Growing Up With Teochew Opera - 14

Return Of Heavenly King Tan Chor Hwee
1987年潮剧小生王陈楚蕙重临狮城夜夜爆满

Immediately after my last final year paper in 1987, I rushed to watch the Teochew opera performance by 陈楚蕙 at Kreta Ayer theatre. She made a return after she stopped performing in Singapore for many years. Normally, she would stage her performance in Thailand first as she had a lot of businesses and supporters in Thailand. In fact, five years ago, ie 1982, she staged a few months of performances in Thailand. Then, one of my sister’s friends managed to get a set of video tapes of 五 龙 会 or later known as 五子挂帅. We were excited to watch the video although the quality was not very good. We waited patiently for her arrival as the market in Singapore is not big compared to Thailand.

陈楚蕙 performed many popular shows in Thailand and they were available on video. Some of the shows were 红鬃烈马, 借剑, 碧海丹心, 孟丽君 and 红书宝剑. The following pages capture pictures of her performances in Thailand.

In 1987, I watched 薛丁山(Part 1 and 2), 红鬃烈马, 怒斩杨廷芳, etc. We loved 陈楚蕙 so much as her voice is unique. You cannot find this in any other artiste. She looks fantastic when dressed and dolled up. 陈楚蕙 is deeply loved by the audience not only because of her acting skills but also because she is humble and has excellent interpersonal skills.

The performance that year had been very successful. See a related Chinese article.
一九八七年，陈楚惠出人意外地亲率新天彩潮剧团，又一次来到新加坡。那时候，中国广东潮剧团已经前后来过三次，由中国输入本邦的录音、录相充斥市场，以香港潮剧团的水准，在本地还能卖座吗？谁都不敢有太大的信心，唯独可以略为壮胆的，只有"陈楚惠"三个字。出钱赞助主办的人，也都抱着亏本无所谓的心态，要给陈楚惠一个考验。为了减轻成本负担，部分乐员及配角都在新加坡临时聘用。陈楚惠在牛车水人民剧场演足了一个月，星期天还要加演日场，票房纪录却是有增无减。就在这个时候，由国这剧场主办的中国广东潮剧团第二团，也来到新加坡，由郑健英挂帅，在嘉龙剧场开锣上阵。好个陈楚惠，竟宣布展演十天，与广东潮剧团演对台戏，而在这最后十天中，仍然夜夜爆满。她在人民剧场院共四十天，演了四十四场戏，不论新剧目或旧剧目，戏迷都支持到底。陈楚惠有这样的号召力，实在是足以自豪的。

陈楚蕙 - 岳王剑， 潇湘秋雨，洛水仙姬，碧玉簪，错配姻缘
I am so happy to have my idol, Tan Chor Hwee (陈楚蕙), performed for me on my birthday on 22 Mar 2009। Ha ha, what a mere coincidence! I found it so rewarding to have watched the afternoon’s performance। She appeared in many excerpts of the performance। In fact, that was the best show amongst the 3 performances I have watched.

I was busy making movie clips the whole morning.The afternoon’s performance commenced at 3 pm. When I was approaching Kreta Ayer Theatre, I met QiLing who also rushed there by taxi. As it was closed to the commencement of the performance, I decided not to visit the back stage.

Soon, the afternoon’s performance began. Amazing, Tan Chor Hwee dressed as a general and she sang a song for charity, 慈善事业播春光, in Teochew. Then, she acted in several折子戏 including 岳王剑, 潇湘秋雨, 洛水仙姬, 碧玉簪, 错配姻缘。

I liked 碧玉簪 ‘The Jade Hairpin’ very much. It was exactly the same segment as her black and white movie produced many decades ago. It was simply too wonderful to watch this segment of the show again.

太兴奋了，我的偶像陈楚蕙在我生日当天为我呈现经典潮剧，真是千载难逢的好就会。 哈哈，只能说是巧合。看了3月22日那场日场演出后，觉得很有满足感，因为这是我看过陈楚3场表演的最佳演出。

早上忙着制作短片，然后在两点出发，搭地铁去看戏也。到达了牛车水人民剧场，听到有人呼唤我的名字，原来是奇灵，他也是从家里搭德士赶来看戏。由于接近开场时间，我没到后台走一趟。

