Monkey: Journey to the West May 22, 2008

An inspired marriage between the arts of ancient China and contemporary Western popular culture, 'Monkey: Journey to the West' is a dazzling adaptation of a 400-year-old classic of Chinese literature. In Monkey, a cast of more than 60 Chinese opera performers, gravity-defying acrobats and martial arts performers animate the fabled peregrinations of the Monkey King in a heady mix of adventure, mystery and magic. Damon Albarn, former front man of the British pop band Blur and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz composed the music, an exhilarating melange of east and west, pop and classical. Jamie Hewlett, Albarn's co-creator from Gorillaz, is responsible for the fantastical visual concept of the show which includes animation and literally hundreds of enchanting costumes. The celebrated Chinese director Chen Shi Zheng has harnessed these many talents into a visual and aural feast that The Times of London called "a piece of musical theater of the most spectacular kind."