1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Wu Guanzhong and the others knew that Zhou Yan was about to go outside to perform for the audience, so they did not stay there for too long. They chatted briefly with Zhou Yan and then went out together.

After Wu Guanzhong and the others left, Zhou Yan turned around and found the folder containing his music scores, carefully placed the two paintings in it, and saved them.

After doing all this, Zhou Yan led the arranged members out of the concert hall.

There were indeed a lot of people at the entrance of the cultural center today, but the space at the entrance is so small. When Zhou Yan and his friends came to hold a concert before, the entrance was already full. If they wanted to get more people in, they basically had to go to the sea.

Therefore, the number of spectators at the center's entrance this time was not more than during the previous peak period.

However, compared to the last time, there are more seats outside the theater this time, and the seats on both sides are sloped, providing a particularly good view for watching the performance.

In order to make the off-site performances more presentable, the Hong Kong government and the theater have made very thorough preparations.

They took great pains to set up several thousand seats outside, making the scene look a bit like an open-air music theater. The stage in the middle of the theater was also decorated in a very realistic manner, with similar specifications to many open-air concerts.

Of course, the Hong Kong government and the theater have been very restrained. If they wanted, they could build an open-air musical theater in front of the center that could accommodate at least five or six thousand people.

But that would be expensive and would also reduce the number of spectators that could be accommodated.

It is not uncommon to set up a stage and auditorium at the entrance of the center. The best example in the past two years was the open-air performance of Beyond two years ago.

At that time, a circular open-air theater was built on the scene, with more than 6,000 people present and the atmosphere was very good.

However, Beyond's concert charged tickets, so they could do that. The situation at Zhou Yan's concert was completely different.

This time they set up more than a thousand seats and originally wanted to charge admission, but after some discussion, they gave up and finally opened them all for free.

If they collect the receipts, should they share the money with Zhou Yan or not? If they do, how much should they share? If they share too little, will Zhou Yan be unhappy? If they share too much, will they still get any benefit?

The key is that the ticket price cannot be expensive, at least not more expensive than the ticket for the concert itself.

Although tickets can be sold even if they are more expensive than the lowest-priced concert tickets, it will not look good if word gets out.

Originally, inviting the Piano Youth Orchestra and Zhou Yan to hold a concert was a very popular thing. If this happened, all their efforts would be wasted and they would be scolded by the public.

Of the last 1,000 seats, some have been given away and the rest are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Originally, Zhou Yan and his team were planning to add two or three more songs and then end the performance, but seeing that the conditions were so good and the atmosphere was so warm, they added a few more songs.

In the end, Zhou Yan and his team played seven songs outside, and including the intervals, they stayed on the stage for nearly an hour in total, which really delighted the audience.

The audience enjoyed the show, but Zhou Yan and his team were exhausted.

The original concert lasted more than two hours, plus the one hour outside, a total of more than three hours.

Naturally, Zhou Yan was the most tired. The others had to take breaks in between because of the repertoire.

When the orchestra plays, the folk band rests, and when the folk band plays, the orchestra rests.

Although every piece of music was present when the conductor was inside, Yue Lin took a rest after he went outside.

No matter which team performed, Zhou Yan was always there, sometimes playing the flute, sometimes the piano, and sometimes the violin.

Even if he was just playing a triangle, he had to be there.

However, Zhou Yan was in good energy and did not seem particularly tired after performing for more than three hours.

……

When Zhou Yan returned to the hotel, it was almost twelve o'clock. After arriving at the hotel, he found that Jabeur was still in his room.

Seeing Zhou Yan, Jabbar stood up excitedly, "You're back."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "You haven't been staying here since I left, have you?"

"I went to have dinner in the middle."

"Okay." Zhou Yan curled his lips and went straight to pour himself a glass of water, then asked Jabbar: "Would you like some water?"

Jabbar smiled and waved his hand, "No, I just drank."

