'The Legend of 1900' gets a Chinese makeover

"The Legend of 1900" has been adapted into a Chinese musical and will premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theater next month.

The Italian-English language film, which centers on the orphan pianist 1900 who grew up on the ocean liner SS Virginian, has been popular among the Chinese because of the mystery and romance.

The musical, produced by Ranspace, boasts an international creative team that includes French composer Dove Attia and Spanish stage designer Alfons Flores, as well as several Chinese musical singers and performers such as Bai Jugang, Liu Lingfei, Xu Junshuo and He Liangchen.

"I loved the film a lot," said Bai, one of three actors who will play 1900. "The protagonist seems hesitant, but he is free and unrestrained at heart."

Bai was concerned that the character in the film was too perfect and that he would not be able to match the performance in the musical.

"I found the original book (by Alessandro Baricco) on which the film is based," Bai said. "Learning that the stage script was based on the original text gave me some confidence."

The film's original soundtrack won several awards. Bai said the Chinese performance will have its own songs and compositions.

The talented pianist never left the ship, which was to be destroyed and sunk, in the film.

"1900 is a very pure person," said actor Xu. "He has no social connections with the outside world. Thus, his feelings, especially his love of music, are honest. He has his own world."

Performance info:

Dates: November 26 – December 15, 2pm/7:30pm

Tickets: 180-1,280 yuan

Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater 上海大劇院

Address: 300 People's Ave 人民大道300號