一开场，陈楚蕙就穿这将军的戏服，威风凛凛的唱出‘慈善事业播春光’。这首歌只有短短的两分多钟，就把戏迷的心玄紧紧地扣住了。 好一个陈楚蕙！接着，陈楚蕙也带来多部折子戏，有岳王剑, 潇湘秋雨, 洛水仙姬, 碧玉簪, 错配姻缘，实在好看。

香港小生王陈楚蕙经典潮剧表演晚会 - 21 – 3 - 2009

It was another great evening. Again, Tan Chor Hwee and her team have put up a spectacular performance. It was about 6.30 pm when I reached Kreta Ayer Theatre. This time, my wife and mother-in-law came along too. Then, we met our friends, Susie and Edmund. Edmund’s eyes were very sharp. He could recognize my wife even though I was not beside her.



Later, we decided to go to the backstage. Gosh! The backstage was so crowded and that room where Tan Chor Hwee was painting her face was simply too congested. I could not squeeze in at all. My wife and I decided to go another room where Cai Bixia of the Chinese Opera Institute and Chen GuoLai were busy preparing for the performance. We have a short chat with them.

After a short while, Tan Chor Hwee was ready for photo shoot. She was dressed in civilian. Her fans were just too many and they took turn to take pictures. The photo taking was done quite orderly. I decided to take one with her too. My wife helped me with the photo shoot. I also managed to take one for Susie. It was a great shot indeed. I also took a picture with Yu Lili.

The performance commenced with Tan Chor Hwee singing 高山流水情无涯. It attracted a big round of applause and many fans blew whistle to endorse her performance. She put up 赵少卿选段梦魂, 白玉扇, 蓝继子哭街, 蓝继子遇兄 and 孙安动本

At the end of the performance, the organizer made special arrangement for Chor Hwee’s fans to go on stage. I helped Susie and Edmund to take some pictures when they present bouquets of flowers to Tan Chor Hwee.

又是一个令人难忘的夜晚。 陈楚蕙和她的搭档又为大家献出精彩的潮剧演出。抵达牛车水人民剧场时已经将近傍晚6点半。今晚和太太以及岳母一起观赏潮剧。 今晚也是太太第一次和来自温哥华的林先生和林太太见面。林先生的眼力真不错，我不在太太的身边时，他竟然认得出她。

过后，我们决定到后台去看偶像。哇！后台很热闹，人山人海。陈楚蕙正在化妆的房间更不得了，人多到挤不进。 我们便转道到另一间房间找戏曲学院的蔡碧霞和新加坡著名老生陈国来聊天。问国来当晚演什么，他说你看过的梦魂荷蓝继子遇兄。

不一会儿，陈楚蕙打扮好了，影迷们排队和她一起拍照。这是千载难逢的好机会，我岂能错过，于是叫太太帮我拍一张照片。我也帮林太太拍一张照片。效果还真不错。

陈楚蕙一出场便唱‘高山流水情无涯’，观众的反应非常热烈，又鼓掌又吹口哨。 陈楚蕙和陈国来再一次演出赵少卿选段梦魂，这次很顺利的拍了这出折子戏的短片。陈楚蕙在白玉扇里以女妆演出，在蓝继子哭街市的乞丐装，让人捧腹大笑。热心的观众还拼命的把钞票往台上丢。最后一段折子戏是孙安动本。

在演出结束前，主办单位安排一些朋友上台献花。在林先生和林太太献花给陈楚蕙时，我也替他们拍了一些照片。

香港小生王陈楚蕙经典潮剧表演晚会
陈楚蕙首晚义演　吸引上千戏迷捧场

When I first got to know that Hong Kong Teochew Opera King Tan Chor Hwee is coming to town again, I was so excited. However, as my schedule is very tight, I could only manage to book tickets for 3 performances in advance. Nonetheless, I was able to watch the first performance. It was also a golden opportunity to meet my e-friends, Susie and Edmund, from Vancouver.

I took leave on 19 Mar 09 so that I would have sufficient time to chat with Susie and Edmund. I also invited QiLin to join us for dinner. We had a simple dinner at a restaurant nearby. Then, we made our way to the back stage of Kreta Ayer Theatre. On the first evening, there was limited access to the backstage because the Guest-of-Honour would be making a trip there before the performance began. We managed to have a photo opportunity with Tan Chor Hwee before we entered the Theatre to watch her performance.

Tan Chor Hwee delivered a short speech in Teochew to thank her fans for supporting her. Then, she sang ‘戏剧人生’ and performed in several excerpts including ‘五子挂帅’ and ‘一门三进士’.

