Stories that sing

Mama, Love Me, a musical by Li Dun, will be one of the two works that mark the opening of Oriental Theater, the first musical theater in Beijing. Photos provided to China Daily

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In May this year, Li will launch more than 60 performances of his two early works: Love U, Teresa, a musical ode to the late Chinese pop sensation Teresa Teng, and Mama, Love Me, inspired by the heart-wrenching true story of a Chinese student who stabbed his mother during an argument about his overseas study.

"The love for Teresa Teng and mother are universal, and I believe the two musicals will be well received by audiences and will be a good start for the theater," says Li.

According to Li, the era of musicals in China has come. What hinders the development of China's original musicals, he says, is a misunderstanding of the art form and wrong-headed efforts to localize it.

For Li, a good Chinese musical work doesn't mean combining traditional Chinese folk music, dance and even acrobatics. "What we need is to keep the format imported from the West but tell our own stories," he says.