Best of Chinese Pop Songs Broadway Musical: THE SECRET《不能说的秘密音乐剧》

We have attended mainly Western Broadway musicals in Singapore and this is the first time we watched a Chinese Pop Music Broadway musical. Our first thought was would this musical live up to the standard of the other Award Winning Western musicals? After watching the Chinese musical, THE SECRET, we are pleased to say that the answer to this question is a resounding yes!!!

Jay Chou is currently one of the top Chinese pop stars in the world today. Most of us would be familiar with his songs and this musical is actually based on the movie, Secret directed and also acted by Jay Chou, himself in 2007.

THE SECRET is a ground-breaking collaboration between Base Entertainment Asia and Perfect World Pictures, the organiser of The Invincible 2 Jay Chou Concert Tour 2018. This is Jay Chou’s first musical featuring his much loved songs with original script and story line based on his hit movie which grossed USD10 million box office in 2007 and won many awards including Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year, Best Original Song and Best Visual Effects at the 44th Golden Horse Award.

Cao Yang as Ye Xiang Lun (L) and Wang Xiao Min as Lu Xiao Yu (R) 

THE SECRET’s storyline is based on two high school teenagers, the male lead, Xiang Lun (performed by Cao Yang), is a music student majoring in piano, recently transferred into this new school where his father is also one of the teachers there.  The school is famous for their musically talented students. In the school, he met a pretty but mysterious female student, Xiao Yu (performed by Wang Xiao Min) and eventually they both fell in love. Unknown to him, she can only be seen by him but not the other students. We shall not reveal too much of the plot, to find out more, please watch the musical. 

The above picture is one of the iconic scenes in the musical where Xiang Lun brings Xiao Yu to the roof top of the music building in the school. The two had an intimate conversation and expressed their love to each other. We can see the strong chemistry between the 2 leads especially when they both sang the classic Jay Chou’s song “Rooftop” passionately. It is such a romantic scene and the song is so memorable that we are humming to the tune of the song even after watching the musical. 

For those of you who had watched the Jay Chou’s movie, Secret, there is a slight difference in the ending as in the movie, Xiang Lun went back 20 years earlier and reunited with Xiao Yu but he is not able to come back to the present day as the music room in the old school building was demolished and thus he stayed in the past and graduated with Xiao Yu 20 years earlier. We prefer the ending in this musical where they both reunited and traveled forward in time to graduate in the present day. The star of the musical, Cao Yang has a strong resemblance to the younger version of Jay Chou.

The two leads performed exceedingly well in their respective roles and it is enjoyable watching them, bringing us much memories of our own high school days.

This 2 hour 20 minutes musical features Jay Chou’s 25 most famous songs including Clear Stars <<星晴>>, Listen to Mother’s Words <<听妈妈的话>>, Simple Love <<简单爱>>, The Tea Grandpa Makes <<爷爷泡的茶>>, Rooftop <<屋顶>>, The Fragrance of Rice <<稻香>>, Nocturnes <<夜曲>>, and Fine Day <<晴天>>, Dandelion’s Promise <<蒲公英的约定>> in addition to hilarious large scale production numbers of Sailors Afraid of Water <<水手怕>> and Cowboy is Very Busy <<牛仔很忙>>.

THE SECRET musical was initiated by Beijing producer, Ivy Zhong of China Boardway Entertainment who invited Jay Chou to the musical theatre stage and then incorporated his songs in this story. The top Broadway team, directed by Tony award-winning director John Rando led the creation of this musical in partnership with the Chinese team.

For those who may not understand the Chinese conversation and songs in the musical, not to worry as there are both English and Chinese subtitles on the screens next to the stage. We had a wonderful and enjoyable night watching THE SECRET as this is a heart-warming musical pepped with comic moments that made us laugh. This musical is suitable for all to watch and also a great way to spend a romantic time with your loved one.

THE SECRET is a musical that celebrated love, passion, friendships and family values and we look forward to more of Chinese Broadway musicals in future! 

Don’t miss this first Chinese musical by pop star, Jay Chou, THE SECRET now showing at Mastercard Theatres for a limited time till 15 April 2018! 

To find out more and to purchase the tickets at SISTIC, please visit: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/secret0418#djT76IE7U2jgrhbK.99

To find out more and to purchase the tickets at Marina Bay Sands, please visit: https://www.marinabaysands.com/entertainment/shows/the-secret.html