Zhou Yan took a sip of water and said, "Well, don't worry, I'll drink a glass of water first, and then we can talk. Today's performance was very intense, and I'm a little tired."

Under normal circumstances, Jabeur would have stood up and said leave after hearing Zhou Yan say this.

But he came all the way from the United States, waited from noon to night, and spent so much time and energy, he couldn't leave now.

Of course Zhou Yan also knew that it was impossible to let Jabbar go back under the current circumstances. After drinking a sip of water, he had a good chat with Jabbar.

After drinking the water, Zhou Yan walked over to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and sat down, asking, "After reading the script, what do you want to say?"

“The story is really good, better than I thought it would be.”

Before coming, Jabeur did not have particularly high expectations for the story itself. It was not that he had no confidence in Zhou Yan, but he thought that the script of the musical was much simpler than other texts such as novels and film scripts.

Whether a musical is good or not, the script is actually secondary, and the main thing is the choreography of music and dance.

Over the years, the stories of movies and TV series have been constantly updated, and what audiences like to watch and what directors like to shoot are always different.

Although some classic works are often remade, most of the popular ones nowadays are new works.

But it is different with musicals. Although there have been many new hits in recent years, in fact, the main scripts performed in major theaters every year are still old ones.

The same script, when produced by different teams, feels completely different.

Therefore, when Jabbar read the script of "The Greatest Showman", he was very surprised. The script itself was very well written.

"Do you have any comments?" Zhou Yan asked.

Jabbar thought about it and said, "The story itself must be very good. If all the stories in it can be shown, it must be very good."

Zhou Yan understood the hidden meaning of Jabbar's words.

It’s great that all the stories can be presented, but it just means that some things may not be presented.

Zhou Yan laughed, "This is also the meaning of our communication."

Although Zhou Yan spent time studying the musical, he also made a lot of revisions to the script of "The Greatest Showman" based on the musical.

But he is not a professional after all, and he is unable to take many issues into consideration.

Therefore, the script needs to be checked by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. If the problem is minor, it can be changed slightly. If the problem is major, it will take some time.

Jabbar took out a notebook and said, "Some of the plots in the script are easy to realize if it is a movie, such as the separation between the male protagonist and the girl he loves when he was a child. The transitions written in the script are difficult to realize on the stage of a musical."

Zhou Yan took a look at Jabbar's notebook, which was filled with notes. It was obvious that Jabbar had not been idle during the time he was away. He must have studied the script very seriously.

After a moment's silence, Zhou Yan asked, "You said it's difficult to achieve. Does that mean there is actually a way?"

Jabbar's expression froze: "If we really want to make it happen, it will take a lot of effort and the cost will increase a lot."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Since there is hope, why not give it a try? I hope that the musical we are making now can be top-notch from the beginning, instead of compromising and giving up on many things because they are difficult. If you give up a little here and a little there, you will eventually find that what you make is completely different from what we wanted in the beginning. Success is not achieved through compromise."

Although Zhou Yan said these words with a smile, Jabeur could feel that Zhou Yan was really strict about his work.

Jabbar took a deep breath and nodded, "I'll try here, but there are some places that really can't be made... For example, here, on the day the circus opened..."

Afterwards, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar proposed many areas, some of which had hope of being accomplished, while others he felt were simply impossible to accomplish.

As for the areas where he thought there was hope of success, Zhou Yan had nothing else to say and just asked him to try to do them.

As for those parts that he thought could not be done, if Zhou Yan thought they could be modified or deleted, Zhou Yan would directly let him modify or delete them.

But when encountering some places where the effect was greatly reduced after deletions and revisions, Zhou Yan said to Jabeur, "You may think these places are impossible to do now, but it does not mean that they are really impossible. Musical has been developed for so many years, and the technology is also constantly developing. Things that everyone thought were impossible decades ago, people now find that they are not difficult. If traditional stage technology is difficult to achieve, we can also consider introducing other technologies - such as film technology."

“I don’t know much about film technology.”