知道陈楚蕙要在3月再次来到狮城演出时，非常开心。由于时间的关系，不能每场都看，有点可惜。还好能够出席第一场的表演，并和来自加拿大的朋友夫妇见面以及欣赏演出，兴奋不已。 2009年3月19日下午5。30分约了他们和潮剧好友奇灵一起共用晚餐，然后到剧场观看演出，也趁机到后台找偶像拍照。陈楚蕙在开场时致词感谢观众的支持捧场，然后演唱‘戏剧人生’和演出‘五子挂帅’和‘一门三进士’的潮剧选段。

下文取自联合早报记者宋佳佳的报道。
　　虽已67岁，但知名潮剧“小生王”陈楚蕙的戏剧魅力丝毫不减。昨晚由她独挑大梁的潮剧慈善义演吸引了1000多名本地戏迷到场支持。
　　在牛车水人民剧场举行的潮剧慈善义演，由牛车水—金声公民咨询委员会与新加坡楚蕙影友会联合呈献，为牛车水—金声区贫苦老人和学童筹款。
　　这是陈楚蕙第一次与牛车水—金声社区发展与福利基金合作，她受访时说，能有机会在本地做慈善让她感到开心。
　　她说：“我来新加坡表演很多次了，觉得这里的戏迷一次比一次热情，让我很欣慰。加上今年是我从事潮剧的第50个年头，可以借表演为有需要的人出一份力，我感到非常有意义。”
　　4岁起随家人观赏陈楚蕙演出的汤麒麟(22岁)是昨晚年纪最小的支持者之一。他难掩兴奋地说：“我和家人都是陈楚蕙的超级戏迷，她唱的戏很有感情，很容易让人感动，所以她在本地的每一场表演我一定到场。”
　　昨晚义演的1000多张戏票中，约600多张为100元以上慈善票。根据慈善晚会筹委会宣传主任卢威麒，慈善票售出约500张。
　　卢威麒说：“市道不好，有人愿意出钱做慈善，我想这不仅证明了陈楚蕙的魅力，也证明传统戏曲还是有价值的，我们希望通过义演筹到10万元，虽然有点困难，但公众的反应还是令人满意的。”
　　除了昨晚的慈善义演，陈楚蕙也会连同陈楚惠潮剧团从本月20日到22日进行4场公演。

陈楚蕙潮剧艺术演唱会 2008 (第三晚演出)
Tan Chor Hwee Teochew Opera and Concert – Day 3
Sunday, 27 Apr 2008

Time flies. Tonight is the last performance of 陈楚蕙潮剧艺术演唱会 2008. I had my dinner at Pearl’s Centre and reached Kreta Ayer Theatre at about 6.50 pm. I saw many old folks streaming down the street and I realized that the afternoon performance could have just ended.

This time round, the door leading to the backstage was locked. I supposed the actors/actresses were having their dinner and they needed some rest. The door was finally opened at about 7.40 pm. I went to look around and heard that 陈楚蕙 was not in. I wondered how could it be as she would be the first to sing. Then, I went to look for 蔡碧霞. She was preparing for her performance later. I also got to know 陈国来. He was painting his face red as he would playing the role as 关公later. I asked her the aunties were saying that 陈楚蕙 was not in and she pointed at one corner where 陈楚蕙 was doing her make. Ha ha, 调虎离山记. I told 蔡碧霞 that I had no opportunity to take photos of her and 陈国来 for my blog. She told me to come during the interval and I told I was not sure if there could one as there was no interval on Day 1.



One lady besides asked me in Mandarin, ‘你会看潮州戏啊?’ I told her I have been watching Teochew Opera since I was young. While watching, she also agreed that the lady MC was terrible. Those ladies seated in front of me also aired their dissatisfaction during one part of the show.



Like the other 2 performances, 陈楚蕙 sang a few songs at the beginning of the show. 告神 by林玉 was supposed to be one of the 折子戏 but she sang in civilian. Wow, 十八相送 by 陈楚蕙 and沈惠贞 leh. I have not watched this 折子戏 before and I like this segment from the movie 梁三伯与祝英台. I have watched this performance many times. I fell in love with 黄梅调 when I watched 梁三伯与祝英台 by凌波, the Cantonese drama serial 梁三伯与祝英台by 刘松仁, 越剧梁三伯与祝英台 by 茅威涛 and the Teochew opera movie 梁三伯与祝英台 by 庄雪娟 and 石玲. I thoroughly enjoyed this segment very much.



