Curtain up for scene of enthusiasm

Wang watched the musical almost every time she visited Shanghai. Once, when she couldn't get a ticket, she even chose to stay by the theater door, just to listen to the play. Touched by her passion, a staff member opened the door slightly so she could hear more clearly.

Another "crazy" thing she did was that she admired one of the lead actors, Guo Hongxu (as Jon Olsen in the musical), so much that she wrote a 6,000-word essay with a friend, just to comb through and praise his acting skills. After a show, the ardent fan waited at the stage door to meet Guo and hand him the essay as a gift to show her appreciation for both the actor and the play.

These enthusiasts meet in theaters and outside, fostering friendships before and after the shows. For example, Wang once realized that the person sitting next to her during a performance was an internet acquaintance. She offered to share a blanket with Wang when the theater turned cold due to air conditioning, and they became friends afterward.

Xu Zihan, 21, a junior from Zhejiang Normal University who's also a theatergoer, has been to Shanghai 16 times this year to binge-watch plays. Also to save money, she often dines at an inexpensive Japanese eatery near the Asia Building after a show. "It's such a happy moment, as it is packed with theatergoers, and we talk about the performance while eating," Xu says.

Another way of cost saving is to find a mate with the same hobby to share a hotel room with, often in cheap youth hostels. "I have countless group chats for room-sharing in my phone, and through these, I've made many new friends," she says.

Wang loves a quote from Xu Junshuo, 27, a well-known musical actor. He says: "Audiences may see the light onstage as stars while actors on the lit stage see the audience as a whole, dark sky. The light in the theater is not one-way — within the space, it lights up us all."

For Wang, theater bingeing allows her to stray beyond her often boring routine, giving her quality time to let her imagination and fantasies run wild, and help her regain fresh energy while going back to real life.

"The charm of theater is endless. Every time I see tickets of future plays, I see it as a promise to meet friends again, inside and outside the theaters," Wang says.

Yu Hexin contributed to this story.