Musical goes lushly tropical
THE Chung Ying Theatre Company is going tropical. In their coming presentation, they will take the audience into a cafe set in a tropical rainforest where waiters serve fruity cocktails against a background of samba music and the beat of drums.
The lighthearted plot gets an unexpected twist, however, when 'the end of the world' is announced. How does everyone in the C. Y. Cafe react? The jolly romantic musical, Forever Yours , is appearing at this year's Hong Kong Arts Festival, following the success of the company's last musical, Old Master Q.
Forever is Chung Ying's latest attempt at a novel format - the dinner-show package.
The idea comes from playwright-director Raymond To Kwok-wai, who was inspired by his experiences at New York restaurants.
The musical is well in line with To's happy-go-lucky personality.
'One fourth of the performance will be impromptu, involving the audience. Some Friends of Chung Ying will be invited on stage to sip a drink and enjoy the show,' said To, whose previous showbiz credits include I am Hong Kong, Life's Theatre and Fated Night.
C.Y. Cafe's waiters will bear fruity names like 'Banana', 'Mango', 'Papaya' and 'Pineapple', and mix with the audience at 'appropriate moments without irritating them,' To said.
To's musical will certainly be welcomed by the less serious-minded theatre-goer.
'Hong Kong's art crowd tends to like putting 'messages' into their work. But this musical is just about happiness, and I want to share it with the audience,' To said.
Nevertheless, there is a somewhat serious note in the show. Forever highlights the importance of friendship as three characters go through an end-of-the-world type experience in which the rainforest is ravaged.
Audiences can sit back and enjoy the 20 catchy melodies of songwriter Ada To Wai-man, a producer at RTHK's Cultural Unit, who was also composer and musical director for Chung Ying's drama, Killer Instinct, at last years' Arts Festival.
To has strung together some easy-listening 'pop' with doses of samba, rock and blues, to match the musical's bright tropical colours.
Forever marks Chung Ying's 15th anniversary, and is also a milestone for Raymond To who has been 10 years a playwright.
The 10 performances of Forever Yours are sold out. The musical will be staged at the City Hall Theatre from February 7 to 15 to celebrate Valentine's Day and Yuan Xiao (Chinese Valentine's Day).