陈国来 and 蔡碧霞 put up a 折子戏 called 关公与貂蝉. A very impressive performance by the Singapore team.



Then, the organizer added a折子戏 - 洛水仙姬 by 陈楚蕙 and 余丽莉. The next 折子戏 was 太子杀妻 by 陈楚蕙 and 沈惠贞. Both of them played this role in 楚宫恨 when they performed in Malaysia last year. While 陈楚蕙 was changing her costume for the performance, the 2 MCs went cold feet and did not know what to do. Then, 牛马丁 offered to share the storyline of 太子杀妻. He was so blur that he did not know what he was reading. He read the script for 落水仙姬. A few of us shouted ‘wrong’, ‘wrong script’ but he still did not get the hint. He was simply misleading and confusing some of the audience. Luckily, 陈楚蕙 was ready and the 折子戏 commenced. After that, 陈楚蕙 conducted the grand draw. Only those who watched all the 4 performances were eligible for the draw. A lady was lucky enough to win away the big prize which is a tour to 汕头and 香港 to be led by 陈楚蕙 departing on 20 Nov 2008.



The last 折子戏was 盘夫 by 陈楚蕙 and 林玉. It ended at 11 pm and the crowd was beginning to leave. Then, the MC announced 陈楚蕙 would be singing another song to thank the audience. It was followed by a final appearance of all other actresses and actors. I maneuvered my way to the front stage to take photos. Later, I went up the stage to take photos. The first few shots went to 蔡碧霞 and 陈国来. I also took one photo with them. Then, I saw Qilin and he helped me to take photos with 沈惠贞and 林玉. Finally, I managed to take a photo with my favourite idol, 陈楚蕙, in opera costume.



A very rewarding night.

陈楚蕙潮剧艺术演唱会 2008 (第二场演出)
Tan Chor Hwee Teochew Opera and Concert – Day 2
Saturday, 26 Apr 2008

This evening, my wife and I came to Kreta Ayer Theatre to support our favourite idol 陈楚蕙. We were surprised that the door leading to the backstage was opened. We quickly made our way to the backstage and took some pictures with 陈楚蕙 in 旗袍. Then, we saw 沈惠贞, 林玉, 余丽莉 and 张应炎 painting their faces. We said hello to our friend from the Chinese Opera Institute (戏曲学院), 蔡碧霞. We saw 陈国来 too. 沈惠贞 was very nice. She had a few words with us. As the crowd became bigger, we set off to the audience seats.

Again, 陈楚蕙 sang a few songs but she did not sing any Cantonese song tonight. She then invited余丽莉 to sing 毛子佩 with her. I was a little disappointed because I thought that was a折子戏. Then, 陈国来 and 蔡碧霞 sang 告亲夫.

Tonight, the MCs announced that the audience could take photos from where were seated. Alamak, should have brought two cameras leh. Qilin told me he heard someone expressed their unhappiness to the organizer. So, sometimes it pays to complain right.

The first 折子戏 was 潇湘秋雨 by 林玉and 张应炎. 蔡碧霞undertook an additional role as MC and she recited a brief of the story line before the performance began. The 折子戏is one of the best parts of the show 潇湘秋雨 in which 崔妙兰 met her father 崔广祥 at 潇湘. This is the only折子戏 by 张应炎 and he is already 75 years old. I also watched him performed in Malaysia year. Not sure if am bias but I strongly feel that only方巧玉 has the ability to sing and perform the role as 崔妙兰 in view of her special voice quality and her polished acting skills.

The next 折子戏 is our favourite show. It is none other than 别窑 from the show 红鬃烈马. 陈楚蕙 played the role as 薛平贵 and 沈惠贞 played the role as 王宝钏. This attracted the loudest applause and many of us were thrilled with the very high standard of performance. According to the programme, this is last performance but it was still early. So we had the opportunity to watch two more 折子戏.



The first one was 白蛇传. It was about Madam White Snake and her sister, the Green Snake. Thee next 折子戏 was a big surprise. It was 盘夫by陈楚蕙 and 林玉. This is best segment adapted from the show 严兰贞敲破玉花瓶. I recalled 陈楚蕙 and 林玉 performed this折子戏 before but I never get a chance to watch it. I like this opera movie very much. I always listen to the CD recorded by陈楚蕙 and 曾珊凤. This segment is about 曾荣 revealing the truth of his identity to his wife 严兰真. It is really百听不厌.



