【明報專訊】Hi, I am Chattie. I am a cloud. I have been travelling around the world and have seen a lot of people and places. I am fond of watching performances. Do you remember the kinds of performances I like? I have told you I like watching comedies, tragedies and mimes. But I've forgotten to tell you there is another kind of performances I am fond of. They are musicals.

I guess many of you like musicals too. In a musical, actors act, sing, dance and even rap. It is amusing and its light and sound effects are usually fantastic. It suits all kinds of people. People who like reading stories, listening to songs and watching body movements like musicals, and so do they who want to be entertained. Now, I would like to introduce to you three very popular musical shows I love. They are The Sound of Music, The Phantom of the Opera and Les Mis�mrables.

I want to talk about The Sound of Music (《仙樂飄飄處處聞》) first. This musical has won many awards. The songs in it are very popular. Do-Re-Mi is one of the best songs I have ever heard. Maria, the main character, uses it to teach the children she looks after. After Maria leaves the mountain, she brings happiness to people around her with her music. Full of positive energy, all the songs she sings cheer up the audience. The songs are well known and are commonly used outside the theatre. Children sing them in choirs. Adults dance to them at parties.

The Phantom of the Opera (《歌聲魅影》) is a very mysterious musical. It is about a man who lives in the opera house. None sees him because he hides himself in the cellar of the opera. People think there is a phantom because he never shows up. The phantom loves Christine, an opera singer. He secretly helps her get a better role in her show and he wants Christine to love him. Subsequently he finds Christine doesn't love him and he uses different ways to force her to stay with him. The ending of this musical show is incredible. The big chandelier that hangs above the theatre falls down and almost crashes onto Christine. I was shocked the first time I saw it.

In my opinion, Les Mis�mrables (《孤星淚》) is the best musical show. Like The Phantom of the Opera, it was based on a French novel. Its story is not happy but it touches my heart. The main character is Jean Valjean. He gets caught by the police and is jailed for stealing bread for his sister's children. He comes out of prison nineteen years afterwards. With a bishop's help, Jean Valjean gets a second chance of survival. He decides to be a good person. He becomes a factory owner and he saves a very poor girl - Cosette. Unfortunately, the police inspector keeps chasing after Jean Valjean. He takes him for a dangerous criminal who never mends his ways. The story inspires me a lot. It is about love and justice and we should never forget to give people chances to mend their ways. Because Jean Valjean treasures the second chance, he makes up his mind to be a good person and saves many people at the end of the story.

I am looking for more good musicals. I know there are some good ones such as High School Musical, The Lion King and Bent. I should now fly to Broadway and watch them. I will tell you more next time.

■Vocabulary Words

musical (音樂劇)

mysterious (神秘的)

cellar (地窖)

phantom (幽靈)

chandelier (枝形吊燈)

bishop (主教)

criminal (罪犯)

Broadway (百老匯)

◆Jeffrey Chan

．An artist, theatre director and English teacher.

．He is interested in breaking frames in his living, direction and teaching.

．A co-founder of Sparky Creative.

◆Travis Ying

．An artist, theatre stage designer, illustrator and registered teacher.

．He is interested in spotting arts in daily life and he cannot stop sketching at meetings.

．The creator of Chatties and Friends, a co-founder of Sparky Creative.

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