Modern Express News (reporter Li Ming) In 2015, the suspense spy drama "The Pretender" was popular, with double harvests of ratings and word of mouth, and was known as a "conscience domestic drama". Now, the show has a musical version. On January 14th and 15th, the first part of the large-scale original musical "The Pretender", "Willing to Serve the Country for a Long Time", will be unveiled at the 2022 Nanjing Musical Theatre festival and performed at the Nanjing Poly Grand Theater. The musical was joined by the original creator and original author of the TV series, and the original actor Jin Dong became a producer to recreate the spy war on the stage.
The musical version of "The Pretender" took 2 years to hatch and complete, with 21 complete songs in the play, which were finally presented to the audience through 14 days of technical synthesis, 140 gorgeous costumes and more than 40 actors and musicians. On the stage, immersive scenes such as the gloomy dungeon, the drunken navy club, the luxurious Ming family living room, and the Western-style bungalow with the style of old Shanghai are reproduced, leading the audience back to the wind and clouds of the years. Since its premiere, the show has been well received.
The Modern Express reporter learned that the musical "The Pretender" invited the original author Daniel Zhang to act as a screenwriter, and worked hard to adapt the entire story. The upcoming performance in Nanjing, "Willing to Serve the Country with This Long Life", is the first part of the musical drama "The Pretender" in the trilogy of home and country, with the brothers Ming Cheng and Ming Lou as the main characters, telling the story of their multi-dimensional espionage warfare that holds the disguised identity of a new government official and a Kuomintang agent, which is actually a multi-dimensional spy war story of the elite agents of the underground party of the COMMUNIST Party.
In the TV drama version of "The Pretender", the eldest brother "Ming Lou" played by Jin Dong is a key role, who has the most complex identity, the most complex feelings and the most complicated relationship in the entanglement of brothers, and needs to be thrilled in the triple identity hidden by the killing machine. This time, Jin Dong changed his identity and served as the producer of the musical "The Pretender". Jin Dong said that he has a deep affection for "The Pretender" and "very much hopes that this work can continue its charm in other forms." "
According to Wang Shipei, the musical director of the play, the musical "The Pretender" adopts the volume of opera music in the creation of music, and invites the world's well-known symphony professional orchestra to record the music of the whole play, pursuing the perfection and refinement of musical presentation. "In terms of sound, we hope to achieve the sensory experience of a 100-piece symphony orchestra."
The Modern Express reporter learned that in addition to "The Pretender", the musical "Southern Tang Hou Lord", "Fan Letter" Chinese edition, "Maybe a Happy Ending" Chinese edition, etc. will also appear on the stage of the 2022 Nanjing Musical Theatre Festival.
(Courtesy of Nanjing Poly Grand Theater)