"Welcome, everyone, to the Celestial Arts Ensemble! Please enjoy our stage play: 'Ghostly Romance,' Act Four." Phoebe Phoenix continued as the narrator: "Previously, on our story—In that haunted mountain, the scholar Nicholas Ning was tricked by the ghostly Nancy Nash. Just as Nancy hesitated, torn between killing or sparing him, a divine sound scattered the spirits. Nicholas awoke, clueless about what had happened, and stumbled back to Orchid Abbey in a daze. At dawn, he returned to Northbrook County to collect debts. And this time, he meets a most unusual character."
The curtain slowly rose—lights, scenery, music, everything in sync. Down in the audience, Charlotte Cloud craned her neck, genuinely curious to see what the Ensemble could do. She'd read the script and knew the whole backstory. Even though she'd scoffed at it before, she had to admit: her strong reaction came from feeling seriously threatened. And the biggest sign of that threat? Even she couldn't help getting drawn into the story.
The stage, built from phoenix wood, was anything but ordinary—not your typical platform, but more like a grand runway stretching deep into the audience, almost like a model's catwalk but bigger. It turned spectators from mere onlookers into participants. Of course, to make a stage this massive, they sacrificed a lot of seating, but the effect was something small theaters could never match. When the curtain rose and the lights hit, the whole story came alive in 3D. With just a few simple set pieces, every detail of Northbrook County burst onto the stage.
Why does the Ensemble always perform at night? Simple—nighttime is best for lighting effects. The special roof design plunges the audience into darkness, while the stage shines bright as day.
With every department and actor working together, the audience was instantly swept into a scene more real than IMAX. Northbrook County bustled with people, and Grace Kwok as Nicholas Ning was back to debt collecting. Having survived a night at Orchid Abbey, his debt-collecting journey was finally going smoothly. The jokes and comic gags along the way kept the crowd giggling behind their hands.
Out of nowhere, whimsical and absurd music began to play, swirling around everyone. With sights and sounds like this, the effect was off the charts. The ladies in the audience were so caught up, it felt like they’d stepped right into the story themselves.
"Mmm, the acting’s getting more and more natural, and the music’s smoother too." Maestro Wei nodded in satisfaction as he watched from backstage.
Coming from the era of the cultural explosion and blessed with a thick skin, Phoebe Phoenix had an endless supply of material for her artsy revolution. She picked 'Ghostly Romance' as their debut because it fit perfectly with the audience’s taste.
For example, the Maestro was also rehearsing 'Silent Hill,' but rewrote it as: 'A mother and a lady detective brave a creepy mountain village to rescue their adopted daughter and help a wronged ghost take revenge on the crazy villagers.' Just like that, it felt way more local. But no matter how you tweak it, Chinese aesthetics run deep. Compared to 'Silent Hill,' the human-ghost romance in 'Ghostly Romance' is way more likely to move the hearts of women everywhere.
It’s got martial arts, romance, fantasy, city life—if this show doesn’t get popular, there’s no justice in the world!