“Reform ” at the Shanghai Jingju Company and Its Impact on Creative Authority and Repertory

Until , jingju (historically often called “Beijing/Peking opera ” in En-glish) was without question a popular form of theatre, completely dependent upon the equivalent of box-office draw for its very existence. This draw was created in substantial part by the “star power ” of leading actors. Most profes-sional companies were created by and for star actors; in each company, the lead actor was an actor-manager who chose other company members, selected works to be performed, and conceived of new works to be created. And while the creation process itself was collaborative, this lead actor remained the primary creative authority throughout, approving or disapproving of scripting and musical composition carried out by other actors and/or assisting writers and musicians. During the first half of the th century, a number of attempts were made to “reform ” jingju, primarily by intellectuals who wanted it to be more “sci-entific ” like the Western “problem play, ” or more “elevated ” like Italian and German opera. While these reformers did succeed in luring jingju into th