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Asia Society Hong Kong Center
December 2014 Program
Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Miller & Asia Society Hong Kong Center
present
The Rising Stars of Asia
The Good Person of Szechwan – Korea meets Hong Kong
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Registration 18:30
Performance Part I 18:45
Drinks Reception 19:15
Performance Part II and Discussion 19:45
Complimentary for HKAAA memebers,
registration requied.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Asia Society Hong Kong Center
9 Justice Drive, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Registration 14:45
Performance Part I 15:00
Drinks Reception 15:30
Performance Part II and Discussion 16:00
Complimentary for HKAAA memebrs,
registration requied.
Seeking to present up-and-coming Asian artists at the state-of-the-art Miller Theater (Former
Magazine B), The Rising Stars of Asia Series provides a platform in Hong Kong to
showcase the talent of emerging Asian artists in collaborative artistic presentations. The 2014
performance features Pansori artist Jaram Lee and team from Korea and the Hong Kong
artistic team Leon Ko, Chris Shum, Victor Pang, and Actors’ Family on their contemporary
adaptations of Bertolt Brecht’s Der gute Mensch von Sezuan (The Good Person of
Szechwan).
9 Justice Drive
Admiralty
Hong Kong
香港金鐘正義道九號
Pansori Sacheon-ga is an attempt of modernizing the musical storytelling genre of Pansori
(판소리), a traditional Korean art form originated in the 17th century, usually performed by a
vocalist and a drummer. The author and singer of the work, Jaram Lee, highlighted the theme
of social criticism this epic drama translating Brecht’s world into contemporary times and
made the mood even more satirical and humorous. Now set in the City of Sacheon, Korea,
with characters bearing Korean names, the Pansori version of the play is infused with
contemporary musical and dramatic elements. Sacheon-ga delves into issues of
contemporary society where injustice, selfishness, and materialism run rampant. Lee’s
heart-wrenching voice and satirical cries against such social absurdities have won her critical
acclaims and awards, including the Award for Best Actress at the 2010 Kontakt International
Theatre Festival in Poland. The production has toured substantially since its debut in 2007
including to the Chicago World Music Festival, Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles, Theatre
National Populaire and Festival d’Avignon Off in France and Kontakt International Theatre
Festival in Poland.
Composer Leon Ko, librettist Chris Shum and director Victor Pang met for the first time in
2003 to come up with a new musical production in Hong Kong. Shum used to consider writing
libretto for musicals a lifelong goal, but Ko, who was educated in New York inspired him to
seek an even greater achievement by finding an original way to connect the Cantonese
language with music . Joining forces with Pang who co-founded one of the few Hong Kong
theatre companies in 1991 with a keen interest in musical theatre (Actors’ Family), the
creative “iron triangle” began an exploration for an identity for “Hong Kong musical”. Not an
attempt to translate western musical, nor the contemporization of Chinese classics, 四川好人
(The Good Person of Szechwan), first of Ko, Shum and Pang’s co-produced musicals, uses
western theatre as a reference, inherits traditional Chinese theatrical characteristics, and
infuses traditional Chinese music such as nanyin. Ittells Bretch’s story through Cantonese
lyrics carrying the feelings of contemporary Hong Kong people. The musical has been staged
three times in Hong Kong - in 2003, 2004, and 2011- and it received six titles in the Hong
Kong Drama Awards.
Membership enquiries:
2103 9503
Program registration:
2103 9508/9516
Media:
2103 9512
General enquiries:
2103 9511
[email protected]
www.asiasociety.org.hk
Jaram LEE started to learn Pansori since her debut with a very famous song Yesol (My
Name), at the age of 4. Her name was registered in the Guinness World Records for
completing an 8-hour performance of Choonhyang-ga in 1999. Since the age of 22, she has
devoted herself to making audience familiar of Pansori by creating new versions of Pansori.
Very talented and intellectual, she is also the lead vocalist of ‘Amado LEEJaram Band’,
formerly a DJ of FM radio, she is also a guitarist, composer, writer, and music director as well
as sorikkun of Pansori. She is currently artistic director of the theatre company Pansori Project
ZA.
Leon KO holds a Master’s degree in Musical Theatre Writing from New York University. His
musical, Heading East, won the Richard Rodgers Development Award in the US, and his
Cantonese musicals — The Good Person of Szechwan, Field of Dreams, and The Passage
Beyond — won him five awards at the Hong Kong Drama Awards. Ko has won notable
awards in film music —for Perhaps Love, he received a Best Original Film Music Award at the
Hong Kong Film Awards and Asia-Pacific Film Festival; and Best Original Film Song at the
Golden Horse Film Awards in Taiwan, and his title song for The Last Tycoon won Best
Original Song at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2013. Other film scores include The
Warlords, Mr. Cinema, The Great Magician and Dearest. Ko was the Music Director of Jacky
Cheung’s 2004 world tour of Snow, Wolf, Lake. He wrote new music for the Cantonese Opera classics Princess
Changping and The Reincarnation of the Red Plum Blossom, and music for two major Hong Kong drama
productions, The Liaisons, and Tonnochy. In 2011, his musical Takeaway premiered in London.
Chris SHUM has an oeuvre that covers musical, drama, film, television and advertising media.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese Language and Literature from the Hong Kong
Baptist University, and a Master degree from the University of Hong Kong, Faculty of
Education. Shum has received many awards throughout his career of more than 20 years.
They include: Best Original Film Song at the Golden Horse Film Awards in Taiwan and the
Hong Kong Film Awards, Best Original Score at the Hong Kong Drama Awards twice, and also
CASH Golden Sail Music Awards twice. He has also written a book on his lyrics writing career,
which was published by Schoolmates CC Limited, and hosted a series on the musical scene in
Hong Kong for the website Dynamix in 2013.
Victor PANG is the Artistic Director of Actors’ Family and guest lecturer at the School of
Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong. Pang often takes on acting roles in the
productions of different theatre groups. He was awarded Best Supporting Actor
(Tragedy/Drama) at the Hong Kong Drama Awards for his role in Prelude to a Kiss. In recent
years, he has focused on directing and his important musicals include The Border Town, The
Good Person of Szechwan and The Passage Beyond, all of which won Best Production
Awards at the Hong Kong Drama Awards. His most recent productions include Black Swan
(commissioned by the Hong Kong Arts Festival), Bloody Hell and The Love Story of Sam and
Sally.
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