Acclaimed talents Victor Pang and Chris Shum to deliver new musical theatre experience

Acclaimed talents Victor Pang and Chris Shum to deliver new musical theatre experience
Actors' Family will perform its latest musical, “A Beautiful Day”, in July with renowned musical creative Victor Pang and Chris Shum working together with promising composer Cynthia Wong. The programme is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
 Adaptor and director Victor Pang is the Artistic Director of Actors’ Family. He is a graduate of Middlesex University who majored in acting and gained a master's degree in directing. Pang also studied acting under French theatre master Philippe Gaulier. Recently he put all his attention into directing, and his works have included award-winning musicals such as “The Border Town”, “The Good Person of Szechwan” and “A Passage Beyond”.
Lyricist Chris Shum won Best Original Film Song in the 43rd Golden Horse Awards and a prize in the 2006 CASH Golden Sail Music Awards with the song “Perhaps Love”. This year he also claimed the Best Original Film Song prize in the Hong Kong Film Awards with the theme song of “The Last Tycoon”. Shum has also taken part in musical productions, including the award-winning works “The Good Person of Szechwan” and “A Passage Beyond”.
Composer, arranger and music director Cynthia Wong finished her master's degree of art in Musical Theatre Writing at New York University. Her work “Jennifer the Unspecial: Time Travel, Love Potions & 8th Grade” won her a Best New Musical Award.
Actors’ Family, which is dedicated to producing original musicals in Hong Kong, was founded more than 20 years ago. One of its productions, the highly praised “A Passage Beyond” won four prizes in the 19th Hong Kong Drama Awards.
“A Beautiful Day” is adapted from Thornton Wilder's work “Our Town”, which won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and, thanks to frequent revivals over half a century later, remains popular today. In the theatre production, “She” opens the door to the Time Tunnel, and walks into the sepia-toned 1950s. In the flashes of light and shadow, “She” sees a town and fragments of everyday life. Deftly “She” makes them come together again, and the town appears as it once did. Emily also comes back from her past life and relives what she had gone through before: from birth to growth, then meeting the love of her life, George, and getting married, giving birth and arriving at the point of death. But Emily finds it hard to let go, and begs for one more day – the day she fell in love with George. So “She” takes Emily through the flashes of light and shadow until they arrive at that ordinary day. But Emily discovers it is not so ordinary after all. The main actors are Margaret Cheung and Jordan Cheng.
Performed in Cantonese, “A Beautiful Day” will be staged at 8pm from July 26 to 28 (Friday to Sunday) and at 3pm on July 27 and 28 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre. Tickets priced at $180 and $240 are now available at URBTIX outlets, on the Internet and by credit card telephone booking. Half-price tickets are available for senior citizens aged 60 or above, people with disabilities and their minders, full-time students and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients (limited tickets for full-time students and CSSA recipients are available on a first-come, first-served basis). Please refer to programme leaflets for details of the group booking discount.
For programme enquiries, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/theatre/program_274.html.
Ticketing enquiries can be made on 2734 9009 and credit card telephone bookings on 2111 5999. Tickets can also be booked online at www.urbtix.hk.