this impossible. As such, much of the communication was done online and Sun Yuzhuo, the Chinese musical director for the production, has to be given much credit for "running the ship" well. Wildhorn also praises the Ranspace production team, saying that they are as excellent as their counterparts from Broadway.
During the salon, Wildhorn played the piano as the lead singers presented several songs from the musical. He also took time to show how he worked with his longtime collaborator Kim Scharnberg, who provided crucial input in keyboard and percussion, to forge the main melody for the production.
According to Liang, Ranspace is looking to take No Longer Human on tour in other Asian countries. The musical will next be shown in Beijing's Poly Theatre from Aug 31 to Sept 10.
If you go
No Longer Human
7:30 pm, Aug 11-12; 2 pm, Aug 13.
Shanghai Grand Theatre, 300 Renmin Avenue, Huangpu district, Shanghai.
021-6386-8686.
7:30 pm, Aug 31, Sept 1-2 and 5-9; 1:30 pm, Sept 3 and 10.
