Talented actors perform in Tiên Nga (Fairy Tale), a musical by theatre director and Meritorious Artist Thành Lộc of the HCM City-based private drama troupe IDECAF.  (Photo courtesy of the producer)

HCM CITY —  The musical drama Tiên Nga (Fairy Tale), a production based on a 19^th century Vietnamese epic poem, will be restaged at Bến Thành Theatre tonight to mark the 74^th anniversary of National Day.     

The play is about the life of Lục Vân Tiên, a poor student who travels to the capital to take part in a civil service examination for mandarins. He rescues Kiều Nguyệt Nga, a beautiful woman from a wealthy family, from a robbery. They fall in love, but face challenges living together.

It depicts Việt Nam’s traditional moral values in a semi-feudal colony society.

Tiên Nga was written by People’s Artist Năm Châu, one of the region’s leading writers of cải lương (reformed opera), in co-operation with female authors Nguyễn Thị Minh Ngọc and Nguyễn Hồng Dung.

The play is based on Lục Vân Tiên (The Tale of Lục Vân Tiên), a popular work of 2,076 lines in Nôm, an ancient Vietnamese ideographic script, by the blind poet Nguyễn Đình Chiểu of Bến Tre Province.

Chiểu’s poem centres on the topics of love, loyalty, bravery and fair justice. It is used in textbooks for secondary high school students.

Tiên Nga first staged by the private drama troupe IDECAF in HCM City in 2017. The musical drama of Vietnamese song and dance left a very strong impression on audiences after 40 shows.

Unlike the original version, the play focuses on female characters.

“I want to highlight the beauty of Vietnamese women,” said the play’s director and Meritorious Artist Thành Lộc, who has more than 50 years in the industry,   

Lột spent a large sum on making costumes, light and sound effects. He invited composer and music producer Đức Trí, a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston in the US, to create more than 15 songs for the play.

“Costume designers and specialists in sound and light have added realistic elements to the play through beautiful clothes, accessories and interior design suited to the play’s theme,” Lộc said.

For the show tonight, Lộc uses veteran actors Hữu Châu and Bạch Long, cải lương stars Quế Trân and Trinh Trinh, who will perform with the support of the orchestra.

These actors have high-quality voices and performance skills.

“They will touch the hearts of audiences,” said Lộc, who plays a minor role in the production.   

The musical will be staged at 8pm tonight and at 4pm on Sunday at Bến Thành Theatre, 6 Mạc Đĩnh Chi Street, District 1.—VNS