US composer sings praises of Chinese musical

陈小将

Frank Wildhorn, the composer of the Chinese musical No Longer Human, held a salon at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Aug 4, unveiling the creative process of the show, his amazement with the quality of the production, the strength of the actors, and the possibility of composing musicals based on original Chinese stories.

A new round of performances for No Longer Human kicked off at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on Aug 3 and will run until Sunday.

This is the first original Chinese musical creation by the American, whose is well-known for being the creator of the 1999 musical Jekyll and Hyde, a classic that has been translated into more than 30 languages. His other works like The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dracula and Death Note, have all been successful at the box office as well.

Adapted from the autobiographical novel of the same title by Japanese writer Dazai Osamu (1909-48), No Longer Human is the first Chinese musical composition by the American musician.

The novel was published following the author's suicide at the age of 38. In the novel, Yozo the hero is incapable of revealing his true self to others and turns to alcoholism and drug abuse before his final disappearance. Most of the incidents depicted in the story were based on true life experiences.

Seeing how the novel was a bestseller in China, Liang Yibing, the president of Shanghai-based musical company Ranspace, decided to adapt it for musical theater and hire Wildhorn as the composer.