Chapter 373 Musical

When Zhou Yan was signing autographs, Zhang Youan pulled Harry Kane aside.

"Harry, when it's almost time to sign, we're going back."

"Wouldn't you like to have dinner together at noon?"

Zhang Youan waved his hand, "I'm still not going to eat."

The lunch meal was not delicious either. It was too formal and a waste of time. It was too simple and shabby. It was unnecessary.

"Isn't this too rude?"

"There is an old saying in China that the friendship between gentlemen is like water. Y came here today just for a simple visit, without any commercial overtones."

"I'm very grateful that he came. I actually never thought about doing commercial activities. I really like his music very much, and our bookstore will always support him."

Zhang Youan glanced in Zhou Yan's direction and said with a smile, "I think he is quite happy. He is both a musician and a writer. He must be interested in a bookstore like yours."

"Speaking of which, I'm a little embarrassed. Although I know Y is a writer, I haven't read any of his literary works."

"It's not your fault. After all, his works have not been published in the United States, and there are not many of them. However, you should have a chance to see his works later."

"Really? Will his previous works be translated into English and published in the United States?"

"It's not a previous work, it's a new novel. It's not finished yet, but if nothing else happens, it will be published next year."

Harry Kane was quite excited when he heard that Zhou Yan's new novel would be published in the United States, "Then I will be able to read his novel next year. By then our bookstore will definitely promote his novel on Twitter."

As he spoke, he also gestured, "I will reserve an entire shelf for his novels on the bookshelf in the front row. This will be the case in six bookstores."

"Thank you so much. I believe that with the promotion of your bookstore, the sales of "Shutter Island" will definitely not be bad."

"Is the new novel called Shutter Island?" Harry Kane asked.

"Well, it's actually a script for a movie. The script has been written a long time ago, and the movie has started to be filmed, so the novel came out very quickly."

"This is another surprise. Will we be able to see this movie next year?"

"Whether you can see the movie next year depends on the speed of the producer. The speed of the novel is easier to control. Once Y has finished the manuscript, we will find a publishing company."

"Have you not decided on the publisher yet?"

"It's not urgent. It doesn't matter if I wait until the novel is finished to find it."

Harry Kane said with a serious face, "This matter cannot be rushed. It is better for the publishing company to confirm it early. This will not only leave room for bargaining for you, but also reserve the time for the publishing company to plan a publicity plan." Time. If a novel wants to sell well, it cannot do without publicity. If the early publicity plan is not done well, it will seriously affect the results after it is released. "

Zhang Youan patted his head and said, "Oh, I forgot. You have worked in a publishing group before, so you know a lot about these things."

"I understand a little bit... Well, let me contact the publishing company for you." Harry Kane took over the matter directly.

Zhang Youan talked for a long time just for this matter, but he still gave in, "This is too much trouble for you."

"No trouble, it's a very simple thing for me."

"In this case, I won't be polite."

…

After visiting Little Bear Bookstore in the morning, Zhou Yan and the others went back to the hotel and went to the concert hall not long after lunch.

Today's concert was still very smooth, with seven encores and seven additional songs.

The next day, the band rushed to Washington, D.C., the capital.

Their route to the United States this time is New York-Washington, DC-Columbia-Atlanta-Houston.

This route basically flies along the coastline and borders of the United States, passing through relatively wealthy cities.

The reason why the last city was set in Houston was that Zhou Yan originally planned to fly from Houston to Mexico.

But in this case, he may not be able to make it to Mexico in time. By the time the concert ends, the "Titanic" crew will most likely have already left for New Scotland.

The performances in Washington, D.C., Columbia and Atlanta were all very successful, the two concerts in New York were very popular, and the Piano Youth Orchestra's US tour also attracted more people's attention.

But when people wanted to buy tickets, they found that the tickets had already been sold out.

As a result, Zhou Yan and the others received a call from the theater on their way to the last stop, Houston. The other party hoped that Zhou Yan and the others could add a few more shows.

Putting the last two performances in Houston is not only convenient for traveling to Mexico, but also because Houston has a strong artistic atmosphere. I heard that tens of thousands of concerts, plays, songs and other artistic activities are held here every year.

Houston's theater district has the second highest seating capacity in the U.S. downtown after New York.

It is also one of the few cities in the United States to have professional, resident performing groups.

