The famous Broadway musical Cats might have a solid fan base around the world, but now a Taiwanese children’s group is proving that a self-made musical, Dogs, featuring a cast of 20, can also be a box-office hit.
The If Kids Theater Co is currently staging the musical, which made its debut in Taipei in 2002 and tells the tale of Lucky, a pet dog who is abandoned by his owner and learns to live on the street with a gang of stray dogs.
Tickets for six performances, which were to be staged yesterday and run through tomorrow at the Metropolitan Hall in Taipei, are sold out, according to the company.
“The show is actually a tribute to Cats,” Chao Tzu-chiang (趙自強), the head of the troupe and the musical’s writer, said after a short rehearsal yesterday.
He added that he had always wanted to prove that a NT$3 million (US$103,500) production could win the hearts of local audiences just as well as a NT$30 million musical imported from Broadway.
An actor and a TV host, Chao established the children’s theater troupe in January 2000 and has faced quite a few financial difficulties during the group’s 11 years.
However, he said he still gets very excited every time the troupe presents a show for children, “because children are the best audience; they always give the most direct response when watching a performance.”
As part of the show’s production process, Chao said he interviewed members of an animal rights group, who told him many moving stories that helped him shape the 20 canine characters in the drama.
One of the most touching, he said, was about a husky, which, despite being harshly beaten and abandoned by its owner, still found its way back to his house.
“I think homeless dogs are just like homeless children — they will miss their owners, just as children will miss their parents, if they are forced to live on the street,” he said.
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