![]() ![]() Approximately half of the performers are of Asian descent. "They want to keep what makes their community diverse they want to keep what makes their community unique and vibrant, and they want to essentially keep their culture alive amongst all this gentrification happening around them."Īnother key piece to the production is the casting. "When you look specifically at San Francisco's Chinatown, you see a community that's fighting tooth and nail against gentrification," Lo said. The buildings depicted on stage, which Lo described as downtrodden but well-loved, reflect the struggles of the characters resisting the destabilizing effects of gentrification - a story that resonates with the real-life struggles of Chinatown's residents. Observing interactions in Chinatown, Fitzer treated the neighborhood as a living entity and not as an ahistorical artifact. The close-knit community feel of Chinatown meanwhile stayed intact. But not great for theater - a big white block," Fitzer said. "A lot of them are white, like supremely white, which is beautiful and shows off the flowers very well. The musical's focal point - a flower shop - is very different from what he encountered in Chinatown. While he elevated certain design features, like alleyways, Fitzer downplayed and altered other visual elements that did not translate well into a theater set design. ![]() Fitzer created a parallel environment for the TheatreWorks production, with the backdrop revealing a vibrant but less prosperous part of Chinatown. The original 1960 film was set in a New York City neighborhood called Skid Row. The atmosphere of Chinatown's alleyways played a significant role in the design elements too. ![]() The fonts used on the signs, which replicate fonts in Chinatown, also reveal the production's close attention to detail. The signage was important as well, particularly for Lo who wanted to capture the pairing of English words and Chinese characters side by side, a visual cue that references immigrants' experiences of not needing to speak English in Chinatown. Hyper-stylized elements traditionally associated with Chinatown, like pagoda rooftops, also made it into the set. The older red brick buildings immediately drew his eye, as did the quirky configurations of HVACs and pipes wrapping around buildings. The production's scenery is a tapestry of Chinese architectural and stylistic elements, Fitzer said. Seymour (Phil Wong) unintentionally raises an unusually demanding houseplant that brings fame and fortune, along with plenty of troubles, in TheatreWorks Silicon Valley's new production of "Little Shop of Horrors," which has been reset in San Francisco's Chinatown. Hired on a Friday, Fitzer said he and Lo were in Chinatown the following Wednesday, visiting shops and taking photographs of the neighborhood for design ideas. Lo teamed up with scenic designer and longtime collaborator Christopher Fitzer, and the two worked closely together to get the show off the ground. But there's a catch: the plant has a secret appetite for blood. The musical tells the story of Seymour (Phil Wong), who brings fame and fortune to the small, rundown florist shop where he works after he accidentally raises a spectacular houseplant. Because, for me, San Francisco is a poster child of what happens to a vibrant and artistically whole community when gentrification hits that area." "And so, with that in mind, I thought San Francisco's Chinatown was perfect. "It's a satire and a cautionary tale about greed and about the issues of living life under a scarcity model," Director Jeffrey Lo said. Reviving the Broadway musical "Little Shop of Horrors," TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is adding a twist to the production this holiday season it's transplanting the setting to San Francisco's Chinatown, offering an updated, multicultural perspective about the human toll of capitalism. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |