The musical "Cat City" is late to perform on the Shanghai People's Stage in June

The

cat people also have a history. In ancient times, they also fought wars with foreign countries. However, in the past five hundred years, the result of killing each other made them completely forget the concept of fighting foreigners, and they united internally, leading to the degradation of civilization. On the evening of June 2, a war between cat people and dwarf soldiers was about to begin on the Shanghai People's Stage, ending this ancient city of alien civilization with growing selfish desires with the annihilation of the entire city of Cat City.

After waiting for a long time, the musical "Cat City" will finally be staged on the Shanghai People's Stage. General director Li Xinqing has almost been apologizing to everyone for this belated performance. Since the play was launched at Poly Theatre in 2016, the People's Grand Stage has been like an olive branch she has offered. The People's Stage is Li Xinqing's blessed land in Shanghai. Her first work, Legend of Avanti, set sail here. Therefore, the idea of bringing Lao She's sci-fi masterpiece Cat City to Shanghai's big stage performance was actually earlier than her entry into Poly Theatre, but it was a good thing to grind. This wish lasted for two years, and the audience in Shanghai waited for two years. Perhaps there are a lot of big names in the play, Qiu Jirong, Youye Xin, Zhang Xianzhi, Zhang Kun and so on. It is really not easy to put these busy people together. In Li Xinqing's words, it depends on a kind of fate to come together.

Li Xinqing is the granddaughter of art master Li Kuchan. She has a solid foundation in Chinese studies and keen artistic insight. She is also loyal and has the demeanor of a big sister. Perhaps it is this kind of personality that enables him to bring these arrogant artists together.

Bringing Lao She's "The Cat City" to the stage has also been a dream of Li Xinqing for many years. She said that most people only know Lao She as an outstanding realistic writer, but the Lao She in her grandfather's mouth has always been a humorous, romantic, and very imaginative person. This was always unbelievable for Li Xinqing, who grew up watching "Camel Xiangzi","Teahouse" and "Four Generations Together". It was not until after reading "The Story of the Cat City" that she realized that the Lao She in her grandfather's mouth was actually more real.

Although Lao She almost won the Nome Prize for Literature in "A Tale of the Cat City", this theme is difficult to express on the stage of the drama, and the profound thoughts contained in Lao She's text make many dramas daunting. Some people say that Li Xinqing is a newborn calf who is not afraid of tigers. In fact, she has read "The Story of the Cat City" more than a hundred times, and it has been ten years since she regained this creative impulse to the premiere of "The Story of the Cat City". Like Mr. Lao She, Li Xinqing also likes cats and is a complete cat slave. She once commented on her cat as "smart, gentle, cunning and changeable." She said she knew more about cats than even people. Therefore. For "Cat City", with a cat as the main character, Li Xinqing believes that musical theater may be the best way to interpret it. Because it can not only tell a completed story, but also sing out various complex psychological activities of the people in the play with singing, and express their various complex emotions through their bodies.

But the question of who should express it has troubled Li Xinqing for many years, because she must have a group of partners who can express her ideas. She said that if it were not for Yang Bingyin's music, Zhang Kun's soul-stirring singing, Qiu Jirong and Youye's new exciting dances, and for the passionate performances of Zhang Xianzhi, Jiang Xinrou and many other people, perhaps "The Story of the Cat City" would still remain in her image, and they turned all this into reality.

Sincerity, directness, and a grateful heart were Li Kuchan's greatest influence on his granddaughter, and it also became Li Xinqing's personality. This personality made her move to Lao She's descendants, Shu Ji and Shu Yi, and also allowed her to have All the friends in "The Story of the Cat City". She said that she had been waiting for this day for ten years because the success of a work must be "right at the right time","right place" and "harmonious with people." So on June 2 and 3,"Cat City" will be staged in Shanshan on the Shanghai People's Stage, is it also waiting for this moment?