Musical message

A scene from the musical Jiao Yulu starring Yu Yin (fifth from left)

An image of a man wearing a coat that had been patched so much barely any of its original material can be seen, so poor that he can't even afford to buy a cheap train ticket to visit his mother, this is the image of late CPC cadre Jiao Yulu that greeted audiences in the eponymous musical recently shown on October 17 and 18 in Luoyang, Henan Province, where Jiao once lived and worked.

Jiao worked in a local mining machinery plant for a decade in Luoyang before he became head of Lankao county, Henan Province, in 1962, where he worked tirelessly for the people before dying of liver cancer at the age of 42.

Over the years since his death, Jiao has been viewed as the exemplary model for all CPC members, with the country's top leaders often pointing to his example. As such it is no surprise that besides the musical, which premiered in March of this year, countless other works have focused on the life of Jiao, especially his time in Lankao, a region that had been hit by severe natural disasters and was experiencing extreme poverty when he arrived in 1962, but saw huge improvements under Jiao's management over the following two years.

Awkward adaptation

Given political theme of the subject matter, adapting Jiao's story into a TV series, film, stage play or even a local operas have all been safe choices, as it's easy for the images of Jiao portrayed in these mediums to make an impression on audiences, especially when he is played by famous actors. Take 1990 film Jiao Yulu, in which Jiao was played by famous actor Li Xuejian, this portrayal has become the classic image of Jiao in the minds of many people in China.

However, developing the story into a musical, a rather exotic performance art with a limited audience base in China, was a risky choice for producers. Figuring out how to adapt the message of this man's moving and inspirational story with the right music and lyrics so audiences could bond with the character instead of laugh at him was probably the biggest challenge facing the show's creators.

In this case, they only partially succeeded, as occasional chuckling from the audience showed that some in the audience found the presentation of this story a bit awkward at time. This source of this awkwardness didn't really lie with the storyline or the performance of the actors on stage, but rather it seemed to come from the music and lyrics of composer Liu Tong and lyricist Ni Nan. Perhaps the audience just found it a bit strange for such a moralizing tale to be presented in musical form as some of the show's lines would probably have been much more natural if they had been spoken instead of sung.

Music wasn't the show's only weak point, other details such as sound effects and direction need work, for instance at one point one actor came on stage from the wrong side, however instead of working this mistake into the performance, he ran back off the stage so he could come back out in the right place.

Potential for popularity

The musical's choruses, however, were definitely a highlight. During the more than 100-minute-long performance, it became clear from audience applause that the show's several choruses had become everyone's favorite. These moments, especially when singers playing Lankao locals sang out their feelings for Jiao, were full of power and grandeur, infecting the audiences with emotion.

Produced by the private Kaifeng In the Arts Culture Company and performed by the Beijing-based China National Opera and Dance Drama Theater, the musical Jiao Yulu has the potential to become an outstanding stage work given more time. As a budding art form in China, domestic producers are going through difficult growing pains, and the difficulty of producing such works become even more difficult when you consider the limited subject matter of Jiao Yulu's life.

"Musicals are high art. To combine this genre with a subject like this, isn't just educational but also artistically enlightening," said Jiao Shouyun, Jiao Yulu's daughter, after watching the performance in Luoyang on October 17.

"The musical was a good overall and some parts very moving, they just need to pay more attention to some details," said an employee from the Sinopec Luoyang Company who came to watch the show.

With the country's top leaders currently demonstrating an unprecedented emphasis on promoting the spirit of Jiao Yulu, the musical has come out at a very opportune time. President Xi Jinping has visited Lankao three times over the past five years in order to honor this famous CPC member. According to media reports, Xi was moved to tears when he first heard Jiao's story in 1966 during his first year of middle-school. Support such as this will most likely enable the show to be appreciated by a wider audience.

Educational and enjoyable

For a long time, art and screen works that focused on "red" subjects used to be seen as preachy moralizing works that were extremely boring. However, in recent years, with the government stressing the creation of a culturally and artistically healthy environment, domestic producers have put more emphasis on the artistic side of these types of works, which in turn has earned them a larger audience.

"Making politically themed works enjoyable" has become an increasingly talked about topic among audiences these days. Take A Civic Yuppie in the Countryside and All Quite in Peking, two recent TV series, for example, these politically themed shows prove that by making these stories interesting and enjoyable to watch they can not only educate but also dominate the market.