Synopsis

Premiered in Hong Kong in 2014, “Art School Musical” has toured to 8 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, Chongqing, Xiamen, Zhuhai, Macau and Taipei. This screening version was recorded during the tour in Taipei in 2016.

It’s Zhu Yingtai’s dream to study art in university. She believes it’s the perfect path to achieve her values and goals. Zhu’s parents, however, do not support her daughter’s decision. Instead, they want Zhu to study business at a top university, forcefully imposing their will on her. Having no choice but to run away from her home, Zhu manages to enter an art school as she wishes. There, she meets Liang Shanbo.

The story of the two begins with a self-portrait class, where Zhu and Liang develop new perceptions of the world. Through the study of art history and various painting techniques, they experience a different sense of time, the paradox of love and fear, the balancing forces of the universe, the feeling of have a crush on someone, the interaction of the ordinary and the extraordinary, the distinction between money and value, and the unexpected in life. From their classmate Ma Wencai, the two realize the power of advertising in consumer society. They discover the courageous as well as the cowardly side of themselves as they struggle to counter the consumerist culture. In front of their self-portraits, they recall the reason for enrolling in the art school, and ask themselves “Who am I?”

Like true lovers, Zhu and Liang help each other answer this important question in life. Although they cannot be together, their love endures and is transformed into a lasting piece of art. Many years later, Liang walks into an art museum, Zhu goes up to him and asks a question, “Have you ever wept in a museum?”

The musical consists of 18 scenes, with each leading up to an original song that tells the tale of an everlasting love.

Director, Playwright & Lyricist: Edward Lam
Music Director & Composer: Chen Chien-chi
Choreographer: Yuri Ng
Performers: Lu Chia-hsin, Margaret Cheung, Yip Lai Ka, Chao Yi-lan, Kanny Lai, Shih Yi-hsiu, Jordan Cheng Kwan Chi, Huang Ren-jie, Chu Yu-hong, Peng Hao-chin, Tai Min-hsueh, Wu Po-fu, James Wang, Wang Chao-yang
Guest Performers: “Yat Po Singers” ( Raoul Chan、Sam Lau、Ronald Tsang、Keith Wong)
Live Music: Achau Hsu

Duration: 203 minutes (including intermission)