The show ended at about 11.10 pm. My wife and I wanted to go to the back stage but we saw some actresses had dressed down. Then, we saw陈国来. I asked my wife to take a photo for me.

陈楚蕙潮剧艺术演唱会 2008 (第一场演出)Tan Chor Hwee Teochew Opera and Concert – Day 1
Friday, 25 Apr 2008

Tan Chor Hwee (陈楚蕙) put up a 3-day performance in Singapore from 25 to 27 Apr 2008. It has been a year ago since I last saw her performed in Malaysia. This time round, she only performed for 3 days with a total of 4 performances. I managed to squeeze time to watch 3 performances.

Unlike all previous performances, Chor Hwee adopted a concert style followed by performance of selected opera segments (折子戏) from her movies and some of the popular shows put up by China Teochew Opera Troupes. On Day 1 of her performance on 25 Apr 2008, I arrived as early as 7 pm but was wondering why the door to the backstage was locked. This was unusual as in the past, whenever there was a performance by Chor Hwee, the door to the back stage was always opened. I saw many mature aunties sighing and cursing. So, boh pian loh, cannot go in mah.

The performance started promptly at 8 pm. I nearly fell off my seat when the MCs appeared. The male MC, Niu Ma Ding (牛马丁) was doing a fair job because he could speak Teochew and amuse the audience but I bet he was not very familiar with Teochew opera. It was unbelievable to notice that his counter part, the female MC, could not even speak the Teochew dialect. She said fragmented words in Teochew, supplemented by Hokkien and Mandarin and it was obvious that she knew nuts about Teochew opera. I admired her courage to host such a performance. I personally heard many audiences cursing at her. I also contributed by unhappiness by joining the crowd. Really, buay tahan.

Chor Hwee kicked off the performance like what one would normally see in any performance by superstar in concert. She sang two songs from her latest album and a Cantonese song, 碧海狂僧. She also had a quick chit chat with the audience. She also picked some lucky tickets for the lucky draw.

The first opera segment (折子戏) was 救夫 by 沈惠贞. This is a segment from the opera performance 三娶相国女. In my opinion, I think 沈惠贞performed better when she played the same role in Malaysia last year.

The second opera segment was 梦魂 by 陈楚蕙 and 陈国来. This is first time I see 陈楚蕙 performing this segment. She played the role of 郭佳 in this segment adapted from赵少卿. This is also the first time 陈楚蕙 put on 长水袖 and I could see she was trying to overcome the length of the long sleeve. I also watched林燕云 of 广东潮剧院一团 performed this role before. In my opinion, her performance was superb. I have heard of 陈国来 from my internet friends from China but have never had any opportunity to watch his performance before. As a 老生, his voice is very solid. He played the role as 赵少卿very well. Heard he is young man. I am amazed that he could act so well.

扫窗会 was the third opera segment that night. 陈楚蕙 played the role as 高文举and 林玉 acted as 王金真. This segment lasted almost 40 minutes and I enjoyed the performance very much. I still prefer the black and white movie扫窗会 by 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉.

Finally, the last opera segment for the night was 洛水仙姬 by 陈楚蕙 and 余丽莉. This is a segment of the well know opera piece 洛神. The original movie in colour was performed by 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉.

I walked quickly to the front stage when the performance ended. I managed to take a few shots of my favourite idol. I left Kreta Ayer Theatre at 11 pm.

香港潮剧小生王陈楚蕙又将来演出了!

Tan Chor Hwee will be back on stage again. However, the stage performance will take place in JB instead of Singapore. According to a newspaper article, 陈楚蕙 will be pairing up with 沈惠贞 of China this time.

There will be no new surprises in the series of performance as she will be putting up 三看御妹刘金定, 红鬃烈马, 一门三进士, 宋弘拒婚 etc. The only performance which she rarely put up in recent years is 三家福.

I am not sure if I could spare the time to cross the causeway and watch her performance. My favourite show, 一门三进士 has been scheduled on two week days. Sigh.

陈楚蕙 三看御妹刘金定
Another Teochew Opera by Heavenly King 陈楚蕙

陈楚蕙 acted in this show 三看御妹刘金定 many times. She paired up with 谢子兰 of 泰中潮剧团 in Thailand. 陈楚蕙 and 沈惠贞 of China also acted in 三看御妹刘金定 when they performed in Singapore.

