![]() It is a celebration of bravery by these artists. "That's what drew me to this show," he said. Rose told VOA Mandarin he respected those decisions, but the show kept moving ahead despite possible pressure from Beijing. Others used stage names or were credited as "Anonymous." Producer Jason Rose said others involved in the show opted out due to concerns about family or business interests in China. So, I don't have that same sense of - I guess it’s fear," he said. I may share DNA with people in China, but I don't have direct relatives that would be pressured in any way. Lee said one of the core messages of the Tiananmen play is to explore the impact of this "long arm of fear" on people. The show's original Chinese American director left the show because of "potential for retribution against his family in China if he were involved in telling this story," Lee told Phoenix magazine. His family’s "most studious aunt" with the best "memory and connection to where we've all come from" greenlit Lee’s participation. The show’s musical director, theater veteran Darren Lee, told VOA Mandarin that before accepting the job, he had a career first: calling his parents to see if there were relatives still in China who would be endangered.įILE - Flowers adorn on the 'Pillar of Shame - A memorial for Tiananmen' by Danish artist Jens Galschiot during a candlelight vigil at the University of Hong Kong June 3, 2009. Beijing’s growing willingness to track down its critics and exert pressure on them left many who auditioned wary of accepting roles that jeopardize family or business interests in China. It took three years to produce Tiananmen. Dear Evan Hansen grapples with suicide and bullying. Cabaret addresses homophobia, antisemitism and the rise of Nazi Germany. It is the latest in a subset of musicals that tackle serious issues. ![]() Wu’er Kaixi, who was one of the protest leaders and who now lives in Taiwan where he is a pro-democracy activist, served as a creative consultant. Thousands more were injured by troops who charged the student-led pro-democracy demonstration that began massing in Beijing’s vast open space in mid-April.Īgainst that backdrop, Tiananmen: A New Musical weaves a love story between two students in a production that opened Wednesday at the Phoenix Theatre Company in Arizona. For years, Chinese officials have referred to the Tiananmen massacre as "political turmoil" and have attempted to make the violence of June 4, 1989, disappear.Įstimates of the death toll range from several hundred people to more than 10,000, though there has never been an official tally released.
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