The Tale of the Gifted Prince mixes layered storytelling and musical excellence to craft a remarkable play
By Ben Read, March 26 2026—
The Tale of the Gifted Prince is a musical produced by Theatre Calgary. It was written by Lezlie Wade and the music was composed by Daniel Green. Prince Ren, the protagonist and titular character, is tasked with stopping the Yellow Scarves; a group of rebels, from taking over his father’s throne. The story is one of growth, where Prince Ren is forced to confront the kingdom’s past mistakes and grow into a leader for his people.
Prince Ren, played by Kennedy Kanagawa, gradually develops from his naive-self into a person befitting of being the kingdom’s ruler. Initially, Prince Ren had none of the qualifications to properly face the Yellow Scarves. He was lacking in agency and was without combat skills. However, as Prince Ren’s journey continues, we see him slowly grow into the role and watch as his maturity comes to match his blossoming skillset.
A lot of Prince Ren’s development is attributed to his relationship with Zhi Hao, played by Kelsey Verzotti, who is a former servant that joins the Prince on his journey. She acts as an interesting foil to Ren’s initial character. Ren is inexperienced in spite of his royalty. On the other hand, Zhi Hao is knowledgeable and serves to expose Ren’s inexperience, despite her being lower class. She taught him the combat skills he was lacking, which would later serve to help in his fight against the Yellow Scarves. This parallel enticed me into wanting to see how their relationship would grow as the story progressed.
Na Ta, the leader of the Yellow Scarves (played by Julius Sermonia), directly parallels Prince Ren. While Ren cares for the kingdom’s people and grows to appreciate their help, Na Ta disregards his followers and executes those who oppose his rule. It is important to consider that while Prince Ren has experienced the best of the kingdom, having grown up destined to be its future ruler, Na Ta was cast away by the kingdom in his youth and was forced to survive on the streets as a child. This clash in ideologies intrigued me. I watched to see how their differing views on the kingdom and its policies would culminate.
The construction and practicality of the props immersed the audience into the play. Waving blue flags and raising platforms simulate the characters in the middle of a storm at sea, creating the illusion of danger. This left me on edge waiting to see if they would make it out. I was thoroughly impressed with how the creative team was able to convey such tensions with purely hand-made effects.
Being a musical, a large component of the play was the music, which was excellent. Each unique piece composed by Green contributed to setting the tone for its respective scene. Standing by Your Side, sung by Zhi Hao and Ren, perfectly encapsulated their growing feelings for one another and effectively framed their relationship through song. The orchestra perfectly complimented the singing of each singer. Upon leaving the theatre, I found myself humming the tunes from the play.
The music also contributed to the storytelling. When Ren and Zhi Hao were singing together, they initially started by trying to mask the feelings they had for each other. However, as the song progressed, their feelings became more clear. Using music to develop the characters gives the play’s musical pieces thematic weight, allowing me and the other audience members to appreciate the film from another angle.
The Tale of the Gifted Prince crafts an intriguing story through captivating character dynamics, well-crafted stage props, and music that compliments and accentuates the storytelling. The many differing viewpoints the play introduces us to helps it wrap up in a satisfying way.
The Tale of the Gifted Prince is on at Theatre Calgary from February 14th to March 15th. More information can be found at Theatre Calgary’s website