When I was a small boy, I watched 织云潮剧团 performed this classic opera 三看御妹刘金定 at the open space outside Block 68, Lorong 4, Toa Payoh. I was too young to appreciate the show but the crowd was fantastic. At that time, 织云潮剧团 had a strong team. The stage was packed with actresses when some 6 - 8 female soldiers accompanied 御妹刘金定 at the begining of the show. Nowadays, think I can only find such scene in Thailand or China Teochew opera troupes.

陈楚蕙 - 一门三进士
Teochew Opera - One Family Three Scholars


Have you watched this Teochew opera performance 一门三进士 before? If not, have you listened to the tapes or CD before?

If you are a Teochew Opera fan and have not had any opportunity to do so, you may want to consider spending a few dollars to buy the tapes, CD or VCD. 一门三进士 has an excellent script which emphaises filial piety and ends up with a happy reunion.

There is no movie production for 一门三进士. In the early 1980's, only LPs and cassettes were available. It was produced by 新天彩潮剧团 with 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉 as the main lead. Subsequently 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉, 陈楚蕙 and China troupes, and 楚蕙潮剧团 put up 一门三进士 when they peformed in Singapore. The VCD version is currently available.

This is an opera that wring the tears from your eyes with its strange and sad tale of family separation. One thing common though, it ends with a happy re-union.

Here is the story line.

A poor scholar, 张文远, borrows money from two rich squires to go to the capital to sit for the imperial examintions. However, he fails his examinations and is not heard of again. The two squires approach his wife 孙淑林 to settle his debts.

She is forced to give out her two sons to that two men. She leaves her village and heads towards the capital to look for her husband, She ends up as a kicthen maid in her eldest son's house and is ill treated by her daughter-in-law.

Her two sons have a chance to reunite first but as her eldest daughter-in law has a father who is the prime minister, her eldest son does not want to talk about his past. The two brothers have a heated arguement and the case is handled by their father, who has also passed the imperial examinations and changed his name to 张达.

张文远 is happy that his younger son is filial and is also glad that his wife is still alive. A happy re-union for the family.

一门三进士 is also a hot favourite amongst Singapore local Teochew opera troupes. 织云潮剧团 and 金鹰潮剧团 had performed this show many times. I had seen the two troupes performed 一门三进士 at least 3 times each. I will continue to stand and watch the whole performance if they put up 一门三进士 again. It is a pity that there is no movie production for 一门三进士.

五子挂帅 by 陈楚蕙 and 萧少云
Five Generals of the Liang Family

During that year when 陈楚蕙 put up the great performance 'A Family of Scholars' or 一门三进士, 陈楚蕙, 张应炎 and 萧少云 also performed 五子挂帅. This is a large cast with impressive military scenes. It is a tale about filial piety and sibling love. Despite the evil machinations of the devious Minister Jia, the five brothers of the Liang family succeed in restoring their father's good name. The greater part of the opera focuses on the trials and tribulations of each of the five brothers.

Mt first encounter with 五子挂帅 was through cassettes. During that year, 陈楚蕙 and 方巧玉 released a set of cassettes entitled 五子挂帅. Recalled that was the year 陈楚蕙 made a return for her stage performance. Then, I rented a set of VCDs which featured 陈楚蕙 performing 五龙会 (another title for 五子挂帅) with 谢子兰of 泰中潮剧团. Subsequently, 陈楚蕙 and 萧少云 put up 五子挂帅 when they performed in Singapore. When 陈楚蕙 returned to Hong Kong, heard she sold many sets of costumes to the then popular local Teochew Opera Troupe 新荣和兴潮剧团 and 新荣和兴潮剧团 managed to capture strong audience support for 五子挂帅.

My eldest and second sons know how to recite the 20 words lyrics from the show 五子挂帅. Here it goes: 抹我红鬃马，砺我青锋剑，请缨杀胡虏，忠孝万古扬 …..Cheng Cheng Cheng (the gong gong sound of Teochew Opera). My third son can also do that by echoing after me. It is never my intention to force them to accept opera. It’s just coincidental that they accepted the recitation with joys and fun. They don’t know how to appreciate opera but could stay through sometimes to finish the whole opera performance with me. All they know is such performance is ma ma’s 陈楚蕙, cheng cheng, cheng ……