Musical alive with the sound of family entertainment
Organisers bringing the Broadway musical The Sound of Music to Hong Kong hope the show will promote family values.
Blanche Cheng Sau-ming, event manager with Music Nation, said that compared with musicals staged in the city in the past, it was truly family-oriented.
'The Sound of Music is educational. It's about family values, love, dreams and communications between family members. Watching the show with your family could help improve family communications, which is lacking in modern families,' she said.
'Hong Kong lacks events for families ... The Phantom of the Opera created a storm because it's a beautiful production. But just like Les Miserables, it targets adults.'
The musical, which is based on actual events and written by Rogers and Hammerstein, will be staged at the Academy for Performing Arts from September 23. The show will run for over a month, and tickets go on sale in late June.
It began its Asian tour last May in Shanghai, and has been to a number of mainland cities including Beijing. It has also been to Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.
The Asian tour stars Jennifer Semrick as Maria Rainer and Jim Ballard as Captain Georg von Trapp. Both actors have performed the roles in the United States.
Chinese surtitles will be added to the Hong Kong show. Ms Cheng said she was not worried whether local children would find it difficult to follow the plot.
'Many people have seen the film and they are familiar with the songs. Don't think that children can't understand - they can follow the story by simply watching the visuals,' she said.
'It really is a timeless classic. After watching the show you don't just remember the stage and the dance, but the message behind it.'
The musical first hit Broadway in 1959 and became an instant hit. It won numerous prestigious Tony Awards.
The film adaptation of the Broadway hit, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, won five Academy Awards, including best picture.
