Why does everyone love to come to Shanghai to watch performances? , box office revenue nearly tripled, with nearly 5.5 million viewers

On Maoming Road, Zhang Jie, vice president of the Shanghai Grand Theater Art Center and general manager of Shanghai Culture Plaza, met musical theater actors riding bicycles to interact with the audience twice. Yongjia Road, Fuxing Road, Jinxian Road, and Huaihai Road are all populated by young people. The popularity of Shanghai’s performing arts market is spreading to multi-dimensional consumption scenes, demonstrating the spillover effect.”

Data from the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism shows that in the first quarter of this year, Shanghai held 12,000 commercial performances and received nearly 5.5 million audiences, continuing to grow significantly year-on-year, with box office revenue nearly tripling. What makes Shanghai's performing arts market achieve such great success?

"Shanghai has become the city with the most vitality, largest scale and fastest industrialization process for musical theater performances in China." Zhang Jie said that in 2023, of the 9,960 musicals performed nationwide, 5,888 will be in Shanghai; 82.93% are concentrated in the world of entertainment. The Shanghai musical market, with the Great World of Performing Arts as its core, has become an important magnet for attracting musical lovers across the country. In the past four years, the per capita box office contribution of musicals has increased year after year. In 2023, core members of the Cultural Plaza purchased tickets for 2,224 yuan, and the average number of performances per capita reached 4.24.

The hot market provides more possibilities for performances and innovation. On June 2, the musical "Demian" adapted from Nobel Prize winner Hermann Hesse's classic work "Demian: The Wandering Boyhood" premiered at the Shanghai Grand Theater for 19 performances and ended with 6 It will be presented again on the public stage from June 7th to June 23rd. In early June, the musical "Disqualified" adapted from Osamu Dazai's novel of the same name will have its 100th performance at the Shanghai Grand Theater. In 2021, the show will set sail at the Grand Theater.

At the Raffles City Bell Tower in Changning, Shanghai, the musical "Murder Ballad" launched a new dreamland version. In the drunken bar version of "Murder Ballad" last season, the audience experienced an innovative form of placing the story in a real bar. The new season of "Murder Ballad" unfolds the story on a huge rotating seesaw and a roller coaster that surrounds the entire venue. The crew said, "We not only target the traditional audience of musicals, but also hope to attract new audiences who are interested in novel artistic experiences, so that more people can enjoy the charm of the performance in a relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere."

Seesaws and roller coasters are huge props that are rare in traditional theaters. Photo by Zhuge Yi

"China Unicom's Smart Footprint big data shows that more than half of the leisure and entertainment people around professional theaters are young people aged 19 to 34. Not only the cultural square, but also the young customers within 500 meters of the Lyceum Theater and the Magnolia Theater Accounting for more than 55%.” Statistics on the audience at the cultural square showed that people with non-310 ID cards accounted for more than 60%. “This generation of literary and artistic young people are more willing to pay for their own aesthetic needs and hobbies in performing arts. Big World continues to produce high-quality and exciting dramas, which not only meets this demand, but also becomes a social currency that continues to radiate to more and younger consumers.”

On the evening of May 25, "Lin Suo" ended. Young audiences gathered around the exit of Tianchan Yifu Stage. Leading actor Liu Guijuan simply moved tables and chairs and sat down to sign autographs for the audience one by one. This is the Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe's visit to Shanghai. scene at that time.

Tianjin famous actors Zhao Xiujun, Liu Guijuan, and Zhang Ke performed the classic dramas "The Orphan of Zhao", "The Suo Lin Bag" and "The Number One Scholar" on the Tianchan Yifu Stage. "The lead actor is excited, and the stage orchestra is also very excited." Zhao Xiujun, the group leader, praised Shanghai for its inclusiveness, modern flavor and traditional flavor. "Looking forward to next time."

"Next time" comes quickly. "The Number One Scholar" has just ended. Tickets for "Wu Zixu" starring Zhang Ke in Shanghai in August were released and sold out on the same day.

Tianjin Youth Peking Opera Troupe meets in Shanghai, all young faces

Unprepared, the cast and crew entrance to the Yifu Stage became a temporary autograph booth

In the Shanghai market, which is tolerant and dares to try new things, traditional culture bursts with new vitality. From May 24th to 26th, Li Shujian, Chairman of the Chinese Drama Association, and Hu Meiling, a famous Henan Opera artist, joined hands with the Xinzheng City Henan Opera Troupe to perform the small theater versions of Henan Opera "Broken Hongzhou", "Mulan" and "The Great Sacrifice Stake" in Yuyuan Maritime Liyuan. Li Shujian said, "The Maritime Liyuan Theater is not big, but it is a big stage for Henan Opera. I hope that through the small step of Henan Opera entering Shanghai Yuyuan, a big step will be taken in the integration of culture and tourism between Shanghai and Henan. In this vibrant and inclusive place, Shanghai, launching the cultural tourism brand of "Walking in Henan and Understanding China."

