Dreaming her dream

• Source: Global Times
• [22:27 November 05 2009]
• Comments

Musicaltheater performer, Shadow.

By Xing Daiqi

As a rare treat in this year's Beijing International Theater and Dance Festival, China's "musical queen" known simply as Shadow, will take to the Capital Theater's stage for the premiere of her one-woman show, I Dreamed a Dream.

Set to not only delight fans, Shadow hopes to draw new followers to the genre.

"Give me 90 minutes and you won't stop loving musicals!" she exclaimed.

"It will be a night of sheer good music and light talk in a unique musical form that has never been seen in China," added I Dreamed a Dream producer Li Suyou.

Based on Shadow's personal experiences, the musical tells the story of a young actress' dream, her pursuits, struggles, sorrows and persistence. After countless failed auditions, Shadow's character fulfills her dream to star in a one-person musical, hence the title I Dreamed a Dream.

"The whole musical is kind of based on my experiences," Shadow explained. "First of all, I went abroad to America to study drama at UC Berkley when one Christmas Eve in New York, I saw my very first musical, Showboat," she recalled. "That night, I decided to become a musical performer. I transferred to Chicago College of Performing Arts because they have one of the top 10 musical performance theater majors in America. Then I worked on Broadway for a year."

Within Shadow's 90-minute show, the audience is treated to a feast of 18 of Broadway's most well-loved musical pieces, including Over the Rainbow, All That Jazz, Don't Cry For Me Argentina and Memory in both English and Chinese.

Chinese pop songs such as There is Only You in My Heart, traditional Yue Opera and dancing also feature in the show.

While many performers may find a solo show daunting, for Shadow it is a dream come true.