Bringing Madame Mao to the Stage - I, Ching (青）

The USC U.S.-China Institute presents a panel discussion on the musical about the life of Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Ching.

I, CHING recasts the birth of modern-day China in a new light, with a page in history envisioned this time as a song and dance comedy featuring sixteen original numbers and an English speaking Hong Kong cast. This is the story of Jiang Ching, the woman who would leap from the stage of an actress to land onto the backwaters revolution outpost then propelled to become Chairman Mao's wife. See her go from glamour to outcast to power with the help from her scheming Gang of Four.

《青》的主角是中國近代曾名噪一時的江青。江青是一個野心勃勃的女人，從一個舞臺演員一躍成為一個捲入中國近代革命浪潮的紅都女皇。《青》通過歌舞的形式，讓大家有一個機會來見證她如何從光麗鮮華到權力邊緣不肖一顧的小角色，又進而通過四人幫踏入權力頂峰，至最後落為階下囚。

Panelists include:

Cecile Tang (唐書璇), playwright, was born in China and graduated from USC. Among her films are The Arch (1970) and China Behind (1974). She ceased filmmaking and emigrated to the United States in 1979, becoming a respected restaurateur in Los Angeles. Many critics, however, see her influence in the so-called Hong Kong New Wave of edgy, groundbreaking young filmmakers in the late '70s and early '80s. 

Lowell Lo is a songwriter, singer, music producer, actor and environmentalist. Born in Hong Kong, Lo was educated in the USA and has written over 800 songs and music for more than 100 movies.

Marsha Yuan, actress, plays Jiang Ching. Marsha studied musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. Over the past 12 years she has established a career as an actress as well as a singer/dancer in Hong Kong.