Words by Artistic Director- 2026 NTT Summer Fun Time
Finding a Sense of Belonging in Summer FUN Time
As the National Taichung Theater marks its 10th anniversary, we revisit a musical by Stephen Sondheim this summer. Among the many classics by the legendary composer, COMPANY, which premiered in 1970, speaks with striking clarity to both the freedom we long for and the loneliness we fear. In a time when we are more connected than ever, the musical continues to resonate deeply with the emotional landscape of younger generations today.
In the Korean musical Navillera, a gifted ballet dancer facing hardship finds his way back to a sense of self. In the Hakka pop musical Someday Over the Rainbow, a child long estranged from home is drawn back to Miaoli by his grandmother, where forgotten family memories begin to resurface. In Tales of Success: the Return of a Prodigal Son, a Taiwanese rap musical, an artist living alone in Taipei sings, "I wish my dad could come see the show I made," while the very idea of success leaves him feeling suffocated.
In the mythic world of The Legend of Queer and Divine, the protagonist Chaos exists beyond categorization, burdened by the pain of never quite belonging or being fully accepted. At the end of Don't Cry, Dancing Girls the Musical, the final Qian-wang-ge, a traditional Taiwanese ritual chant for guiding the dead, sings, "Take good roads, make good steps. You won't be lonely with me by your side." expressing the sisters' longing for their father and their lingering guilt toward their family.
Amid the noise of countless voices, The Voice invites us into the world of the Deaf community, teaching us new ways of listening. Meanwhile, the solo rock musical Liar King uses biting satire to peel back the layers of sincerity and deception in politics, reminding us of the sense of loss that lingers when what we care for disappears.
Alongside stories of belonging and recognition sought by adults, we have also included performances that speak to children's longing for companionship and comfort. In the family production How The Moon Found His Friends, adapted from a picture book, a lonely moon travels through space in search of a friend. Yet even after arriving on Earth and meeting its animals, the moon must still learn how to build friendships.
In The Little Flower King, a king fills his garden with tulips, but still cannot escape his loneliness. And so, he sets off on a journey in search of a princess. The protagonists of these ten summer productions each reveal their vulnerabilities and lay bare their innermost selves before the audience. Through every journey of searching and becoming, we invite you to step into the theater with us and sing together: Being Alive!
—LEE Huey-mei, General and Artistic Director, National Taichung Theater