The box office for performances in Houston is usually not bad, after all, the music fan base here is large. The theater hopes to increase the number of performances, which is naturally due to the enthusiasm of local music fans.

Zhou Yan regretfully declined the theater's request.

Adding a few performances seems to be a very simple matter, but according to the current situation of the Piano Youth Orchestra, it is not easy.

The US tour has a total of ten performances in five cities, but it only lasts for sixteen days. On average, it takes a little more than three days to visit one city, and one performance every six days.

This intensity is already very high for them. If they want to add a few more performances, the band members will have to rest for a few days in between.

As a result, the time drags on for a long time. If one thing is not done well, they will not be able to finish it until the end of the month.

But Zhou Yan has to go to Canada and has no time to spend here.

Zhou Yan also thought about leaving the orchestra to perform here and going to Canada by himself, but the theater may not agree. After all, Zhou Yan is the guarantee of the box office. If he is not there, the audience's enthusiasm for buying tickets will definitely decrease.

In the future, we can try to let them perform on their own in the United States, but the time has not come yet.

After everyone arrived in Houston, they took a short rest in the hotel and then went to the theater for rehearsal.

Not long after they arrived at the theater, several people approached Zhou Yan.

There were three people in total, one was the director of the theater Kanter, one was Felipe, an official of the theater district, and one named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did not say what he did.

Felipe and Kanter came to see Zhou Yan. In addition to saying hello, they were also trying to get him to stay in Houston and play a few more games.

"Y, you are very popular in Houston. I can guarantee that even if there are ten more games, all the tickets will be sold out within two days." Felipe said with a smile.

"I think it can be sold out in one day." Kanter is more confident than Felipe.

Of course, his confidence did not come out of thin air. The phone calls at their theater have been busy these days, and most people are asking if they can add a few more shows.

Many people even complained that their theaters had too few seats.

The Houston Theater actually has a lot of seats. It can seat more than 2,500 people in total, which is larger than most concert halls.

But the audience just felt it was too small, and they compared it with Radio City, believing that if the Houston Theater had the same number of seats as Radio City Music Hall, there would be more than 7,000 more tickets for the two concerts.

Although the extra 7,000 tickets are still a drop in the bucket, and many people still can't buy them, the audience doesn't think so. They think that as long as there are more than 7,000 more tickets, they can buy them.

Zhou Yan could only express his regret again, "I would also like to perform a few more shows in Houston, but my schedule really doesn't allow it."

Being rejected again, Felipe knew he couldn't keep Zhou Yan, so he could only sigh regretfully, "It would be great if you could stay in Houston for a little longer. The 21st is the opening day of our theater district. By then There will be a lot of tourists here.”

Hearing that they had an open day here, Zhou Yan was quite curious, "How often do you have an open day and what activities are there usually?"

"Our Open Day is an annual traditional project. It is mainly used by major theater groups and theaters to promote the new season performances. We will also invite art groups from various countries to come."

Zhou Yan nodded, "Although I can't participate, the rest of the band can stay."

Felipe's eyes lit up, "That's okay. Your Chinese Embassy in Houston has also been invited, and there is a special exhibition area. Do you want to set up another exhibition area for you?"

Zhou Yan asked: "Can it be arranged next to the original exhibition area in China?"

Felipe shook his head and said, "I'm afraid this won't work. The exhibition area next to it has been determined, so we can only arrange it elsewhere."

Zhou Yan thought for a while and said, "That's okay. Please arrange one for the orchestra. If you need any cooperation, you can talk to our group leader or the team leader."

"no problem."

Although Zhou Yan was not retained, Felipe was quite satisfied with the Piano Boys Orchestra.

The annual opening day is a very important day in the theater district, and Felipe has been busy with it since July.

Whether the Open Day is done well or not will affect the flow of people in the theater area in the new quarter and is directly linked to his political performance.

I believe that the participation of the Piano Youth Orchestra can attract the attention of more audiences.

The few of them chatted for a while, and Jabbar, who had been silent until now, suddenly said, "Y, are you planning a new movie recently?"

Zhou Yan is preparing for a new movie. There are a lot of reports in China, but there are very few reports in the United States. It is normal for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to not know about it.

"I am indeed preparing for a new movie recently, and it will start shooting soon."

