'Chinese Les Mis' staged in New York

It's being called the Chinese answer to Les Misrables, both in grandeur and scope. Shimmer - a musical exploring the rarely told story of Jews finding safe haven in Shanghai during World War II - is heading to New York.

A showcase sampling of scenes from the musical was presented at the Edison Ballroom near Times Square on Tuesday night.

During the war, more than 23,000 Jews escaping Nazi persecution landed in Shanghai seeking shelter. Shimmer dramatizes how the two unlikely worlds come together and empower each another to survive in the face of adversity.

Against the background of war, the musical tells the story of a young Jewish man who lands in Shanghai and meets a Chinese girl. In the process of helping each other and each other's communities, their friendship blossoms into love.

"Shimmer stands for a handful of good things in the war," director Xu Jun explained.

"Peace is really fragile, wars are still happening here and there today. There are more than 10 million people suffering the misery and want delivered by war every day," he said.

"Opposing war and calling for peace is an eternal theme in art."

"While this is based on a true story that took place over 80 years ago, this forgotten piece of world history could not be more relevant today," said Bob Nederlander Jr, president of Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, which presented the musical jointly with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, Hengyuanxiang Drama and Phoenix Cultural Industry Development (Shanghai) Company.

"Two very different sets of people come together in a time of extreme danger and hardship," he continued. "Together, these people grow stronger together, embracing one another's diversity and discovering the common challenges that make them so alike.

"We could not be more excited to bring this musical to new audiences," he added.

With a script by Rong Guangrun, music by Peter Pui-Tat Kam, lyrics by Liang Mang, and direction by Xu, Shimmer is a bilingual musical, performed in both English and Mandarin, with an original score inspired by music of the era, traditional Jewish and Chinese music and contemporary musical theater.

As a former president of Shanghai Theater Academy, Rong has been doing comparative studies in Western musicals and Chinese operas in New York since 1995.

Rong explained why he chose this theme - if Chinese musicals want to be accelerated onto the world stage, the best way is to focus on subjects that reflect the collision and amalgamation of Chinese and Western cultures.

Rong said Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment has shown great interest in Shimmer and may want to bring it to Broadway.

xiaohong@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily USA 12/08/2016 page2)