HEAVENLY King Jacky Cheung, currently touring with his acclaimed musical extravaganza Snow Wolf Lake (SWL), says the only regret he has about the show is that it’s ending – and he can’t find a successor to his role, Wolf. 

“The only regret perhaps is that the musical can’t continue and I can’t find another person to play Wolf.” He says his criteria for the role is simple – he’s looking for someone who can sing and act well and who need not be a famous face. “A good foundation in singing and acting is important as the person can’t be trained in short term to helm the role,” he said.

While Cheung’s female leads have changed since the debut of SWL in 1997 in Hong Kong – they include Kit Chan, Sandy Lam and now Nadia Chan and Evonne Hsu – Cheung has always been the heart and soul of the musical. After all, it was Cheung who created the musical and has been in charge of both the performing and production sides. In a nutshell, he’s synonymous with SWL. For that, his co-star Evonne Hsu candidly but rightly pointed out that no one dares to fill the shoes of the ‘God of Songs’ – a title that Cheung was bestowed after the first ‘God of Songs’ Sam Hui retired from the music scene. “The pressure would be too great!” she said, and to that, Cheung smiled bashfully before breaking into a hearty laugh.

Cheung, together with his two SWL leading ladies, US-bred Taiwanese singer Evonne Hsu and Hong Kong singer-actress Nadia Chan, were at a Press conference cum launch of SWL tickets in Kuala Lumpur recently.

The Mandarin version of the musical kicked off its world tour in Beijing last Christmas and now, Malaysian fans can catch it on Nov 25 and 26 at Putra Stadium, Bukit Jalil.

In person, Cheung, the ‘Heavenly King’ (another title he shares with Andy Lau, Leon Lai and Aaron Kwok) is unassuming and extremely down-to-earth. He entertains every query from the media with good humor, patience and sincerity. Cheung is every bit the squeaky clean ‘Mr nice guy’ people perceive him to be – the devoted husband to former actress May Lo and father of two daughters – five-year-old Zoe and six-month-old Zia.
It’s indeed admirable that Cheung, now 44, has not allowed two decades of success to change his simple and friendly nature.

His two SWL co-stars readily attested to that. Hsu, who was educated in the US, said Cheung gave her tremendous support when she did not feel confident about singing in Mandarin. “I almost broke down at first but then, I got so much encouragement from Jacky and the others. I was given good advice too,” she said. The long-haired Hsu, who plays the leading female role of Snow – who sports a short bob – was relieved that Cheung did not ask her to cut her hair to look the part. “Instead, I wear a wig and sometimes I worry that it might come off,” she laughed. Both Hsu and Chan said it was an amazing experience working on the musical as they learned so much as performers.
Unlike her outgoing roles in TV series, Chan appeared demure and soft-spoken. She echoed Hsu’s sentiments on working with Cheung. “Jacky gave us much encouragement and motivation. When we do something right, he would always smile and gesture with the ‘thumb-up’ sign and that means a lot to us.” Chan, who plays Phoenix, said Cheung was strict only with himself but was lenient with others. “He never raised his voice with us. He only scolds himself,” she said. “Because of that, we don’t want to let him down.”
Cheung, perhaps a little flushed after all the praises from his co-stars, said everyone had done their parts and the audiences’ cheers were what kept them going. “It has been an enriching experience working on Snow Wolf Lake and we have no regrets,” said Cheung.

As the SWL tour comes to an end in January next year with another show in Beijing, what are Cheung’s future plans? “Snow Wolf Lake is just the beginning. I have plans to do two more musicals in the near future,” he said, adding that he is now also working on a new album. Cheung is also on a ‘musical mission’ – he hopes to popularize musicals and make them enjoyable to all. “I hope more people will enjoy musicals, just like how they enjoy pop concerts,” he said.