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Young China

Musical Theatre Reperformances by Chinese Generation Z Fans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 June 2025

Lele Han
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Abstract

For Chinese Generation Z fans, the reperformances of musical theatre have empowered them to realize self-transformation while performing in public—without the constraints of formal physical training or special creative ability. By reperforming musicals with the themes of idealism and revolution, these youth re-create song-and-dance gestures as a rite of passage in everyday life, striving for individual idealized identities while playing disciplined social roles under the control of official ideology.

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Type
Student Essay
Information
TDR , Volume 69 , Issue 2 , June 2025 , pp. 47 - 63
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of New York University Tisch School of the Arts

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TDReadings

Fei, Faye C., and Sun, William H.. 2013. “Social Performance Studies: Discipline vs. Freedom.” TDR 57, 3 (T219):9–19. doi.org/10.1162/DRAM_a_00277CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Changyong. 2021. “Shanghai: The Road to a Modern Performing Arts City.” TDR 65, 2 (T250):150–66. doi.org/10.1017/S1054204321000137 CrossRefGoogle Scholar