In the autumn of 2005, the original English version of Broadway's ** drama "** Voice" came to Hangzhou for the first time and appeared on the stage of Hangzhou Grand Theater. For the first time, Hangzhou audiences enjoyed the original Broadway play, and many of them walked into the theater for the first time. According to the recollections of the staff at the time, "The Voice of *" was the first play to be performed for a total of eight performances in a week since the opening of the Hangzhou Grand Theater. "This is also the first time that the Grand Theatre has reached a full house with tickets sold to the public. ”
After 19 years, "The Voice of *" returned to the Hangzhou Grand Theater this winter, with eight consecutive performances in six days. Among the audience, there are middle-aged people who walked into the theater because of "memory killing", a family of three who brought their children to experience the first ** drama in their lives, and three generations of happy grandparents.
When songs that have been popular for more than half a century, such as "Doremi", "Edelweiss" and "The Lonely Shepherd", sounded, the emotional resonance of three generations was awakened again - it was a familiar melody, a beautiful memory, and an eternal love, warmth and courage.
The drama "The Voice", which was born in 1959, will celebrate its 65th birthday this year. As one of the most popular Broadway plays in the world, the play has been staged more than 4,000 times on Broadway in New York and in London's West End, and it has set a Guinness record for the largest number of viewers in a week.
From movies to dramas, "The Voice" has won five Tony Awards, including the Best Drama Award, and swept the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys. The classic songs in the play are often sung and have become the common childhood memories of generations of Chinese. In 165 minutes, live band performances, 26 popular golden songs that swept the world, and the perfect interpretation of 30 actors once again conveyed the values of truth, goodness and beauty to generations of audiences.
Over the past 65 years, The Voice of * has undergone various versions of the change. Different from the previous two versions in China, the original Broadway English version of "The Voice of **" in Hangzhou, directed by three-time Tony Award-winning director Jack O'Brien, began its North American and Asian tour after the successful premiere on Broadway in New York in 2015. This is the first appearance of this version in Chinese mainland.
At the premiere in Hangzhou, many audiences noticed that the plot was more tightly choreographed and the set environment was smoother. When excavating and creating this classic for the second time, Jack O'Brien not only rearranged the original ** to make the scene transition smoother, but also re-examined the entire story through the perspective of the era in which the story took place, so that each character showed more human color.
At the same time, the passionate performance of the live band and the wonderful performance of the child actors also add more charm to this version of "The Voice of **". The powerful soundstage created by the live band made the audience feel as if they were in the snowy mountains and nature of Austria. The child actors who have been screened layer by layer are no less expressive and professional than the best actors on the stage.
It is worth mentioning that the premiere also ushered in many "parent-child group" audiences. The young audience said that "Doremi" was the first English song they learned in ** class. "I've heard a lot of songs, and I can sing them! "There are a lot of good songs in the play, I enjoyed it very much! "The children on the stage sang and danced at the same time, and the performance was so wonderful. More parents said they hoped that their childhood memories could also create good memories for their children. When they became parents and watched this play again, they felt the richer cultural connotation and more profound educational significance of the play - the equal communication between Maria and the child, how the child who is just beginning to love grows up, and the changes that art can bring to the family.
Theater has the power to travel through time and make memories. Nineteen years, some people have left, some have grown up, and some have always been there. Finally, when Colonel von Trapp sang the Chinese version of "Edelweiss" in surprise, the audience was boiling and sang with the actors on stage. Across borders and eras, fly into everyone's hearts on this winter day. The return of "The Voice of **" still has the power to stir people's hearts, inspiring us to bravely climb over the mountains.
At present, this warm** drama is being performed at the Hangzhou Grand Theater and will continue to be performed until this Sunday. After "The Voice of *", another original English drama "Mamma Mia! will land at the Hangzhou Grand Theatre in May.