The Majestic Theatre, a reminder of when Shanghai was enthralled by jazz, Gable and Garbo, stands at the heart of plans to restore the city as a cultural centre by creating a Broadway of the East.
Multicoloured stars hang from lamp posts in the downtown area around the Majestic – a district with more than 20 theatres, including other art deco wonders – announcing it has been rechristened "Drama Valley".
"Our plan is to build a magnificent modern Drama Valley that within 10 years can compete side-by-side with America's Broadway and London's West End," Zhang Rengliang, head of the district government, said at a launching ceremony.
The first 30-play season features a mix of mostly contemporary Chinese drama with Broadway productions added in, such as Andrew Lloyd Weber's Cats, the light spectacular Luma and Disney's High School Musical.
But the project also faces unique challenges. Shanghai's theatre scene is in the early stages of its development with non-government troupes struggling to find space and funding, and censors controlling what goes on stage.
"Media control remains a top priority in China," said David Bandurski, a researcher at the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong. "Obviously that has profound ramifications for anything resembling social and political exploration in Chinese dramas.
"But commercial development, not soul searching, is the major impetus behind China's recent push to revitalize what it calls its cultural industry. This, presumably, is what Shanghai has in mind."
The Jing'an district government has invested an initial 10 million yuan (Dh5.3m) in the project – most of it spent on promotion, according to Yang Yong, general manager of the Shanghai Drama Valley Development Company.
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