After over a decade, The Tale of the Gifted Prince is set to premiere this Friday, right here in Calgary.
On Feb. 20, Theatre Calgary will host the world premiere of the musical The Tale of the Gifted Prince, featuring an all-Asian cast from across Canada and the US.
Based on the novel The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen by Lloyd Alexander, the production takes place in a kingdom on the edge of rebellion and follows the title character, Prince Jen, while he embarks on a quest to save his father’s throne.
Lezlie Wade, who wrote the show’s script and song lyrics, said the piece is the brainchild of her and her co-creator Daniel Green, who composed the music.
“Dan had read this book when he was a kid, and he thought it would make a great 10-minute musical. When we adapted that, and it was really successful, we decided to expand it and turn it into a full-length musical,” she said.
“That was about 11 years ago, and the show was supposed to get a premiere here in 2021, but then COVID hit, and so it got parked.”
After a few re-writes and tweaks, the story is now finally ready to hit the stage.
Wade said that the all-Asian, mostly Canadian cast was no accident.
“The original book takes place in a mythological Asian country or kingdom, so it was really important for us to continue that in the storytelling, we didn’t want to change it into anything else,” she told LWC.
“But that said, I do think the show transcends beyond that and that people coming to see it will not get hung up on that. It’s a story for anyone and pretty quickly you realize that it does have a lot to offer.”
Story of following your dreams
Kelvin Moon Loh, who plays King Tai, Prince Jen’s father, and Lao Hu, a tiger who has come to life, among other characters, said this experience has stood out in his career.
“I want to celebrate this all Asian Canadian, Asian American cast. That’s a really special thing that doesn’t happen very often. This story is a beautiful, universal story about following your dreams,” Loh said.
“When an audience comes to see the show, I hope they walk out singing some beautiful tunes, but also feel inspired to follow their passion and what they think would bring the most value to their lives.”
The production began previews on Valentine’s Day and fully opens later this week. Loh said the early crowds have been very warm.
“I’m so excited (for our opening), the audiences have been so warm to the show already. You don’t know how the audience is going to react on the first show, and when we’re always rehearsing in the studio or on stage, you don’t have that final ingredient, which is the audience,” he said.
“Having them come in and laugh at the jokes and really show their support and love the piece validates all the work that we’ve been doing, and makes me super pumped.”
Being from New York City, Loh has seen the highest highs of theatre. In his some-30 days in Calgary, he said the city has really exceeded his expectations.
“Calgary is a world-class city,” he said.
“I’m so impressed by the facilities that Calgary has, the major support that’s here, I mean, this is a huge production, and I was completely surprised by how beautiful the sets are, how beautiful the costumes are. There are certainly differences between Canadians and Americans personality-wise, but the production value of the show is about as large as anything that I’ve seen on Broadway.”
The Tale of the Gifted Prince will end its Calgary run on March 15. Tickets can be found here.
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