WHEN Tan Tianjiao posted a recruitment notice online in January, looking for like-minded people for her graduate musical project in London, she wanted her musical to be different from other student productions.

As a postgraduate majoring musical theater at Goldsmiths, University of London, Tan stamped the project with her own brand of determination and skill.

“Gabrielle,” the one-hour musical that Tan and her team finally staged in October, centers around the founder of the luxury brand Chanel — Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel.

“From the beginning, I wanted this musical to be different, with better stage design and props. Actors wear costumes that actually correspond to the era of the play,” says the 25-year-old producer.

“As I have participated in some professional musical productions in China, such as ‘Once Upon a Time in Fudeli,’ I established the standards for our project,” says Tan.

“Everything, from the music to costumes, was created by ourselves,” Tan says proudly, adding that a documentary of the musical has also been produced and will be released soon.

As a legend in the fashion world, Chanel has been featured in many books and films, but stories focusing on her obscure early days are few. It was the coming-of-age story of how the young Gabrielle became the legendary Chanel that interested Lyu Yunqian, writer of the musical.

“I’m fascinated by the controversy surrounding the so-called moral wrongness of Chanel’s early life, which I personally believe is more about courage and creativity than outrageousness,” Lyu says. “This kind of sophistication overwhelmed me while I was writing it. Hopefully, that will be the one thing that lingers in everyone’s mind after watching the musical.”

The production recounts Chanel’s story, starting from when she was admitted to an orphanage following the death of her mother. It also shows her singing in bars to make money, the romances she had with her benefactors and her early business selling hats.

Marcia Davies, who plays the lead role of Chanel, says: “Gabrielle’s mother died when she was a little girl, so Gabrielle worked very hard and had a burning ambition when it came to business. The story focuses on Gabrielle trying to find her way in life.”

Lyu, also pursuing a master’s degree in musical theater at Goldsmiths, says overcoming the language barrier was very difficult when she was writing the lyrics and melodies for the songs.

Yang Hanlin, music director and composer, also a student at Goldsmiths, says that 12 original numbers were composed, one French song “Qui Qu’a Vu Coco” was rearranged, and a band was assembled in such a short time.

“Limited resources prompted us to explore different techniques and approaches to the composition process,” Yang says. “In the end, we achieved a satisfactory sonority while each number only required simple technical proficiency from the instrumentalists.”

During the past eight months of preparation, the production team grew from a four-person squad into a 50-strong group, covering areas from scriptwriting, music, choreography and casting to stage, lighting and costume design. They also designed souvenirs and developed a website to market the musical.

Li Guangyu, director of the musical, says that despite the short rehearsal time, all the cast did a good job. “We wanted the musical to show many different possibilities in the growth of a woman, and that growth is a very complex process for everyone,” Li says. “We hope our show helped audience members to understand the emotional process of a girl’s coming-of-age.”

The musical was a success, far exceeding the standard of a student project. It ran twice at the university’s George Wood Theater on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, and had a performance at the Greenwood Theater on Oct. 6. Each time, the musical played to a full house.

“I plan to continue working on this musical, making it a two-hour show, and bring it to a bigger stage,” says Tan.

(China Daily)