{"id":1779,"date":"2009-03-23T05:30:10","date_gmt":"2009-03-23T09:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.geneveith.com\/?p=1779"},"modified":"2009-03-23T05:30:10","modified_gmt":"2009-03-23T09:30:10","slug":"das-kapital-the-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"“Das Kapital” the Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A Chinese production company is turning \u201cDas Kapital\u201d\u2013the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets forth the foundations of communism\u2013into a Broadway-style musical! China to bring Das Kapital to life on Beijing stage |guardian.co.uk<\/a>:<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve read the book, attended the seminars and pondered the accumulation of surplus value \u2013 now see the musical.<\/p>\n

Chinese producers are attempting to transform Das Kapital from a hefty treatise on political economy into a popular stage show, complete with catchy tunes and nifty footwork.<\/p>\n

Whether Karl Marx would approve of his masterwork being served up as entertainment for China\u2019s new bourgeoisie is a matter of speculation. But the director He Nian \u2013 best known for his stage adaptation of a martial-arts spoof \u2013 has promised to unite elements from Broadway musicals and Las Vegas shows in a hip, interesting and educational play featuring a live band, singing and dancing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe particular performance style we choose is not important, but Marx\u2019s theories cannot be distorted,\u201d he said sternly, in an interview with the Wen Hui Bao newspaper.<\/p>\n

Zhang Jun, an economics professor at Shanghai\u2019s prestigious Fudan University, is being drafted in to ensure the production is intellectually rigorous.<\/p>\n

The director said the play, which is to open next year, will be set in a company and will document the progress of its workers. In the first half they realise their boss is exploiting them and begin to understand the theory of surplus value. But far from uniting, as Marx enjoined them in the Communist Manifesto, some continue to work as before, some mutiny and others employ collective bargaining.<\/p>\n

Yang Shaolin, the general manager of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre, said that in the past it would have been difficult to imagine Das Kapital adapted into a play with \u201cmain characters, major dramatic elements, and profound educational meaning\u201d, but that it was now possible thanks to the flourishing of different styles in Chinese theatre.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Communism is back! As a pop culture commodity! That will suit it better to our times than its previous drab, militaristic image of the cold war. Communism set to music, with an entertaining story and a glamorous vibe! I think it will catch on. <\/p>\n

China may have found a version of communism that \u201cworks,\u201d which will appeal greatly to America\u2019s new official philosophy of pragmatism. If a system could only bring us economic security, Americans today would surely be fine with setting aside our liberties and our principles. Maybe the communists will bury us after all!<\/p>\n

HT: Strange Herring<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Chinese production company is turning \u201cDas Kapital\u201d\u2013the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets forth the foundations of communism\u2013into a Broadway-style musical! China to bring Das Kapital to life on Beijing stage |guardian.co.uk: You\u2019ve read the book, attended the seminars and pondered the accumulation of surplus value […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,28,32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economics","category-literature","category-music"],"yoast_head":"\n"Das Kapital" the Musical<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Chinese production company is turning "Das Kapital"--the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\""Das Kapital" the Musical\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Chinese production company is turning "Das Kapital"--the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cranach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-03-23T09:30:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gene Veith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/\",\"name\":\"\\\"Das Kapital\\\" the Musical\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-03-23T09:30:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-03-23T09:30:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\"},\"description\":\"A Chinese production company is turning \\\"Das Kapital\\\"--the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"“Das Kapital” the Musical\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/\",\"name\":\"Cranach\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1\",\"name\":\"Gene Veith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gene Veith\"},\"description\":\"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\"Das Kapital\" the Musical","description":"A Chinese production company is turning \"Das Kapital\"--the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\"Das Kapital\" the Musical","og_description":"A Chinese production company is turning \"Das Kapital\"--the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/","og_site_name":"Cranach","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","article_published_time":"2009-03-23T09:30:10+00:00","author":"Gene Veith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gene Veith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/","name":"\"Das Kapital\" the Musical","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website"},"datePublished":"2009-03-23T09:30:10+00:00","dateModified":"2009-03-23T09:30:10+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1"},"description":"A Chinese production company is turning \"Das Kapital\"--the treatise by Marx and Engels that expounds the internal contradictions of capitalism and sets","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2009\/03\/das-kapital-the-musical\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"“Das Kapital” the Musical"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/","name":"Cranach","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/f9ca8670bcc51908a78994c0484dbfa1","name":"Gene Veith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/054d79faea5d476edd8f99e5f14fb17f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gene Veith"},"description":"Gene Edward Veith, Jr. is a writer and retired literature professor, serving as Provost Emeritus at Patrick Henry College. He has authored over 25 books on Christianity and culture, literature, classical education, and theology. Dr. Veith previously held academic and editorial roles at Concordia University Wisconsin and WORLD Magazine. A respected voice in Lutheran and classical education circles, he holds a Ph.D. in English and several honorary doctorates. He and his wife, Jackquelyn, live in St. Louis and have three children and twelve grandchildren.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/cranachblog\/","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Gene_Edward_Veith"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/author\/geneveith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1281"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}