Hearing that Zhou Yan was preparing a new movie, Jabbar was very interested, "What kind of movie is it, or is it related to music?"

Zhou Yan shrugged, "In fact, although the new movie has a lot of soundtracks and interludes, the theme is not directly related to the music."

Hearing this, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was very sorry, "That's such a pity. I really like your "Spring of the Cowherd Class". It is a good movie that can cleanse the audience's soul. The music in it also inspired me." A lot of inspiration. I have watched this movie many times, and I can find new highlights every time.”

"thank you for your support."

"Actually, I thought about changing "Springtime of the Cowherd Class" into a musical, but the idea is not mature enough."

Zhou Yan looked at Jabbar suspiciously, guessing the other party's identity.

Only then did Kanter introduce Jabbar's work, "Jabbar is a musical director. Recently, "The Sound of Music" was performed here, and he was the resident director."

Zhou Yan nodded. It turned out to be a musical director. No wonder he said that he wanted to change "Spring of the Cowherd Class" into a musical.

But Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is only a resident director, which makes Zhou Yan less interested. Generally, resident directors are tools, more like on-site managers, and their creative ability is difficult to guarantee.

"It's a good idea to adapt it into a play, but it's quite difficult. The songs I wrote in the movie are probably not enough to support a complete musical."

Movies are different from musicals. Movies have many ways to unfold the story line, but musicals mainly rely on music. If there is a little less music, it will make people feel pale.

There is a lot of music in "The Chorus", but it is not enough to support a complete musical.

"This is the difficulty." Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nodded.

When he first saw "The Chorus", Kareem Abdul-Jabbar felt that this movie was very suitable for adaptation into a musical, but when he actually started to do it, he found that the difficulty was not ordinary.

He needs to consider making the musical more vivid and fitting without destroying the original content of the movie. First of all, more music is needed, and secondly, more thought should be put into the scenery.

He was also very happy to know that Zhou Yan was coming to Houston this time, and specially asked Kanter to bring him to meet Zhou Yan, wanting to see if Zhou Yan had any ideas.

In fact, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar thought that it would be best if Zhou Yan wanted to adapt the movie into a musical, so that things would be simple, and let Zhou Yan write the script and songs himself.

It would be easy for Zhou Yan to do this, because he had seen the musical "The Chorus".

This musical was staged many years after the movie was released. It was adapted by the director himself, and it took a lot of time and effort. The music was also remade and a lot of additions were made.

But Zhou Yan didn't have the heart to do these things now, so he didn't really want to talk to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about the musical at this moment.

He smiled and said, "Maybe in a few years, when I have time, I can consider writing a musical."

After hearing what Zhou Yan said, Jabbar was a little anxious, "It would be a pity if such a good movie is not made into a musical."

"But I really don't have time now."

"Actually..."

Jabbar was about to say something, but Carter next to him interrupted him, "Jabbar, I know it's a pity that such a good work can't be adapted into a musical for the time being, but there are always some regrets in life, right? Y is about to start rehearsing, so let's not disturb him."

"Sorry, I lost my temper." Jabbar sighed slightly, and then smiled and wished Zhou Yan, "I wish your concert will be successful."

"Thank you."

After Jabbar and the others left, Zhou Yan found Fang Xiu and told her about the theater district open day in a few days.

"You stay here for a few days and participate in their open day, which can also be regarded as promoting the orchestra. When the time comes, our embassy will also have an exhibition area in the art center, which should also promote Chinese culture. If they need any help, you should also pay attention."

Fang Xiu was also very happy to hear Zhou Yan asked them to stay for a few more days.

Although they arrived in the United States ahead of time, they did not have a good time in New York before, after all, everyone was on edge before the performance started.

It was different after the performance, and they could walk around Houston in a relaxed state of mind.

"Don't worry, brother, we won't embarrass you."

"Go back and find the leader Zhang Lin to print some promotional brochures, otherwise there will be nothing at the exhibition."

"What to print?"

"Just print some of the glorious deeds of our orchestra."

"I understand, it's just bragging." Fang Xiu smiled.

Zhou Yan rolled his eyes at Fang Xiu, "What bragging, that's called showing yourself realistically... Of course, it's not wrong to brag appropriately."

"Understood, we will make sure to keep the bragging in moderation." (End of this chapter)