Yesterday, the "Urban Literary and Art Micro-Travel" launch group created by Shanghai Changjiang Theater was launched, opening the prelude to the renewal and upgrade of this century-old theater. 30 citizens and tourists walked from the Shanghai Pingtan Group to the Yangtze River Theater with their exclusive routes in hand. In their footsteps and stories, they listened to the unique cultural memories of Shencheng and felt the new voice of the era of Shanghai art.

  On Jiangning Road, 1.6 kilometers away, the 84-year-old Maggie Theater will be launched after 10 months of upgrades and renovations. The opening drama, the huge poster of the original London West End musical "SIX", has been on the exterior of the theater.

  In recent years, top plays at home and abroad have frequently come to Shanghai, and Shanghai is the first choice for debuts, with the requirements for the performance environment becoming increasingly high. Old theaters with rich historical heritage such as the Yangtze River Theater and Meiqi Grand Theater have been renewed and upgraded, setting off a wave of integration of culture, tourism and business, and bringing citizens and tourists a more three-dimensional, diverse and immersive new consumption experience.

  Reshape the theater functions

  Yesterday, the Yangtze River Theater, built in 1923, opened a new chapter, transforming from a single performing arts space to an integrated cultural, tourism and business space of "watching, experience, consumption". "See the Magic City, go to the Yangtze River, watch the show." The banner above the theater door pointed out the core key to this renewal return with extremely simple words.

  "The Yangtze River Theater is located in the core area of ​​People's Square in the 'heart of the city', and every inch of land is valuable. Against the background of the integration of culture, tourism and business, we have deeply recreated the limited art space, giving it more diverse functions." Xia Tian, ​​general manager of Shanghai Wanping Theater and Yangtze River Theater, introduced that the first floor of the theater was the welcome area, but now it has a new look, with orange, dark walnut and dark red interlaced, replicating the geometric decorative lines in the Art Deco style, and matching Broadway's iconic neon tubes to create a dramatic light and shadow effect. On the basis of retaining the original functions, the display and sales of cultural and creative products and fashionable products have been added to create a new field where culture and the day economy are intertwined.

  "After this upgrade and renovation, the Yangtze River Theater further opened the 'date of daytime'." Xia Tian revealed that the theater plans to link up surrounding businesses and launch a series of cultural, tourism and business integration projects. "Over the opposite of the theater, the butterfly cream in the international hotel is famous and queues up every day. We are discussing cooperation to allow the audience to register and purchase in advance, and you can take a pack of butterfly cream home after watching the show." The theater staff also opened a daytime live broadcast room to talk to netizens about cultural and creative, life, and art, giving the century-old theater an unprecedented youthful experience.

  Create a performance package

  With the renewal, the content planning of the Yangtze River Theater has been fully upgraded, and a series of performances such as "Haipai Voice", "Haipai Comedy", "Singing the Centennial Work Movement", and "Art and Aesthetic Education" have been launched to fully interpret the diverse charm of Shanghai art. Yesterday, the "Shanghai Pai Voice and Rhyme" series performances - "Wu Yu Chaoyin Concert" was first unveiled, presenting a new look of Pingtan and Shanghai Opera on the same stage. The performance breaks the traditional theater form, sets up the "Eight Immortals Table + New Chinese-style Rear Chair" viewing scene, and introduces special snacks such as butterfly cream to provide the audience with a different immersive experience.

  Immediately afterwards, the environmentally-style Yue Opera "Dream of Red Mansions" will be performed in the Yangtze River Theater. The drama is starring Yu Guo and Lu Zhiyan, a actor from Shanghai Yue Theater. Through four-sided projection technology, a 270-degree wraparound performance layout is created, making the audience feel as if they are in the "Grand View Garden".

  Compared with traditional theaters, the transformed and upgraded Yangtze River Theater is more like a "cultural source point". Using the surrounding cultural and tourism resources, the Yangtze River Theater has created urban roaming routes such as "Nostalgic Classic of Yellow River Road", "Urban Literary and Art Micro Tour", "Revolutionary Memory Corridor", and "Asian Study" for citizens and tourists, connecting the attractions and cultural landmarks around the theater, organically integrating them with a series of performances, exhibitions, and interactive experiences to form a three-dimensional cultural and tourism business experience system. Visitors can not only enjoy wonderful performances in the theater, but also experience the historical charm and modern atmosphere of Shanghai while roaming the city.

  Upgrade stage technology

  Shanghai Meiqi Grand Theater, located at No. 66 Jiangning Road, was built in 1941. It was designed by famous architect Fan Wenzhao and named it "Meiqi", which means "beautiful and flawless". As the theater for the first round of western film screening in Shanghai, Shanghai Meiqi Grand Theater was once named "No. 1 in Asia" and is a witness to Shanghai's history and culture. Masters such as Mei Lanfang and Ulanova have performed classics on stage one after another.

  On July 7, 2024, Shanghai Meiqi Grand Theater announced the suspension of business and carried out technical upgrades, including adjusting and updating stage booms, stage structure load-bearing and orchestra pools, and adjusting backstage layout. On May 21, Maggie Theater will return with a more complete stage and a better viewing environment. According to the latest "Starting" performance season, the epic musical "Nan Kong", the 2025 summer concert of Luo Xiaoluo, the Huangmei Opera "Female Prince Consort", the Shanghai Light Music Troupe's red classic concert "Assembly", the Beijing opera "Teahouse", the musical "White Night Walk", and the dance drama "The Never Eliminate Radio Wave" will appear one after another. The theater will also carry out rich linkage activities with surrounding businesses to help integrate cultural, tourism, business and sports exhibitions with the "ticket economy", adding a strong mark to the "world of performing arts". (Reporter Xuan Jing is an intern reporter Zang Yunjie)

[Editor in charge: Susan]