By Brooklynn Wong
Nestled amongst wholesalers, furniture and appliance stores, parts suppliers and warehouses on Artesia Boulevard in Buena Park is CNL Mannequins, a nondescript warehouse. Google maps gives it the very non-flashy classification of a “window treatment store.”
But what a world, and what a story, the business and its people contain.
Curious? A musical showing at local theaters now will shed some light.
That’s right, “Mannequin Man by Day, Tenor by Night,” or “Tenor by Night” for short, playing in Westminster now and North Hollywood next month, is a musical that James Chiao, the company’s founder—whom as the title suggests has devoted his business life to mannequins but is also a singing enthusiast—wrote after retiring from said mannequin business and at age 65, obtaining his MFA degree in music.
It tells the story of he and his wife’s meeting as laborers in China, then moving to the United States and starting a family and a family business, jazzed up with no small measure of creative liberty and fantasy.
Chiao was born in China, to a musical family. However he grew up during the cultural revolution, in which intellectuals and musicians were often persecuted. He was sent to the countryside to work as a farmer and fisherman.
As much as he wanted to, Chiao could not pursue his music at the time.
But it was there that he met his wife Lily. They moved to the U.S. in 1980 and started CNL in Buena Park. The business became very successful, creating mannequins for major department stores and fashion brands.
In the musical, James practices business by day, and at night, goes home to his wife and two children, but not really. As good-natured and well-intentioned as he is, he spends most of his free time practicing his singing, to the point that it becomes an obsession and something he prioritizes above his family.
Things begin to go awry in the musical when James forgets his own 30th wedding anniversary.
Lily has had enough, and kicks James out. He goes to stay at his warehouse, but not before a villain is introduced—Mike the Magician.
The mysterious man has taken up residence nearby, and befriends James, offering to bring to life all the mannequins in his warehouse, to give him an audience, someone who can appreciate his music.
Mike begins turning James and his family against each other, assuring James that it does him no good to spend time with those who do not appreciate his talent, all the while having a desirous eye on the neglected Lily.
The visuals are captivating, from the flashbacks to the Chinese island village of their origin, to the mannequin warehouse, where shimmering, colorful mannequins come to life and join in the song and dance.
The magician has one especially alluring mannequin he tries to have woo James, Lady Arrogant.
James initially savors the opportunity to have a listening audience, and stays up hour after hour practicing his vocals, but begins to spiral out of control.
Meanwhile the magician turns Lily into a mannequin, the magnificent Lady Yoga, the star of a yoga and active-themed line of mannequins. James begins to notice that there is something familiar about this mannequin, but before he can take action, she is purchased and put on a plane to be at a store opening across the country the next day.
James spontaneously flies across the country and finds Lady Yoga, who gets turned back into his wife.
James, ready to start anew with his family, goes home, ready to prioritize them.
But Lily is also ready to embrace and support his music more, surprising him with having signed him up for the “Amateurs Got Talent” competition, which the family competes on together and wins in the final scene.
All told, “Tenor by Night” is a bizarre, quirky and charming tale that does a good job of twisting together a man’s story and fantastical elements.
Though the lyrics are simplistic and the original songs are unfortunately not too memorable, there are some catchy tunes (see “What are you Singing Tonight?”), and the musical as a whole’s ambition, heart and originality are admirable.
Bits of some opera classics are incorporated, sometimes in their original forms, sometimes with new lyrics superimposed. These include “La Donna E Mobile” by Giuseppe Verdi and “Figaro,” with the same tune but new words, to create a song called “The Mannequin Man.” And the lead, Kevin Gino’s, strong voice pulls them all off nicely.
The cast is a real strength of the musical, with a quality ensemble; a sincere and endearing Alice Ko as Lily; a humorous So Nar as “Grandma,” whose appearances are few but comical; Stefan Alexander Mitchell as a villainous Mike the Magician; and a very impressive Junru Wang as the mannequin-ized version of Lily, Lady Yoga, who performs marvelous stunts, at one point holding a handstand in the background for minutes.
Wang is a former Cirque du Soleil acrobat who holds a Guinness World Record for hand balancing.
“Tenor by Night” came to be when James Chiao graduated with his MFA last year at the age of 67, and he received such a positive response at his graduation recital that he decided to create a whole musical.
James was onhand at the show to greet guests and monitor the production from the house, and at the show’s conclusion, he and the real Lily briefly spoke, thanking the audience and encouraging them to tell their friends to come to the show.
Lily said that people ask if the story is true. Her reply? “I almost kicked him out.”
The musical will next show at The El Portal Theatre at 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sept. 23 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $24-$45. Call the Box Office at 818-508-4200.
