"I evaporated in the world!" The explosive dance drama "Only This Green" returned to the Shanghai Grand Theatre in April, and before the ticket was issued, General Manager Zhang Xiaoding sent such a circle of friends. In the face of this sweet annoyance, Zhang Xiaoding shouted "not firmly", "Maybe stay up until the end of the performance in April, life can be better." ”
On the afternoon of February 24, 4 "Only This Green" ticket was issued, and the moment was flashed by the second light, "Everyone's enthusiasm for 'Green' is very similar to the 'radio wave' just came out, and the 'radio wave' finally has a competitor." The 'green' has a lot of staying power, and everyone's enthusiasm will last a long time. Zhang Xiaoding revealed to the surging news reporter that the Shanghai Grand Theatre has been contacting and discussing the addition of "Only This Green" in May, and the two performances on May 1 can be basically determined.
"Only This Green"
At the same time that "Only This Green" triggered a rush to buy, the Shanghai Grand Theatre released the 2022 spring and summer performance season, announcing the details of the program from March to August. Combined with the variables brought by the epidemic to the performing arts industry and grasping the fixed number of scientific and accurate prevention and control normalization, the Shanghai Grand Theatre has taken the initiative to plan and actively implement, and more than 60 performances and art education activities with 200 performances will be released soon.
"Affected by the epidemic, the number of performances and performance revenue of the Shanghai Grand Theatre have declined to a certain extent in 2020, and now both have returned to the state before 2019, with high saturation and full performance volume." Zhang Xiaoding said excitedly.
At the same time, the creation center of the Shanghai Grand Theatre has surfaced, and more efforts will be invested in the creation of its own repertoire and original works. The Shanghai Grand Theatre's "Great West Yang" plan has also taken shape – the Shanghai Grand Theatre in the center of Shanghai, the YOUNG Theater in Yangpu, which opened in March this spring, and the Shanghai West Bund Grand Theatre, located in Xuhui Riverside and opened in the autumn of 2023, will operate according to local conditions under the premise of integrating performing arts resources, which is also a new territory for the Shanghai Grand Theatre to export theater operation and management services.
Shanghai Grand Theatre Spring/Summer 2022 Season
Three new works were created, and the creation center surfaced
In the "Premiere Debut" section, the Shanghai Grand Theatre participated in the creation of three works in different capacities - the Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion", the Chinese version of the musical "Karamazov Brothers", and the stage play "Frankenstein" Chinese version, all of which are contemporary interpretations of classic literary works of the East and the West on the Chinese stage.
Premiered in August, the Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion", produced by the Creation Center of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, will trace back to the modern dramatic structure of Tang Xianzu's original work, and interpret Liu Mengmei and Du Liniang to break through the cycle of "life and death dream" with "the most love". The play invited Luo Zhou to be the script editor, Ma Junfeng as the director, and the two "Plum Blossom Awards" won the advocate army and Shan Wen played the male and female protagonists.
Produced by the Shanghai Grand Theatre Creation Center and created in collaboration with the Korean version, the Chinese version of the musical "The Brothers Karamazov" premiered from June to July. This musical is one of the most popular performances in Korea's University Road, and after the news of the Chinese version was issued, it has attracted attention in different circles, and the "all-male class" cast will be announced in the near future.
The stage play "Frankenstein", jointly produced by the Shanghai Grand Theatre Creation Center and created by Chinese and British teams, premiered in May Chinese. 10 years ago, as the first high-definition drama introduced by the Shanghai Grand Theatre, "Roll Fu" and "Frankenstein" starring John Lee Miller landed in Shanghai, triggering a movie-watching frenzy. In the new version, Dominique Dromgul, the former artistic director of the Universal Shakespeare Theatre, will travel from the United Kingdom to China to direct plays, and Chinese dancer Wang Yabin will also participate in the creation. The two decks will be announced soon, and the actors will perform interchangeably as in the original.
