What's on

Mulan

When: Dec 18, 7:30 pm

Where: Shanghai Poly Grand Theater

The dance drama Mulan interprets the classic Chinese story of Hua Mulan, the young Chinese woman in an ancient poem who disguises herself as a man and joins the army, taking her father's place.

Smart, brave and determined, she flouts tradition to embrace her true potential, blazing a courageous trail in the fight against the enemy.

Dreamgirls

When: Jan 2-14, 7:30 pm

Where: Shanghai Culture Square

Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics by Tom Eyen. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards and the winner of six, the musical is based on the show business aspirations and success of acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles and James Brown.

Full of onstage joy and backstage drama, Dreamgirls tells the rags-to-riches story of a 1960s Motown girl group, and the triumphs and tribulations that come with fame and fortune.

The singing trio get their big break at an amateur competition and begin singing backup vocals for James Thunder Early. However, things begin to spin out of control when their agent, Curtis Taylor Jr., makes Deena and not Effie, the star of what will become known as The Dreams.

The Lion King

When: Feb 19, 7:30 pm

Where: Wuhan Qintai Grand Theater

A stage adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 1994 Disney film, The Lion King is the story of a young lion prince living in the flourishing African pride lands.

Born into a royal family, the precocious cub Simba spends his days exploring the sprawling savanna grasslands and idolizing his kingly father, Mufasa, while youthfully shirking the responsibility his position in life requires.

When an unthinkable tragedy, orchestrated by Simba's wicked uncle, Scar, takes his father's life, Simba flees, leaving his loss and the life he knew behind.

Eventually, with two hilarious and unlikely companions, Simba starts anew.

But when weight of responsibility and a desperate plea from the now ravaged pride lands come to find the adult prince, Simba must take on a formidable enemy, and fulfill his destiny to be king.

Yue Opera: The Destiny of Rebirth

When: Jan 5, 7:15 pm

Where: Shanghai Grand Theater

Investigating female identity in the modern world, Destiny of Rebirth is an experimental Yue Opera based on a romantic lyrical poem from the 1700s.

Written by Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) poet Chen Duansheng, the original work tells the story of a young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to enter the world of court politics alongside her lover.

While it blurs gender boundaries, the Shanghai Yue Opera Group's avant-garde production also blurs the boundary between stage and auditorium, inviting the audience to move among the performers and experience the plot from the perspective of those involved, in a fully immersive encounter.

Faust

When: Jan 9-12, 7:30 pm

Where: Beijing Poly Theater

Lithuanian director Rimas Tuminas will bring his latest work Faust, an adaptation of Goethe's dramatic play, to Beijing audiences.

The tragic play stars Liao Fan as Mephistopheles, the devil, and Yin Zhusheng as Faust.

One of the most famous plays in German literature, the play is based on a classic German legend, in which Faust, a discontented scholar, makes a deal with the devil to attain worldly knowledge, pleasure and power at the expense of his soul.

Crested Ibises

When: Jan 8, 7:15 pm

Where: Shanghai Grand Theater

Also known as the bird of good fortune, the crested ibis is a symbol of happiness and luck in China.

This dance drama by the Shanghai Dance Theater is a tribute to the honored bird, which was near extinction until scientists found a number of them thriving in Shaanxi province in 1981.

The drama was inspired by the true story of friendly efforts by Japan and China to preserve the endangered bird species. Thanks to those efforts, more than 1,800 crested ibises have been confirmed in the wild in the two countries.

Peking Opera: New Dragon Inn

When: March 13-15, 7:15 pm

Where: Shanghai Oriental Art Center

A new Peking Opera production, New Dragon Inn is adapted from a movie of the same name. The 1992 film, starring Lin Ching-hsia, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung and Donnie Yen, is recognized as one of the best martial arts movies to be produced during a revival of the genre in the 1980s and '90s.

The new production is a joint venture between HYM Culture Media Co, which was founded by renowned Peking Opera artist Shi Yihong, and the Shanghai Peking Opera Theater.

The film depicts a swordsman named Zhou Huai'an and his fiancee, Moyan as they protect two orphaned children who are being persecuted by a power-hungry eunuch and his elite army.

At the Dragon Gate Inn, the heroes meet the innkeeper, Jin Xiangyu, who later falls in love with Zhou and joins his cause.