LastMonday, Qian Shijin, Art Director of Shanghai Grand Theater and musical(音乐剧) expert Fei Yuanhong came to Shanghai Yan’an High School and delivered lectures on the upcoming musical “The Lion King.”

　　The LION is coming to school

　　“Those who have seen musicals please raise up your hands,” requested Mr. Fei. A few hands went up. “I don’t mean on DVDs or TVs.” Some of these hands went down. It was clear that musicals are an unexplored world for most high schoolers.

　　Four years ago, Shanghai Grand Theater imported “Les Miserables(《悲惨世界》)”, the longest-running musical in the world and the first musical performed in China. Many doubted there would be a good outcome, because we Chinese knew little about musicals. A friend of Director Qian even joked, “Les Miserables? I guess Grand Theater will be Miserable!”

　　Yes, the theater found no sponsors(赞助商) due to the “Miserable” title, but the musical itself was a hit! More and more people are falling in love with this art form, and finally “The Lion King” is coming to school.

　　It’s not a problem here!

　　Now we’ve got people willing to watch the show, but here’s another problem. To many, “performing an English musical in a non-English speaking country” sounds incredible(难以置信的). Don’t worry. Music is indeed the best language! At least, this problem is not at all a problem here. While some clips(剪辑) of the musical were being played on the screen, students discussed with each other. Bursts of laughter were heard now and then, showing their good understanding of the plots and the themes.

　　Zulu chants!

　　At the end of the lectures, the students all looked ready for their first musical. But don’t hurry, here comes a game! Remember those beautiful songs in the animated movie of “The Lion King”? To build an atmosphere of the wild land, some lyrics were written in Zulu(祖鲁语) — one of the official languages of South Africa!

　　Five students were called to the stage to sing a Zulu chant from “Circle Of Life(《生生不息》).” A boy failed to find the right key(音调). And the host joked, “Sounds as if a devil is coming to town...” [“鬼子进村”现场版]

　　Anyway, whether you’re a good singer or not, whether you are a fluent English speaker or not, with a heart that loves music, you, a high schooler, will surely enjoy the musical “The Lion King”!