Seventy-five years ago on May 27, the Chinese Liberation Army, led by the Communist Party of China, took over Shanghai amid cheers and applause from people lining the streets.

The day has been remembered as Shanghai Liberation Day and is celebrated each year. This year, Shanghai Media Group (SMG) Live kicked off a showcase of 40 musical and theater productions for the occasion from May to July.

"Shanghai is the birthplace of the Communist Party of China. The city witnessed the magnificent Chinese revolution, reform and development through the past decades," says Yu Rongjun, deputy director of SMG Live.

The city's music and theater scene has created several new productions featuring the Chinese revolution, which won critical acclaim and audience praise.

"We are bringing together a series of representative productions in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Shanghai and hope audiences will be inspired and empowered by the city's glorious history."

One of the most popular productions The Eternal Wave is a dance drama by the Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe, based on the true story of an undercover Communist telegrapher who worked in the shadows against opposing forces and was later murdered on the eve of Shanghai's liberation.

The performance has gained great popularity with audiences, with highlights performed at the CCTV Chinese New Year Gala in 2020. Since its premiere in 2018, the show has toured more than 50 cities across China, presenting 614 performances in total, according to Wang Yan, head of the company.

"We kept on revising and improving the production and promoting it to the wider public," she says.

The latest effort was a movie edition of the show, which was projected at the Majestic Theatre in Shanghai on May 27. It will continue to be shown in cinemas all over the nation and the company will present a new round of live performances of the show at the Majestic Theatre from June 26 to July 1.

"We hope lovers of the theater production will find new perspectives to appreciate the dances in the movie, and moviegoers will be attracted to attend the live performance too," she says.

In the past few years, many dancers in the company have taken on different life paths, says Wang Jiajun, the lead dancer who plays the hero in the show. Some left the stage to become teachers and some had babies, he says.

The movie "recorded these dancers in their prime and their most beautiful performances", he says. "It's a gift for the dancers as well as audiences and it is also a tribute to the city's revolutionary history."

Outstanding theater productions such as The Eternal Wave have played an important role in the prosperity of Shanghai's live performance market, says Wang Yan, director of the company. The success of The Eternal Wave has encouraged theater companies in Shanghai to "keep pushing forward and create new shows with the revolutionary theme".

Another production of the series is the Battle of Shanghai, an acrobatic show produced by the Shanghai Acrobat Troupe. It was performed at the Shanghai Culture Square on May 19 to 21, and a second round will take place on July 1 to 2 at Theatre Young.

The production, performing since 2019, will celebrate its 200th performance later this year, says Liang Hongjun, head of the company.

The show combines acrobatic stunts with innovative storytelling about the battles at a power plant on the eve of Shanghai's liberation. Battle of Shanghai "is a milestone in the creative development of acrobatics in China", Liang says.

A most important repertoire of the company, it has witnessed the development of new acrobatic talents.

"We are receiving young graduates from the Shanghai Acrobatic School. At the tender age of 16, they are participating in the upcoming performance, taking on the roles of young soldiers," he says.

With support from the China National Arts Fund, the production will kick off a new round of tours nationwide this year.

Zhang Huiqing, general manager of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, says the company will present, from June 27 to July 1, The Age of Awakening, a play about China's patriotic intellectuals in the early 20th century struggling for a better future.

The Shanghai Puppet Theatre will present Sound of the Paperboy about the newsboys during the Liberation War in the 1940s at the Ciros Puppet Show Center on June 29 and 30.

The showcase also includes a series of concerts and folk opera shows by the Shanghai Light Music Troupe, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Shanghai Farce Troupe.

The concert at the Shanghai Grand Theatre on May 27 featured the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, playing under the baton of Zhang Liang, deputy director of the company. Three Chinese composers' works were performed — Lyu Qiming, Jin Fuzai and Xi Qiming. Ode to the Red Flag, a symphony piece by Lyu, featured pianist Kong Xiangdong.

One of the most celebrated symphony compositions by a Chinese artist, Ode to the Red Flag has been widely performed since its publication in 1965.

Through the past decades, eight different versions of the piece have been recorded, the latest featuring a children's chorus, says Gao Feng, director of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra. A complete collection of all eight versions will be released on vinyl later this year, he says.

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