"I have performed Mei Lanfang on stage for 30 years, which feels like half a lifetime." On the 100th anniversary of Mei Lanfang's birth in 1994, the play "Mei Lanfang" premiered. The lead actor Bai Yongcheng did not expect that the play would last 30 years. On October 30th and 31

"I have performed Mei Lanfang on stage for 30 years, which feels like half a lifetime." On the 100th anniversary of Mei Lanfang's birth in 1994, the play "Mei Lanfang" premiered. The lead actor Bai Yongcheng did not expect that the play would last 30 years.

On October 30th and 31st this year, the drama "Mei Lanfang" will be performed at the Bank of Communications Qiantan 31 Performing Arts Center.

In 1994, the drama "Mei Lanfang" premiered. It was written by Ding Luonan and Wu Xiaojun, and directed by Su Leci. The plot focused on Mei Lanfang's stage of "growing a beard and clarifying her ambitions". Mei Lanfang's son Mei Shaowu chose Bai Yongcheng to play Mei Lanfang. He learned Qin Opera at the age of eight and later studied drama performance at the Shanghai Theater Academy. "Every time I go on stage, I am pursuing a soul dialogue with Master Mei Lanfang." On December 10, 1994, the drama "Mei Lanfang" premiered on the Tian Chan Shaw Stage and ran for 16 performances. Cai Jinping, Zhou Xiaoqian and others participated in the play.

drama "Mei Lanfang"

From 2006 to 2016, "Mei Lanfang" was upgraded and updated. Wu Siyuan served as the chief director, Mei Baojiu served as the artistic director, and the chief screenwriter was Gong Xiaoxiong. Wang Peiyu, Shi Yihong and others joined the Peking Opera guidance team to lay the foundation for the 2024 version. In December 2008, "Mei Lanfang" performed at the Majestic Theater for 9 consecutive performances, and also performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing three times. In July 2023, the play will be staged at the Star Theater in Hong Kong, integrating outstanding actors from Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and other places.

Gong Xiaoxiong said that the drama "Mei Lanfang" presents a story about "chengjiaoer", "pengjiaoer" and "pongjiaoer". It is precisely this "corner" thing that gives the drama "Mei Lanfang" a strong flavor of Peking Opera, so much so that after watching the performance, the audience said that this drama is as much like Peking Opera as it is a drama. Gong Xiaoxiong tried to interpret Mei Lanfang from the perspective of the people around Mei Lanfang, so Meng Xiaodong, Fu Zhifang, Qi Rushan, Wu Guiqiu (Mei Lanfang's senior brother), Zhu Yimin, Chi Tian and other people in the play interacted with Mei Lanfang. Fang's many entanglements about emotion, art, and national dignity. These scattered entanglements are connected into a line to outline a three-dimensional image of Mei Lanfang.

Bai Yongcheng revealed that most of the box office revenue from the Shanghai performance of "Mei Lanfang" will be donated to children with congenital heart disease in Qinghai Goluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture for their surgical treatment.