Meritorious Artist Le Tu (right), who has nearly 20 years in the theatre, one of the four artists to play the role of Thay Ba Doi (Teacher Ba Doi), a cai luong play featuring 50 veteran artists that celebrate 100 years of the art. (Photo courtesy of the producer).

The 150-minute show, Thay Ba Doi (Teacher Ba Doi), portrays the career of famous musician Nguyen Quang Dai, a guru of cai luong who helped develop tai tu music, a genre of traditional music, and cai luong in the South.

The play, which stars talented artists of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre of Hanoi and Tran Huu Trang Theatre of HCM City, will combine both traditional and modern performance styles.

The producers at both theatres have spent a lot for the production, including costumes, sound and light effects, according to Meritorious

Artist Nguyen Trung Kien, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre, one of the play’s four directors.

"We want to satisfy audiences who want to enjoy cai luong with something new," said Kien in a recent interview with HCM City-based Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

"We promise a great spectacle of music and images."

Thay Ba Doi focuses on the career of musician Dai in 1885, when he moved from his birthplace, the central city of Hue, to Saigon (HCM City now) to teach tai tu music.

The play highlights the contributions of Dai in promoting Hue royal music and cai luong.

Four veteran artists, Thanh Tuan, Le Tu, Quang Khai and Xuan Vinh, Director of the Vietnam Cai Luong Theatre, were invited to play the role of Dai.

The work also attracts cai luong stars Que Tran and Vo Minh Luan of Tran Huu Trang Theatre.

"Cai luong will attract younger audiences if it provides a new and modern style," Kien said.

The artists to act Thay Ba Doi

To impress audiences, Kien and his staff have decided to use Meritorious Artist Doan Bang to participate in stage design and making costumes.

The performers have been practicing singing and dance skills for hours each day to provide theatre fans "a great show with strong and melodic voices and appealing and powerful stage presence,” Kien said.

Thay Ba Doi will be staged at 8pm on April 28 and 29 at Ben Thanh Theatre, 6 Mac Dinh Chi street in District 1. It will air live on Viet Nam Television and Ho Chi Minh Television.

It will be staged in Long An Province.

Source: VNA