Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress

featuring Kit Chan

Well presented as a local production. Simple items for background but still changeable into different forms of scenrio and mood. Music by Dick Lee which is guranteed to be good, though the last piece sang by Kit was a bit repeated and tiring.. that Ms Chan finished her tone in a "middle crisis" note.. (which fine in beginning and end dropped a bit in middle as it sound). Not to mention one of the concubine candidates was terribly sang in shaking voice as if she caught a cold in the first scene... (get well soon)

The plot is good as keep drawing attention to people till the end... Indeed, a harsh comment to say, would be something like serving chinese food in China town in a western country. Elements like love (painter and journalist), sex (whore house, jokes), kung fu movements, expats relationship (e.g. the King and I) and remix chinese-style music into contemporary.. Indeed the most original chinese musical would be 京劇 (beijing opera) that wouldn't have a chance to bought into a global market. The work of transforming is necessary to make non chinese people easy to understand and digest story of aceint china... something like sweet & sour pork, long noodle, short noodle etc *(which never been real chinese food..?!)...

A good try and wish they could be succeed in the global level.

p.s. "writing something suitable for the reader..." by George, surely it is a commercial world and one of the theme (indeed the musical are one of the examples). Stimulate analytical thought when we perceive things hopefully..!