By Greg Mellen, Staff writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (Long Beach, Calif., USA)
LONG BEACH - The story is ancient. "Tum Teav" has been called the Cambodian "Romeo and Juliet."
But it has never been presented like this: with an intertwining of traditional Apsara dancing and gray-clad rappers; American-style rock music juxtaposed with Khmer lullabies played by a 10-person Cambodian band; the story tweaked to tell the love story of an ex-pat Cambodian-American returning to his roots.
If organizers can pull it together, "Where Elephants Weep," believed to be the first professional Cambodian-American rock opera, will be seen on stage in Long Beach.
The play premiered in Lowell, Mass., to sellout crowds and rave reviews, and is slated to tour to Phnom Pehn and other Asian venues, possibly by 2008.
In the interim, producer John Burt would like to bring the production to Long Beach.
There was some talk of trying to bring the production here by April to connect it to traditional Cambodian New Year's events, but Burt thinks that might be a bit too soon.
But after two days, the producer seemed enthused about putting the project together.
"I think (the play) belongs here," Burt said. "I think there are possibilities for long-term relationships."
Burt, along with director Robert McQueen and composer Him Sophy conclude three days of meetings today with city officials, potential sponsors and community groups in an effort to make it happen.
To Burt and his group, there's more to the effort than just bringing a show to Long Beach. It is about community collaboration and creating cross-cultural relationships.
As a result, schools, libraries and community groups could all be pulled into the mix.
In Lowell, for example, some of the proceeds went to fund a scholarship to send local students to study arts in Cambodia.
Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal met with the theater group and is already a proponent.
"I think the Cambodian opera is a very exciting endeavor and I can't wait to be a part of all the events surrounding it," Lowenthal said.
The play was commissioned by Cambodian Living Arts, a project that works to revive traditional Khmer performing arts and inspire contemporary artistic expression.
The melding of traditional Cambodian and Western forms makes the play unique and fulfills a goal of not only preserving and honoring Khmer heritage and art, but expanding it into new forms.
"In order for theater to have relevance," McQueen said, "it has the opportunity to move many art forms forward."
The play is an East-West collaboration with music by Russian-trained composer Dr. Him Sophy, a Cambodian genocide survivor, and text by librettist Catherine Filloux, an award-winning playwright.
For Filloux, an American of French-Algerian descent who has also lived and taught in Cambodia, this is her fourth Cambodian-themed drama.
Her first, "Eyes of the Heart," was based on a true story about Cambodian women who suffered psychosomatic blindness after witnessing Khmer Rouge atrocities. Her other Cambodian-inspired plays are "Silence of God" and "Photographs from S21."
"When I began listening to the stories, I was extremely moved," Filloux said. "But it took me a long time to understand the complexities."
Those complexities extend to Sophy's musical score. Sophy was a budding 12-year-old musician in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge rose to power in 1975. When Sophy returned to Phnom Penh in 1979 after the Vietnamese ouster of the Khmer Rouge, he began playing the piano again and by 1985 received a scholarship from the Soviet Union to study in Moscow, where he eventually earned a doctorate of musical art in composition.
For "Where Elephants Weep," Him went so far as to reinvent Cambodian gongs and xylophones to make them blend with the Western music of the play.
Given all the interweavings of music, story and culture in "Where Elephants Weep," Long Beach, where such intermingling is played daily, seems a logical stop.
"I think it's a good idea," said Peter Long of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. "It would not only be a benefit for us (Cambodians) but for all of Long Beach."
Greg Mellen can be reached at greg.mellen@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1291.
But it has never been presented like this: with an intertwining of traditional Apsara dancing and gray-clad rappers; American-style rock music juxtaposed with Khmer lullabies played by a 10-person Cambodian band; the story tweaked to tell the love story of an ex-pat Cambodian-American returning to his roots.
If organizers can pull it together, "Where Elephants Weep," believed to be the first professional Cambodian-American rock opera, will be seen on stage in Long Beach.
The play premiered in Lowell, Mass., to sellout crowds and rave reviews, and is slated to tour to Phnom Pehn and other Asian venues, possibly by 2008.
In the interim, producer John Burt would like to bring the production to Long Beach.
There was some talk of trying to bring the production here by April to connect it to traditional Cambodian New Year's events, but Burt thinks that might be a bit too soon.
But after two days, the producer seemed enthused about putting the project together.
"I think (the play) belongs here," Burt said. "I think there are possibilities for long-term relationships."
Burt, along with director Robert McQueen and composer Him Sophy conclude three days of meetings today with city officials, potential sponsors and community groups in an effort to make it happen.
To Burt and his group, there's more to the effort than just bringing a show to Long Beach. It is about community collaboration and creating cross-cultural relationships.
As a result, schools, libraries and community groups could all be pulled into the mix.
In Lowell, for example, some of the proceeds went to fund a scholarship to send local students to study arts in Cambodia.
Vice Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal met with the theater group and is already a proponent.
"I think the Cambodian opera is a very exciting endeavor and I can't wait to be a part of all the events surrounding it," Lowenthal said.
The play was commissioned by Cambodian Living Arts, a project that works to revive traditional Khmer performing arts and inspire contemporary artistic expression.
The melding of traditional Cambodian and Western forms makes the play unique and fulfills a goal of not only preserving and honoring Khmer heritage and art, but expanding it into new forms.
"In order for theater to have relevance," McQueen said, "it has the opportunity to move many art forms forward."
The play is an East-West collaboration with music by Russian-trained composer Dr. Him Sophy, a Cambodian genocide survivor, and text by librettist Catherine Filloux, an award-winning playwright.
For Filloux, an American of French-Algerian descent who has also lived and taught in Cambodia, this is her fourth Cambodian-themed drama.
Her first, "Eyes of the Heart," was based on a true story about Cambodian women who suffered psychosomatic blindness after witnessing Khmer Rouge atrocities. Her other Cambodian-inspired plays are "Silence of God" and "Photographs from S21."
"When I began listening to the stories, I was extremely moved," Filloux said. "But it took me a long time to understand the complexities."
Those complexities extend to Sophy's musical score. Sophy was a budding 12-year-old musician in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge rose to power in 1975. When Sophy returned to Phnom Penh in 1979 after the Vietnamese ouster of the Khmer Rouge, he began playing the piano again and by 1985 received a scholarship from the Soviet Union to study in Moscow, where he eventually earned a doctorate of musical art in composition.
For "Where Elephants Weep," Him went so far as to reinvent Cambodian gongs and xylophones to make them blend with the Western music of the play.
Given all the interweavings of music, story and culture in "Where Elephants Weep," Long Beach, where such intermingling is played daily, seems a logical stop.
"I think it's a good idea," said Peter Long of the Cambodian Chamber of Commerce. "It would not only be a benefit for us (Cambodians) but for all of Long Beach."
Greg Mellen can be reached at greg.mellen@presstelegram.com or (562) 499-1291.
2 comments:
As though anyone care for the stupid show!
Eh, use your fucking brain before you even open your fault mouth!
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