In light of the current situation, all talks of the Musical Theatre Appreciation Series due to take place on 21 August (Friday), 26 August and 30 September 2020 (Wednesday) will be held online instead from 12:30pm to 2:00pm on the same dates. Details will be announced on www.westkowloon.hk in due course.

When we think of musicals, what usually comes to mind are long-running blockbuster productions like Les Miserables or The Phantom of the Opera. But musical theatre encompasses much more. While Broadway and London’s West End are famed for their extravagant large-scale shows, they also support an increasingly diverse range of new works.

In this talk series, award-winning composer and music director Cynthia Wong Chi-wing explores the history of musical theatre, the development of Broadway and the West End, and different types of musicals. She also looks at iconic and upcoming UK and US productions, discusses influential creators and actors, and offers insight into the development of contemporary musical theatre in Hong Kong.

Talk 1: A Short History of Musical Theatre, and Classic UK and US Musicals and Creators

Date:
21 August 2020 (Friday)

Time:
12:30pm-2:00pm

The talk will be conducted through Microsoft Teams. Registered participants will receive a streaming link for the session with their confirmation email.

Talk 2: UK and US Musicals to Look out for this Year

Date:
26 August 2020 (Wednesday)

Time:
12:30pm-2:00pm

The talk will be conducted through Microsoft Teams. Registered participants will receive a streaming link for the session with their confirmation email.

Talk 3: A Brief Look at the Development of Musical Theatre in Hong Kong

Date:
30 September 2020 (Wednesday)

Time:
12:30pm-2:00pm

The talk will be conducted through Microsoft Teams. Registered participants will receive a streaming link for the session with their confirmation email.

Language:
Cantonese

Speaker:
Cynthia Wong Chi-wing

Fee:
Free admission. Please register in advance.

Enquiries:
Please contact Ms Chan at (852) 2200 0812 during office hours or email learning@wkcda.hk.

Adverse Weather Arrangements:
If a black rainstorm warning or a typhoon signal no. 8 or above is in force three hours before the start of the event, the event will be cancelled.

About the Speaker:

Cynthia Wong Chi-wing

Cynthia Wong Chi-wing is a part-time musical theatre writing teacher at The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. She obtained a Master of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre Writing at New York University and a Bachelor of Music in Composition at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. Her clarinet solo piece, A Daisy Chrysanthemum, premiered at Carnegie Hall (New York). She also worked as music director and composer for the Off-Broadway children’s theatre, The 52^nd Street Project. She won the Outstanding Musical Award at the Ronald M Ruble New Play Festival in Ohio for Jennifer the Unspecial. Wong has also written Cantonese musicals, with A Beautiful Day recognised with a Hong Kong Drama Award for Best Original Score in 2014 and A Midsummer Night’s Dream awarded a Hong Kong Drama Award in 2016.