Will musicals be money printers?

After many years of stagnation, the Vietnamese stage is finding a new vitality in the form of musicals. A series of plays are constantly selling out, and theaters are competing to stage musicals. Although some people are skeptical that this is a short-term trend, others predict that it is the beginning of a real entertainment industry.

Singing everywhere

After a pandemic freeze, 2022 marks the start of a new wave opera exploded in Vietnam. The Youth Theatre was the pioneer in continuously bringing to the stage plays such as Trai hoa vang, Roi toi se lon, Song. Typically, Song, inspired by Xuan Quynh's poetry, attracted a large audience, creating a new excitement for the stage picture that had not been very brilliant for many years.

Although coming later, the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet has delved deeper into classic versions such as Les Misérables, The Rite of Spring... with the support of modern technology. Moreover, many private units such as Buffalo and Idecaf have also quickly caught the trend, staging Chicago, High School Musical, Snow of Saigon, Tien Nga... focusing on young audiences. The regular appearance of musical clubs at schools confirms that the need to enjoy this genre is gradually spreading widely.

“Chi Pheo's Dream” is considered Vietnam's first Broadway musical.

The most resounding mark of the Vietnamese brand musical came in the last 6 months of 2024 called Chi Pheo's Dream, a work called "Vietnamese Broadway" performed by Thang Long Music and Dance Theater. With the script of Dinh Tien Dung, music of Duong Cam, art direction of Phung Tien Minh and People's Artist Tan Minh, the work is like someone put the entire set of dialogue, music, dance and stage lights into a blender, pressed the Broadway button, and thus created a stunning and captivating evening.

After only nearly half a year of performances from December 2024 to mid-2025, the play has "sold out" many nights and become a "ticket fever" in Hanoi . The shows at Ho Guom Theater on June 6-7, 2025 continue to attract a large audience. According to the production unit DuongCamART, the play has continuously achieved an almost absolute occupancy rate, while the "teaser" clips on social networks have attracted millions of views and positive comments.

According to producer Duong Cam, this is a milestone that paves the way for the Vietnamese musical brand to reach out to the world . The success in ticket sales, along with the "Excellent" award and a series of Gold/Silver Medals at the National Music and Dance Festival have partly affirmed the "timely" direction of Chi Pheo's Dream.

In line with the saying “once it blooms, it flourishes”, Vietnamese musicals have expanded their themes to almost every field. Previously, the plays Red Aspiration (honoring Uncle Ho’s soldiers) and The Rider (President Ho Chi Minh) exploited historical themes, with strong “political” elements but still applied eye-catching sound and image technology, also creating significant attention from the public. The children’s market that does not want to be left behind has continuously launched: The Old Fisherman and the Shark, Zorba the Detective Cat, Elsa’s Party, The Story of Trong Thuy and My Chau…, adding another entertainment option for young audiences.

The rise of the entertainment industry?

Children's musical "The Old Fisherman and the Shark".

It was not until The Dream of Chi Pheo that many people placed their hopes on Vietnamese musicals. Before that, since 2013, two plays, Corner of Fame and Last Summer Night, by young director Nguyen Phi Phi Anh, had stirred up the dormant land called musicals in Vietnam. Phi Anh’s success also made many people predict that “not long from now” Vietnamese musicals could find their way to tour the world. Of course, that prediction has not come true, because the “not long from now” milestone has lasted for more than a decade.

The professional musical model requires a large investment: scriptwriters, musicians, choreographers, lighting, sound, dancers... Meanwhile, infrastructure such as the Hoan Kiem Theater and the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet are under pressure. Many people are worried that if they do not achieve a stable enough ticket volume, this genre will easily fall into the "loss-bearing" trap. Some plays, despite their good artistic quality, are still under pressure from revenue.

Assessing the future of musicals, author Chu Thom is optimistic: "Musicals attract audiences and are no longer an academic genre, thanks to the development of stage technology and changes in taste, especially the young generation accepting pure Vietnamese musicals."

In a talk with Vietnamese students, the Cultural Ambassador of the US Department of State, Michael Parks Masterson, commented: “When Broadway musicals were staged in Asian countries (Japan, Korea, Thailand, etc.), they were successful; if Vietnamese musicals have the right direction, they will create products of international quality and serve domestic audiences well.”

Researcher Nguyen Khoa believes that Vietnamese musicals are on the right track in attracting young audiences and boldly innovating in form. However, he emphasizes: “If we only stop at renewing the form and avoid contemporary themes, the stage will still lack depth and not truly create its own identity.” According to him, the sustainable direction for Vietnamese musicals is to combine modern spirit with contemporary life materials, reflecting the burning issues that are affecting society.

Sharing the same view, director Phung Tien Minh believes that Vietnamese musicals will not be able to go the long way if they only follow the market effect. “If you want to have a loyal audience and build a career, you have to create products that can touch the emotions of Vietnamese people and have the ability to go out into the region,” he said. According to Phung Tien Minh, the future of Vietnamese musicals will lie in works that are associated with Vietnamese culture, but are processed with modern language and new performance technology, instead of following the Broadway stereotype.

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/nhac-kich-se-la-may-in-tien-3363320.html