Disney music festival kicks off its Asia Tour in Xi'an
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Global Times, July 8, 2011
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The Disney show will be a live-action, interactive spectacular. |
Disneyworld Shanghai may be half-a-decade away but Mickey Mouse – or Miska Muska, as he's known in China – and friends are already doing the rounds here.
Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival begins its first stop in historic Xi'an, Shaanxi Province on July 8. Eight performances (one in English, seven in Chinese) will be given over two days at the grand theatre of the Sofitel Xi'an Hotel in Renmin Square.
"We have collaborated with some Chinese actors, and all Western performers have worked very hard on learning Chinese characters," director Sallie Palmieri told the Global Times.
More than 25 characters from the Disney universe, including Mickey's "girlfriend" Minnie, Donald Duck and Goofy, alongside characters from The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Pixar's Toy Story, will sing what organizers say is an ensemble of rock, pop, reggae, hip-hop, jazz and country music.
"I think the stories on stage give the members of the audience a new appreciation for the characters. It is almost like meeting a rock star. You will hear people say, ‘There is Mickey Mouse! Right in front of me!'… Seeing them in real life is a totally different experience," Palmieri claimed.
"It's pretty much a big, fun concert that everyone can enjoy. The audience can even hear some very contemporary songs like Beyoncé's ‘Single Ladies'," promised Palmieri.
"I don't want to give away too much, but there is definitely an underlying message: Music does bring everyone together, no matter where they are from," the performer-turned-director affirmed.
"Disney has been at the heart of this concept for years by making music a main ingredient of storytelling," said Kenneth Feld, producer and CEO of Feld Entertainment.
Audience participation will be encouraged, with members singing, clapping and dancing with the performers.
"There are points where people really do feel they are part of the show... It is quite interactive and will certainly keep everyone's attention," said Palmieri.
With a multi-million dollar investment, Disney has decided to include second and third-tier cities for the tour, with such uncelebrated locales as Wuxi and Changzhou in Jiangsu Province to be visited in addition to Xi'an.
Xi'an, along with locations stretching along the eastern coast, shows robust potential for top musical performances. "From our research, the Disney Live show may be the first to come to these smaller cities, and we think the musical format is an excellent way of presenting our characters for the first time," Cao Zhihui, marketing manager of Feld Entertainment China, told the Global Times.
Feld has arranged a special performance in English to satisfy diverse appetites. "In larger cities like Shanghai... children there are more familiar with the language and have the desire to encounter it on an extracurricular level... Xi'an also has the market to put on shows in English… We believe that many members look forward to seeing the performance in its original language," said Cao.
Thus far, numbers look promising, with the upcoming Saturday performance sold out. The cooperation has boosted the hall's local and national prestige in Shaanxi's capital, officials say.
"At present, we are the only concert hall in Xi'an and must... create a culture of concert-going," marketing manger Ye Qinyang told the Global Times. "But soon the Xi'an Music Conservatory and the High-Tech District of Xi'an will build their own music halls, which will create competition."
Disney fans in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Hong Kong will get to meet the cartoon stars between July 10 and August 25.
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