The centuries-old Chinese love story of The Butterfly Lovers has been part of folklore for as long as anyone can remember, and has more recently been featured in Chinese traditional operas, on the stage and in movies.
From tomorrow in Taichung, the Dafeng Musical Theater will present this romantic story in a Broadway musical style. The music is composed by the highly-talented Chung Yiu-kwong (
One major and daring change from the original story is the role of Ma Wen-cai (
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAFENG MUSICAL THEATER
The new role that Ma takes in this production is that of a rich, handsome guy who gets almost the same amount of affection from Zhu as Liang does. So, the old story of Zhu breaking away from an arranged marriage turns into a modern triangular love story with leading lady Zhu having to make a final choice of her life-long companion.
Liang is played by Berson Wang (
The Butterfly Lovers is from Oct. 1 to Oct. 2 at Zhongshan Hall, Taichung City; from Oct. 7 to Oct. 8, at Municipal Culture Center, Tainan City; Nov. 4 to Nov. 6, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei; Nov. 26, Hall of Art, Jungli.
Website: www.liang-zhu.com
Telephone: (02) 2925 3960
June 9 to June 15 A photo of two men riding trendy high-wheel Penny-Farthing bicycles past a Qing Dynasty gate aptly captures the essence of Taipei in 1897 — a newly colonized city on the cusp of great change. The Japanese began making significant modifications to the cityscape in 1899, tearing down Qing-era structures, widening boulevards and installing Western-style infrastructure and buildings. The photographer, Minosuke Imamura, only spent a year in Taiwan as a cartographer for the governor-general’s office, but he left behind a treasure trove of 130 images showing life at the onset of Japanese rule, spanning July 1897 to
In an interview posted online by United Daily News (UDN) on May 26, current Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) was asked about Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) replacing him as party chair. Though not yet officially running, by the customs of Taiwan politics, Lu has been signalling she is both running for party chair and to be the party’s 2028 presidential candidate. She told an international media outlet that she was considering a run. She also gave a speech in Keelung on national priorities and foreign affairs. For details, see the May 23 edition of this column,
One of the most important gripes that Taiwanese have about the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is that it has failed to deliver concretely on higher wages, housing prices and other bread-and-butter issues. The parallel complaint is that the DPP cares only about glamor issues, such as removing markers of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) colonialism by renaming them, or what the KMT codes as “de-Sinification.” Once again, as a critical election looms, the DPP is presenting evidence for that charge. The KMT was quick to jump on the recent proposal of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to rename roads that symbolize
Jade Mountain (玉山) — Taiwan’s highest peak — is the ultimate goal for those attempting a through-hike of the Mountains to Sea National Greenway (山海圳國家綠道), and that’s precisely where we’re headed in this final installment of a quartet of articles covering the Greenway. Picking up the trail at the Tsou tribal villages of Dabang and Tefuye, it’s worth stocking up on provisions before setting off, since — aside from the scant offerings available on the mountain’s Dongpu Lodge (東埔山莊) and Paiyun Lodge’s (排雲山莊) meal service — there’s nowhere to get food from here on out. TEFUYE HISTORIC TRAIL The journey recommences with