LOST SHANGHAI
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L o s t   S h a n g h a i 

Inspired by a true story...
GRAMMY-nominated Angel Lam (composer for Yo-Yo Ma, Silk Road Ensemble,
League of American Orchestras and international touring groups performing in fifty cities), and
librettist Richard Caliban (Obie Award winner and artistic director of the acclaimed
downtown Cucaracha Theatre in New York) ​teams up to create LOST SHANGHAI. 


Inspired by a true story.
​This is a musical love story about ambition, espionage, betrayal, compassion and redemption

set in the tumultuous revolutionary days of 1940s Shanghai.
A young man falls in love with a Shanghai teahouse singer who, unbeknownst to him,
has been forced into service as a sort of Matta Hari by the secret police to lure and entrap suspected enemies.
These two unlikely lovers share a strange fate that transcends revolutions and lifetimes.


Melodious, lyrical songs, otherworldly non-western and cabaret western ensemble recreates this sensuous,
fabled city that was the Paris of the East, New York of the West and the new Silk Road—an adventurer's paradise!

The main characters magically traverse lifetimes and places, fighting for survival in a ruthless society,
yet discover life's meaning through compassion, kindness, and love.

It was a time of elegant clothes, heightened emotions,
and an exhilarating Edo-ian floating world where everything was transient...
A time and sound now lost in history.

___________________________________
​
​Recent unrest around the world and the composer's grandfather,
​who had lived through a turbulent 20th-century China, inspired this work. 

Composer Angel Lam was born in Hong Kong and now lives in New York City.

Recent

Merkin Hall  at  Kaufman Music Center
Friday, December 2, 2022  at  7:30pm

129 W 67th Street, New York, NY 10023

 Semi-staged excerpts from Lost Shanghai,
a part of the event "Hong Kong Journeys"
Starring Gen Parton-Shin, Kai-An Chee, Mandarin Wu and Austin Ku
and award-winning international music instrumentalists

Past readings & concerts

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Theatre Row, National Sawdust Theatre, Flushing Town Hall, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) 
​

About the piece  

  • A two-act (100-min) musical for audience ages 10 and up
  • The music is inspired by the international music scene in Shanghai during 1930-40s: European classical traditions, cabaret, jazz, Chinese folk and theatrical classics such as works by Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Weill and Giacomo Puccini
  • Promotes diversity in theater, Asian-American awareness, history and world events
  • Full script available upon request
  • 13 original songs and 5 principal cast members
  • A theatrical concert version is available
  • Have working projections, sound design, and some costumes​​
Lost Shanghai is awarded the Opera America Discovery Grant for Women Composers  supported by the Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and the city of Hong Kong's 25th Anniversary cultural grant, as well as the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Creative Engagement grant 

Feedback from the community:

The internal, external, interpersonal, and societal conflicts are all present to make this a great tragedy.
​The story is almost mythological... yet it is inspired by a true story. "


 - Jeremy Kareken (mentor, playwright of Broadway play Lifespan of a Fact )
The stylized writing and florid details kept us totally engaged."
 
- Arlene Hutton, award-winning playwright from Barrow Group Workshop
Music and the sound world are affecting, immediate and uniquely hers."
​

- Dr. Robert Sirota, prominent composer and former Dean of Manhattan School of Music and Director of Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University
A captivating story that stands out from most other works due to the setting. The play effectively drew me into the ambiance of the time period. The lead actor was charming, and the actor playing the official was excellent. He completely embodied that role.... And the music was especially beautiful... gorgeous and grand.
                                               - Ana F., NY  ( Theasy.com )
Captured the essence of 1940s Shanghai...The juxtaposition of eastern and western influence is apparent in the imageries and soundscape, both of which were quite evocative. Loved the touch of magic...(and) the idea of this being a memory play.
                                             ​- Ran Xia, playwright ( Theasy.com )
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