A Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong About Donald Trump

About a month and a half ago in Hong Kong, as I left the Yau Ma Tei metro station I noticed an advertisement for the new Cantonese opera "Trump On Show".

Yes, this really exists:

Start with a performer playing President Trump. Then bring in a long-lost brother who was raised in China.

Throw in castmates portraying a ping-pong-loving Mao Zedong, a deal-seeking Kim Jong Un, Ivanka Trump and Mao’s power-hungry fourth wife.

They are singing. Opera. In Cantonese.

And, well, it’s complicated.

For more about those complications, read Mary Hui's piece about the Trumpian opera in The Washington Post, which includes some perspectives from the opera's creator, Li Kui-ming:

Li also studied the president’s quirks and habits — his penchant for fast food and television-watching habits — to develop Trump’s character.

Li, however, was struck by similarities between Mao and Trump.

“What they share in common is they both started a cultural revolution,” Li said.

Oh boy.

Trump wasn't the only Republican U.S. politician that I recently noticed in Hong Kong. Admittedly, it was a bit confounding to turn around at a bus stop in Kowloon Bay and think "Is that really Dick Cheney?".

I don't expect to attend any "Trump on Show" performances, which opens April 12, or have anything worth saying about the movie "Vice". So this post is probably all you'll find about them here. I will update if I see any indications of a Hong Kong musical about George W. Bush though.