Celebrations

Cast of thousands to star in anniversary extravaganza

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-20 22:48

The Chinese government will stage a grand musical, named Road to Revival, to mark the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 5, at the Great Hall of the People.

About 3,200 singers and dancers from art troupes nationwide, including those from Xinjiang and Tibet, would perform, said Jin Ni, the play's public relations officer, on Thursday.

The extravaganza is sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the People's Liberation Army General Political Department and Beijing Municipal Government.

The five-act show would depict the past 169 years of Chinese history chronologically from the Opium War to the present as well as expectations of the country's future, Jin told Xinhua.

It would include major historic moments, such as the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840, the founding of the CPC in 1921, the Japanese invasion from 1937 to 1945, the founding of People's Republic of China in 1949 and the start of reform and opening-up in 1978.

"It will display the Chinese people's struggle on the road to the country's revival." she said.

The government produced a similar show named "The East Is Red" for the 15th National Day celebration in 1964.

The two-and-a-half-hour performance will combine song, dance, drama and traditional opera such as Kunqu, which required many artists, Jin said.

But she refused to say how many performers would appear on stage at any particular parts. "We prefer not to reveal the detailed storyline yet," she said.

"We will add elements of popular music to attract younger audiences and use multimedia technologies to improve stage effects."

According to Thursday's Beijing News, the Great People's Hall will renovate its stage to fit for the play, the first such renovation in five decades.

The play is directed by Zhang Jigang, deputy director-in-chief for Beijing Olympic's opening ceremony.

The crew would start rehearsals in the Great Hall of the People on Monday, Jin said.

"We will sell tickets to the public. But ticket prices and the number of performances have yet to be decided," she said.

She said many leading Chinese artists would take part, but declined to name names.

More detailed information would be revealed at a press conference next week, she said.