Power of 2

Das doppelte Lottchen (The Double Lottie), is a novel by German writer Erich Kastner that was published around 1950. Also known as Lisa and Lottie, the novel follows a pair of twins who didn't know each other and lived in their own separate worlds until they met in a summer camp. They decided to play a role-replacement game, trying to reunite their families.

The heartwarming novel has become a classic since it was published and has been adapted into six movies in different languages, including The Parent Trap, a 1998 family comedy directed by Nancy Meyers. It was also turned into a TV drama and a cartoon movie. In 1971, Japan's Shiki Theatre Company adapted it into a musical, which has been staged for nearly 1,000 times in Japan.

In 2021, while celebrating the musical's 50th anniversary, the Japanese theater company and its Chinese partners decided to adapt the musical into a Chinese version, titled Two Times Lotte, which will be premiered in Beijing in June. After its premiere, the musical will tour the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Jinan and Suzhou through the year.

"Kastner is known for his children's books and the musical has proved to be a lasting appeal to families in Japan," says Wang Xiangqian, who translated the script of the Japanese musical into Chinese and also works as the producer for the Chinese version of the musical.

"I've watched the musical in Japan and though the ending is predictable, I still felt attracted to the story and touched by the happy ending, like many others," Wang says, adding that as a mother of three children, she shares the emotions among family members portrayed in the story, which, she believes, will be shared by more Chinese audiences.

Wang has been a bridge between China and Shiki Theatre, which was founded in 1953 in Japan by the late Japanese dramatist Asari Keita.

Wang gained her master's degree in theater from the University of Tokyo in 1996, and in 2014, she became the CEO of Seasons of Songs Culture & Art Co Ltd, a Beijing-based company, which brings theater productions of Shiki Theatre to China.

"Shiki Theatre has been producing and staging theatrical productions for children for decades. When I interviewed Keita in 2004 in Japan, he told me that for children, watching their first shows in theaters might give them a lifelong impact," recalls Wang. "That's why he was so keen on bringing out shows for children. I hope that children in China could have the same experiences in theaters, which should be inspiring and enlightening."

Now, as one of the largest theatrical groups in Japan, Shiki Theatre keeps its tradition of bringing productions for children. Performing about 3,000 shows in Japan, the theater gives 500 charity shows for children every year, according to Wang.

The latest Chinese musical Two Times Lotte is the fourth Shiki Theatre's production that Wang's company adapted into Chinese. For example, in 2017, the two companies worked on bringing out a Chinese musical, The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man, based on the musical by Shiki Theatre of the same name.

The established Japanese company has a long friendship with China. When the Central Academy of Drama launched its musical major program in the early 1990s, one of the first of its kind in China, artists of the Japanese company visited Beijing to help the students rehearse the company's musical, The Cat Who Wished to Be a Man.

Among the students was Liu Tianchi, who was impressed by musical, an art form that was still new to China back then. Later, Liu performed with Shiki Theatre for three years right after she graduated from the Beijing-based Central Academy of Drama, with a major in acting in 1995, which allowed her to gain an experience as a musical actress. Liu will be the director of the new Chinese version, Two Times Lotte.

"It will be my first musical as a director and it reminds me of my days with the theater as a young actress," says Liu, who is also an acting teacher at the Central Academy of Drama. "The story of Two Times Lotte is about love and courage, not only for children but also for adults."

Some other creative members behind the Chinese version also have acting experience with Shiki Theatre, such as Liu Wei, who is the music director of the Chinese musical and choreographer Niu Junjie, who performed with the Japanese theater as an actor.

Zhang Jing and Zhang Ying, a pair of twins, stood out during the audition, who will play the role of Lisa and Lotte in the musical. Singer-songwriter Man Jiang, who rose to fame with his pop hits during the late 1990s, will perform as the father in the musical.