With the launch of three new works, the identity of the creation center of the Shanghai Grand Theatre has also surfaced.
In the past two decades, the Shanghai Grand Theatre has given birth to many "Grand Theatre Version" stage works, and has a lot of experience in production and production, "We can not only introduce performances, the demand for our own repertoire is also increasing, and we hope to launch more commercial drama works in the future." Zhang Xiaoding said that when he heard that the Shanghai Grand Theatre had set up a creative center, everyone had come to the door to cooperate, and the theater is currently carrying out a musical incubation plan with Damai, and will continue to incubate 5 musicals in the next two years.
The national premiere in the "Premiere" section also includes the psychological suspense drama "Bad Boy" based on Zijin Chen's novel of the same name, shakespeare's play "The Merchant of Venice" created by Happy Twist, and the musical "Portrait of Dowling Gray", based on Wilde's only novel. The Shanghai premiere in the "Premiere Debut" unit also includes: Yu Qian's cross-talk drama "Still Beautiful", Tan Dun composed and conducted, and Yi Liming's opera "Tea Soul Mirror".
Why have the good plays flown to the Shanghai Grand Theatre for their premiere? Zhang Xiaoding believes that Shanghai is a dock for testing good works, "a play in Shanghai's reputation has come out, and it will be easier to perform in other places." The vision of the Shanghai audience has been opened, and it is the most knowledgeable in China. Don't rely on traffic stars, as long as the play is good, they will be attracted and willing to help promote it as 'tap water'. ”
Tea Mirror of Souls
A number of blockbusters have returned, and highly popular performances have gathered
In addition to being the distribution center for national premieres and Shanghai premieres, the Shanghai Grand Theatre is also a performance venue for many blockbuster works and popular works to return.
The return of the dance poetry drama "Only This Green" has attracted much attention. The play was performed 4 times in a row at the Shanghai Grand Theatre last year, fermenting a super high reputation, because it could not buy tickets, many Shanghai audiences began to chase the national tour. After appearing on CCTV at the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Tiger, "Only This Green" became a hit of national attention, and the voice calling for the Shanghai Grand Theatre to be reintroduced has never stopped. Recently, the Shanghai Grand Theatre officially announced the news of the return of April 28-30, and was once again illuminated by the second after starting the ticket sale.
The Chinese version of the musical "Faust" made its national debut at the Shanghai Grand Theatre last year, performing 10 times in a row, and was sought after by young audiences who are keen on heavy metal, electronic music, rock and hardcore music. In February this year, "Rock and Roll Faust" returned again, performing 9 consecutive performances, inviting popular actor Zong Juntao to join as Faust.
Chinese original musical "Human Disqualification" premiered nationwide at the Shanghai Grand Theatre last year, with 12 consecutive performances. The play, which brings Japanese writer Osamu Dazai and his character Ōtomi Yezang to the stage, is created by artists from China, the United States, Britain, and Japan, and will return to the Shanghai Grand Theatre in July, with Bai Jugang, Liu Lingfei and other premieres returning at the same time.
The Chinese version of the Broadway musical "I, Don Quixote" came to the Shanghai Grand Theatre four years ago. On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the premiere, "I, Don Quixote" will return in March, staging a commemorative upgrade, with actors Liu Yang and Zhu Songhao taking turns to play Don Quixote and Cervantes.
Meng Jinghui's long-term "residency" at the Shanghai Grand Theatre will also continue to meet with the audience, and "Opinions on the Life of Two Dogs", "The Accidental Death of an Anarchist" and "Rhinoceros in Love" will be staged from February to April.
The "Hidden Series" launched by the Shanghai Grand Theatre last year attracted attention with a stylized and creative aesthetic. Jointly produced by shanghai grand theatre and half-degree music, "Yan Fei Lai JinRen Ancient Music Club" was staged in April, which is the latest performance of the "Hidden Series", combining traditional ancient songs and classical poetry singing, and inviting the audience to "listen to" a "you chun tu".