Encountering Shanghai Jing’an Modern Drama Valley’s “Drama Anywhere” at Jing’an Temple, the performance is integrated into the city schedule. Photo by Zhuge Yi

Famous theater figures from all over the country and the world are proud to receive applause at Shanghai's theater dock. In 2024, Shanghai Jing'an Modern Theater Valley has 104 performances of 24 plays, with more than 50,000 people buying tickets, and the total box office revenue is expected to exceed 15 million yuan. The overlapping brands of Jing'an Modern Drama Valley, Jing'an Music Festival and Jing'an Coffee Culture Festival attracted more than 3 million people to participate, and consumption in related business districts increased by 16% year-on-year.

From May 24th to June 2nd, 10 outstanding plays starring this year's Magnolia Drama Award-winning actors were performed at Tianchan Shaw Stage, Wanping Theater, Majestic Theater, North Bund AIA Theater and Fudan University. and five Newtown theater performances. The Fujian opera "Crossing the Cliff" and the drama "Carving the Classics" were simultaneously broadcast live online. At the 3rd Yangtze River Delta City Drama Festival, 8 outstanding works including the Yue Opera "Chasing Fish" gathered in Shanghai, and the one-week "Zhejiang Performing Arts Group Performance Week" staged the drama "Sifan Lu Xiaoman" and other works.

Shanghai-produced plays have become more and more brilliant after being polished by the market. Shanghai Media Group Performing Arts Group's "Red Classics Tribute to Shanghai" red stage boutique performance season will perform 40 performances from May to July, hold 8 literary and art party classes, dance drama "The Eternal Wave", acrobatic drama "Battle of Shanghai", drama "Awakening" "Era" and other high-quality performances once again meet the audience.

The 14 plays performed by the 12th Shanghai Outstanding Private Troupe were from 109 submitted scripts. Shanghai's private theater troupes are on par with state-owned art troupes in terms of originality. For the first time, the Xu Jun Drama Center collaborated with a British screenwriter and composer to premiere the original musical "Lady Macbeth," which was performed at the 1862 Fashion Art Center for 30 consecutive performances.

Shakespeare's masterpiece and star cast make "Lady Macbeth" a hot topic. Photo by Zhuge Yi

Looking at the future Shanghai performing arts calendar, it is still the debuts that dominate the attention. The audience is overwhelmed and have to make "difficult choices." In June, Germany's Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in Shanghai for eight days. In addition to concerts and chamber music performances, it will also visit Yangpu, Songjiang, Fengxian, and Lingang, linking universities, middle schools and primary schools to hold art lectures and rehearsal classes. In July, Natalya Osipova, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, will premiere "Born to Be Mad" and "Toe Tips" in mainland China. Acting stars such as Andy Lau will appear in Shanghai, marking Shanghai's annual concert market of more than 200 concerts. In the words of Jin Lei, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, "In Shanghai, whether it is a large production in a theater or stadium, or a 'small but beautiful' new space, there is always something suitable for you."

Hardware updates and iterations have added fuel to the Shanghai entertainment market. The Long Beach Concert Hall, which opened this year, can host world-class music festivals and will become a cultural landmark in North Shanghai. The Shanghai Grand Opera House, which is stepping up its construction, has sent invitations to the world's top famous troupes. A new round of 100 new performing arts spaces in Shanghai has replaced 17 new spaces to form a list with more performing arts characteristics and more influential performances, including Shimao Plaza Star Space, INS Comedy Comedy Center, and Xiaolehui Performing Arts New Space, which are already familiar to the audience. Space, Happy Twist I Space, etc.

Cui Yiyi, senior promotion director of Chongbang Group, recently revealed that the Bingang Commercial Center, including Jinchao Lane 8, will open in December, and plans to create a benchmark project for urban renewal of "entertainment, culture, tourism and businessmen", with "performing arts" being the top priority.

Shanghai creators respond to market demand with new concepts, new technologies, and new IPs, and lead the country in content output. 40 projectors create a panoramic projection space. The first domestic robot drama "City of Giants" with robots as the main characters is set in the future era of human-machine symbiosis. It was recently unveiled at the Digital Performing Arts Integrated Innovation and Culture and Tourism Department of Shanghai Theater Academy. The laboratory's XR dome ring-screen experimental theater creatively introduces mobile dual-arm robots and bionic robots. After its premiere, it will be launched at this year's World Artificial Intelligence Conference. Lelang Entertainment signed a contract with China Literature Group in Pudong. The two top domestic IPs "Fox Fairy Matchmaker" and "Under One Person" are about to break through the dimension and realize the transformation from animation to the stage world.