Debra Li

    SHENZHEN Grand Theater will present 11 different shows between September and early December, offering a colorful collection of shows ranging from chorus, chamber music, drama, and vocal concert to traditional Chinese opera.

    “Entering its 15th year, the Shenzhen Grand Theater Arts Festival believes in promoting Chinese culture and art and entertaining the audience with shows of good taste,” said Zheng Wenxia, general manager of the theater.

    With governmental subsidies, the cheapest tickets are only 50 yuan (US$7.7).

    Opening the season will be the concert version of “Road to Revival,” a grand music and dance epic that debuted at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in 2009.

    A third show in its special genre after “The East Is Red” and “Song of the Chinese Revolution,” “Road to Revival” depicts the exploration, struggle and development of China over the past 169 years. It captures important events in modern Chinese history, including the Opium War in 1840, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, the resistence of Japanese invaders (1937-1945), founding of the PRC in 1949 and the 2008 Olympic Games. The 150-minute show consists of poem recitals, solos and choruses, symphonies and dancing.

    The concert version to be staged in Shenzhen will retain the live music and recital but cut it down to 90 minutes. A giant LED screen spreading the full length of the stage will present the dances done by the original 3,200-member cast. Nearly 200 musicians will perform.

    “The Ridiculous Dinner,” a play adapted from Francis Veber’s comedy “The Dinner Game,” will star Chinese comedian Chen Peisi. Originally a stage play written and directed by Veber back in 1993, it was adapted into a 1998 film that won three Cesar Awards in 1999. Hollywood also did a remake “Dinner for Schmucks” last year.

    The story tells about a weekly “idiots’ dinner,” where guests must bring along an “idiot” who the other guests can ridicule. At the end of the dinner, the evening’s champion idiot is selected. A series of unexpected things happen during the hero’s search for an idiot. The show is not just hilarious but thought-provoking at times.

    The young audience may also like “Total Women,” a crosstalk play by Taiwan director Stan Lai.

    Chinese culture fans will embrace Su Chunmei’s Guangdong opera and Huangmei opera “Women of Huizhou.” A pupil of Lady Hongxian, the best-known Guangdong opera singer working today, Su will perform excerpts from classical Guangdong operas.

    Inspired by a series of oil paintings by artist Ying Tianqi, “Women of Huizhou” recounts the tragic life of Chinese women in feudal society. Lead Han Zaifen, winner of many theatrical awards, is deemed a “Huangmei opera empress” by her fans.

    The only foreign show during the season is Broadway musical “Kiss Me, Kate.” With music and lyrics by Cole Porter, it is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew.” It was a big hit and ran for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway, winning the first Tony Award presented for best musical in 1949. The show will perform four nights between Oct. 13 and 16.

    Classical music fans will enjoy the violin and piano duo by Sheng Zhongguo and his wife Seta Hiroko. Best known for his interpretation of “The Butterfly Lovers,” Sheng is an outstanding violinist. He and his wife, who had performed a Mozart piano concerto with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra at 13, will bring the audience on a classical music tour.

    Vocal lovers can attend a concert performed by the pupils of music educationist Guo Shuzhen and a solo concert by Huang Ying. Among Guo’s students are such household names as Yao Hong, soprano with the Central Opera House of China.

    A Shanghai native, Huang has an international career both in opera and on the concert stage. She first rose to international fame when she sang the title role in Frederic Mitterrand’s 1995 film adaptation of “Madame Butterfly.”

    Buddhism-themed dance “Thousand-hand Bodhisattva” is a visual feast directed by Zhang Jigang, who co-directed the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics.

    Closing the season will be the “Yellow River Chorus” and “Long March Song Cycle” performed by Beijing PLA artists.

    Free lectures and performances by the newly formed Shenzhen Grand Theater Symphony Orchestra will also be staged during the season.