Nowadays, from state-owned academies to private academies, all provinces and cities across the country are doing their best to be original, and the pace of creation has never stopped. However, originality is risky, how can we get rid of the clouds and pick out the best works among many originals?
"I look more at innovation in state-owned academies, they do not lack national-level creators and actors, do not lack artistry, do not lack money, what is missing is the spirit of innovation that breaks the tradition." Private theater groups I pay more attention to artistry, they have the courage, they have courage, and now There is a blowout in China's original musicals, and many works are from private theater groups. They have a spirit of repeated failures, and after they really began to pay attention to artistry, they were quickly recognized by the market. ”
Zhang Xiaoding said that the Judgment of the Shanghai Grand Theatre on good works comes from more than 20 years of experience accumulation, and reading the script, looking at the creators, and looking at the producers is a comprehensive standard, "If the schedule is very full, we must choose, and we will definitely take the initiative to strive for good works." "The Pursuit of Quality by the Shanghai Grand Theatre over the years will also attract more good works to perform, and everyone wants to establish a foothold in Shanghai and make a reputation."
Art dances everywhere, and new spaces for performing arts enhance vitality
New Box Small Theater and A+ Art Space, the two new performing arts spaces of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, will also show differentiated operational characteristics in the spring and summer performance seasons.
Fly Plan, a new commercial musical theatre incubation and musical theatre creation talent training project jointly initiated by Shanghai Grand Theatre and Damai, is one of the projects being operated by the Shanghai Grand Theatre Creation Center, and the first original musical "Becoming a Mother" has entered the commercial incubation stage, and script reading has also been held in New Box. At the unveiling last year, New Box released its first residency performance program, "New Box Musical Gala", and "New Box New Sound Unit" has also become a professional platform for the Shanghai Grand Theatre Creation Center to discover new sounds and cultivate new works.
A+ Art Space includes the main public spaces other than the Shanghai Grand Theatre Theatre, with cafes, art shops, parent-child reading halls, promenade exhibition areas, and regular art markets, lectures, workshops, parent-child reading, art exhibitions and other literary and artistic activities.
Last year, the Shanghai Grand Theatre created the 300 FUN Culture and Art Week, and the main position was set up in A+ Art Space. This year, the 300FUN Art Market will be held again on Earthly April Day.
Known as the "Green House", the big coffee room café will continue to launch exclusive products related to the repertoire, and the two limited-time special drinks BLACK and WHITE, which were recently tailored for the musical "Rock Faust", will sell higher during the performance; the "One Day Store Manager" will also be held regularly, inviting artists to act as substitute store managers and baristas to tell the story of stage art through coffee; the interactive performance of the "Coffee Drama" environment will also be highly integrated with the café environment to bring new works.
"Polite and Dramatic, Art Big Player" is an "art cloud party" between the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the audience. On the 27th of every month, performing arts guests and theater staff will appear in the live broadcast room to bring goods for cultural and creative goods, and the "Love Shakespeare" series storage bags, the "Chopstick Artist Student" white porcelain dish chopstick set, the "Art Style" fun mask, the "Life of Life" series yoga mat, the "China Drama" leap joint national tide small white shoes and T-shirts are popular.
Starting from New Year's Day this year, the Shanghai Grand Theatre Art Class launched the "Next Stop, Theater" series of cultural salons, inviting artists, cultural people, architects and music critics every weekend to serve as the conductor of the "Time and Space Train" and lead everyone on a global tour of the theater.
With the landing of the "double reduction", the Shanghai Grand Theatre will launch the theater experience project "Art Tour" for primary and secondary school students in Shanghai on Friday afternoon, which integrates "Theater Tour + Art Experience" and moves the classroom into the theater.
At the same time, after the soprano singer and Hui Shou open the "Opera Vocal Art Class", the "Master Series Open Class" will be joined by masters from various artistic fields, and the audience can feel the master's style at close range.