The Poet Show
The BenFeng production, "The Poet Show: Xu Zhimo & His Transfigured Night," is a stunning exploration of the life and poems of iconic Chinese poet Xu Zhimo and music contemporary to the 1920s: Ravel's Piano Trio, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht. Framed by Xu’s famous poem, "I Do Not Know To Which Direction The Wind Blows," the four-act production depicts the poet's internally tumultuous time, the three women who were the pillars of his life, his return to the East with an enlightened mind ready to blossom, and his sudden, untimely death. The production exquisitely intersects East and West, achieving an elegant balance between music, literature, and theater to craft a new narrative style of performing arts.
This production premiered as a concert version in 2015 and was subsequently staged at Taiwan's three most prominent venues: the National Concert Hall in 2017, the National Opera House in 2018, and the National Playhouse at Weiwuying in 2020.
The Poet Show Program
Act I | I Do Not Know
Act II | To Which Direction
Act III | The Wind
Act IV | Blows
Ravel | Piano Trio in A minor
Chan | Fortuity
Pinkard | Sweet Georgia brown
Gershwin | Rhapsody in Blue
Tchaikovsky | None But The Lonely Heart
Schoenberg | Verklärte Nacht
Lee | Farewell to Cambridge
2020 Production of The Poet Show: “Xu Zhimo & His Transfigured Night”
Production Team:
MinTze Wu | Artistic Director
John Maloney | Stage Director
Ethan Wang | Projection Design
Heng-Cheng Lin | Costume Design
Hui-Chen Huang | Make-up and Hair style Design
Ke-Chu Lai | Light Design
Hui Chen | Set Design
Hsien-Ming Fong | Calligrapher
Ya-Chuan Chou | Stage Manager
Jem Moore | Videography
Ensemble:
Fa-Kai Tang | Poet & Tenor
Yi-Chih Lu | Piano
MinTze Wu | Violin
Kuan-Chang Tu | Violin
I-Chen Wang | Viola
Chieh-Yu Lin | Viola
Michael Graham | Cello
Yi-Chung Chang | Cello
Yong-Pei Pan | Bass
Chen-Yin Kao | Clarinet
Evon Chen | Erhu & Percussions
Chang-Hao Huang | Dancer
Chieh-An Huang & Ting-Wei Huang | Dancer
2018 Production of The Poet Show: “Xu Zhimo & His Transfigured Night”
Production Team:
MinTze Wu | Artistic Director
John Maloney | Stage Director
Ethan Wang | Projection Design
Heng-Cheng Lin | Costume Design
Hui-Chen Huang | Make-up and Hair style Design
Ke-Chu Lai | Light Design
Hui Chen | Set Design
Hsien-Ming Fong | Calligrapher
Ya-Chuan Chou | Stage Manager
Jem Moore | Videography
Ensemble:
Fa-Kai Tang | Poet & Tenor
Chih-Long Hu | Piano
MinTze Wu | Violin
Kuan-Chang Tu | Violin
Chieh-Fan Lin | Viola
Chieh-Yu Lin | Viola
Michael Graham | Cello
Yi-Chung Chang | Cello
Chen-Yin Kao | Clarinet
Alex Wu | Erhu & Percussions
Hung-Chen Chung | Dancer
Ting-Wei Huang | Dancer