Are children fans of musicals, above all other theatrical performances?

Organizers of the Shanghai International Children's Theater Festival seem to believe so.

The ongoing event, which will end on August 8, includes nine theatrical productions, five of which have been called "musical."

The nine are all adapted from works of Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish storyteller, including Nightingale, Emperor's New Clothes and The Tin Soldier.

They are expected to be box office hits because of the great popularity of Andersen's tales in China.

Besides business success, the festival is also expected to provide a better understanding among Chinese people both young and old of Hans Christian Andersen as more than just a teller of stories.

"The United Nations has named the year 2005 'The Year of Hans Christian Andersen' and celebrations are being held globally," said Kirsten Gulev, the consul of the Royal Danish Consulate General in Shanghai.

"Andersen is remembered with so much love and respect because his tales are the origin of endless inspiration and creativity," he added.

To make people achieve such an understanding at the festival, the main aim is to get them involved by bringing them to the theatre.

"It will make a theatrical production a lot more interesting, and easier to follow for children, with beautiful songs and dances involved," said Chang Hsiao-Hwa, a drama professor with the Taiwan University of Arts.

Chang is deemed an authority in the field as he pioneered in ushering the drama education into the nine-year compulsory education in Taiwan.

The performance agents involved in the festival also revealed that, by introducing musicals into the event, they meant to attract adults besides children to the theatre.

"After all, the decision on buying tickets still lies in the hand of the parents," said an organizer of the festival, who declined to give his name.

Shanghainese gained a reputation as musical fans following the huge success of the Broadway production Phantom of Opera last year in the city.

And performance agents believe an Andersen's love tale, like the Nightingale, will also do well in the city, being as heart-wrenching as the Broadway production.

As for children who cannot understand the Nightingale devoting his life to a puppy-love affair, the theatre has prepared, besides songs and dances, fancy costumes, extravagantly colorful lighting of the stage and percussive soundtrack effects sure to send a tingle down the spine.

Actually, the Nightingale production has triggered heated debates since it was staged last week; at the festival's opening ceremony by Shanghai China Welfare Institute's (CWI's) Children Theater Troupe.

Some of audience highly praised its spectacular scenery, which vividly restored the Forbidden City of the Chinese emperors, and also its special effects, which enabled the human "nightingale" to fly around the stage.

But others expressed disappointment at the boring dialogues and pale leading roles in the production.

Underlining the debate is the worry about the fact that grand productions with fancy light-and-sound effects and weak characters are playing a dominant role in children's theaters.

Robin Pascoe, secretary of International Drama, Theatre and Education Association, said that such grand productions with little time dedicated to the development of the leading characters are prevailing the world over.

Simon Wong, a Hong Kong children's theatre expert, noted that overused high technologies and luxury stage design will harm the imagination of the children.

But some other drama experts believe that such effects are absolutely unnecessary.

Chang Hsiao-Hwa, said: "Children need productions in different styles. The former type, grand production will offer them more entertainment, the latter will offer them better enlightenment."

(China Daily July 20, 2005)