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Mabel Sieh

When Rick Lau first met Marsha Yuan, both knew it wasn't just by chance.
In May, the two veteran performers sat down at a cast meeting for the theatre production I-Ching, which premiered in Los Angeles in September, and they connected immediately.
"I believe we all meet people in our lives for a reason," says Yuan, a Chinese-American singer, dancer and actress, and former Miss Hong Kong first runner-up in 1999.
"When we met, I knew we were meant to do something together," says Lau, a locally born Australian cabaret and theatre singer who has performed in Hong Kong and overseas.
The on-stage chemistry they shared in I-Ching  inspired Lau to initiate another collaboration.
"I was planning my own cabaret show for November and I thought: why not do it together?" he says.
And so When Rick Met Marsha … a Cabaret was born.
"The story is about two lost souls finding themselves through the help of each other over a 12-step cooking class," Lau says.
"I'm a girl who's come back to Hong Kong to escape my controlling parents and boyfriend. But I'm not sure what I want after being back," says Yuan.
"And I'm someone who's obsessed with the idea of getting married. But I'm with a partner who isn't the commitment type," Lau says.
The two characters join a cooking class for different reasons: Marsha wants to meet some new people while Rick hopes to enhance his cooking skills to make his partner "want" to marry him.
They have sprinkled in a few personal touches, including the uneasy feeling of "not fitting in" with their "half-Chinese-half-western" identity.
"I've been back from Sydney for four years but I don't feel I'm totally Chinese yet. I feel the pressure of needing to conform, to be like everyone else or you'll be judged," Lau says.
Yuan has similar experiences. "Growing up in America, I felt inferior being Chinese and often wished I was a blonde with blue eyes. I cried once in an audition when I was asked to play a Japanese girl with a broken English accent; it was so stereotypical," she says.
Their journey unfolds on stage, as it has in real life, and they finally see that it is okay to be different and the most important thing is to find their passions.
"And when they've found themselves, they will meet the right person in life," Lau says.
The story is "honest and uplifting" and many will find it easy to related to.
"And you might just get lucky and try Marsha's signature home-made chocolate banana cake after the show," Lau says with a wink.
Mabel Sieh
2 Lower Albert Rd, Central, Thu-Dec 1, 8pm, HK$220. Inquiries: 2521 7251


Arts Preview: When Rick met Marsha … a Cabaret

Marsha Yuan and Rick Lau are kindred souls. Photo: Lowell Lo

Lifestyle

Arts

When Rick Lau first met Marsha Yuan, both knew it wasn't just by chance.
In May, the two veteran performers sat down at a cast meeting for the theatre production I-Ching, which premiered in Los Angeles in September, and they connected immediately.
