“Siddhartha: The Musical” Presented in CHCH

Adapted from Fo Guang Shan Founder Master Hsing Yun's “Biography of Sakyamuni Buddha”, the Siddhartha Musical was held for the first time in Christchurch, New Zealand at the Isaac Theatre Royal upon invitation from Fo Guang Shan New Zealand on the 10th of May. Two shows were held, one at 2.30pm for a group of 400 students coming from 5 local schools; the other at 7.30pm for the Christchurch public with over 1000 guests attending the performance.

Amongst the distinguished guests present that day, we have the head Abbess of Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Philippines and Chancellor of FGS Buddhist College Venerable Yung Guang, the FGS Oceania Head Abbess Venerable ManKo, FGS New Zealand Venerable Abbess Manshin, Buddha's Light International Association (BLIA) Headquarter Director Domique Cheung, BLIA North Island New Zealand Elder Advisor Dolly Tsai, BLIA South Island New Zealand President SeeShen Lee, BLIA North Island New Zealand President LinTao Yu, Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China, Christchurch ZhiJian, Jin, Japanese Embassy's Information and Cultural Centre representative Maureen Heffernan, Christchurch's Sister City in Japan – Kurashiki City Commitee member David Bolam-Smith, Christchurch City Council Post-Earthquake Rebuild Project Manager Peter MacGibbon, New Zealand Red Cross Canterbury Area Manager Carol Ball, University of Canterbury Professor Michael F. Reid, University of Canterbury's Music School Adjunct Associate Professor David Sell, Christchurch's PEETO English Language College Director Patrick O’Connor, St Mark's Methodist Church Reverend Andrew Donaldson, the Anglican Parish of Merivale St. Albans Reverend Rory Redmayne, numerous local government and business representatives, Australian and New Zealand BLIA members and so on.

“Siddhartha: The Musical” is composed from a cast of about 40 people, all of whom are students of the Guang Ming Buddhist College's Theatre and Performing Arts programme or local performers in the Philippines. The show is directed by Sarah Mae Enclona-Henderson, and supportively led by FGS Philippines Head Abbess Yung Guang. The musical is an accumulation of a decade of hard work, and has been staged in the Philippines, Taiwan, United States, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau to a total of 70 times, resonating all over the world and resulting in an unprecedented level of positive reviews. The show here in Christchurch was co-organized by FGS and BLIA South Island New Zealand, and is cast both to celebrate the reopening of the FGS Christchurch temple after 3 years of reconstruction work, and as a heartfelt blessing and morale boost to Christchurch City's rebuilding process after five years since the big earthquake.

Prince Siddhartha's story - from birth to his renunciation of his royal status to become a monk, until enlightenment and into nirvana – is depicted vividly by the actors entrancing dances and singing, winning the applause of the New Zealand audience. No matter what age, the show takes the viewer back to the monarchy life of ancient India, and allows them to hear the Buddha's “Four Noble Truths” and “Noble Eightfold Path”, experiencing the Buddha's Dharma in a spiritual setting.

For the grand finale, the whole cast danced to the tune “We Are One”, thus ending the show on a cheerful and wonderful note. After two long consecutive shows that day, the recognition, acknowledgment, amasment and applause from the audience was all the more important to the actors, who said they felt: “Truly happy and touched”.
Chancellor of FGS Buddhist College Venerable Yung Guang said that because of Venerable Master Hsing Yun's cultivation of the “Siddhartha Family” performers, not only has it further developed the Filipino cast's intrinsic talent of music and dance, it has also pushed “Siddhartha: The Musical” to the world stage. The “Siddhartha Family” through participating in these multiple shows, has also gone through a positive life transformation. FGS New Zealand Venerable Abbess Manshin also pointed out that 90% of the cast are actually Catholic youths. To let them depict the life of the Buddha, is testimony to the wisdom of our teacher the Buddha, the compassion of Venerable Master Hsing Yun, and the cross cultural significance of music and art. It is nothing short of remarkable that “Siddhartha: The Musical” can go beyond borders, cultures and religions, to achieve this high level of quality and impact on the world.