"The ending of the movie is just an example I gave. You still have to study the specific technology to use. I still say that you should not give up any possibility easily. Many great works were born because of this kind of persistence. Perhaps many years later, when you recall this scene today, you will be glad that you made the decision." Zhou Yan painted a big picture for Jabbar.

Although this pancake is simple, it works for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Jabbar had high expectations for this musical. He certainly had many aspirations, including that he would enjoy flowers and applause after the success of "The Greatest Showman".

What Zhou Yan said now was piercing into his heart.

Yes, if you think that something is difficult to do and try to avoid it from the beginning, the resulting work will be of poor quality.

A discounted work is not what he wants.

If I just want a mediocre work, I might as well go back and continue to be the resident director of "The Sound of Music".

Jabbar gritted his teeth and nodded, "No problem, I will try my best to do these things."

Zhou Yan laughed. "That's right. You just said that you don't know much about film technology. That's okay. We can talk more about it in the future. Maybe I can give you some technical advice. Maybe we can research some technology and create a precedent."

"Well, I will definitely work hard." Jabbar nodded, then looked at Zhou Yan eagerly, "Then the music in here..."

Zhou Yan shrugged and said, "It's so late now, I can't show you the music. How about this, you go back home and have a good rest tonight, and come to me tomorrow morning, and I'll take you to listen to music."

Jabbar was still somewhat reluctant to go back, but he also knew that what Zhou Yan said made sense.

It's already twelve o'clock, and Zhou Yan hasn't recorded all the music in advance. Even if Zhou Yan is willing to perform with musical instruments, it wouldn't be appropriate so late at night.

If he continues to stay here, he won't be able to hear the concert.

Besides, it was so late, and Zhou Yan really needed to go to bed.

"Can I come see you tomorrow morning at 7:30?"

"No problem." Zhou Yan nodded, "Just come and knock on my door tomorrow morning."

After confirming the time, Jabbar asked again, "Can I hear the music tomorrow morning? How much can I hear?"

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and said, "At least you can listen to half of it, but you have to be mentally prepared. It may not be a very rich version, and it may only be a solo."

"No problem, even a solo is enough."

Jabbar doesn't have high requirements, as long as he can hear the melody, as for the richness, that is not the most important thing.

"In that case, let's see you tomorrow."

"Well, see you tomorrow."

……

The next morning, Zhou Yan had just brushed his teeth and washed his face and came out of the bathroom when there was a knock on the door.

He looked at his watch. It was exactly half past seven.

This guy Jabbar is really punctual. Must he have been waiting at the door in advance? Otherwise, how could he be so punctual?

After opening the door, Jabbar stood at the door and said with a smile, "Good morning."

"Well, good morning."

Seeing Jabbar's energetic look, Zhou Yan felt ashamed of himself.

Although Zhou Yan attended a concert that lasted more than three hours yesterday, Jabbar came all the way from the United States.

For most people, after traveling such a long distance, going to work as soon as they get here, and going to bed late last night, it would be difficult for them to be in such a good mental state the next day.

"Have you had breakfast?"

"I had a cup of coffee."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Coffee is not breakfast. I ordered breakfast. Would you like to have some together later?"

"No thanks." Jabbar wanted to ask when he could hear the music from "The Greatest Showman", but he was embarrassed.

You can't tell Zhou Yan not to eat breakfast.

Zhou Yan knew what he was thinking and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I have an appointment at a recording studio, we'll go there at 8:30."

"You actually made an appointment in the recording studio in advance?" Jabbar asked in surprise.

It was already late at night when they finished chatting last night. Can they still make an appointment to meet in the recording studio at that time?

"I made an appointment in advance to help a friend record a song at the recording studio. I'll take you there and let you listen to the music from The Greatest Showman."

Zhou Yan is going to record "Trouble Song" with Sam Hui today, so he can borrow the recording studio to show Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the music from "The Greatest Showman". (End of this chapter)