Musicals tap into a surge in demand

A series of musicals and plays will make their China debut in Shanghai, solidifying the city's significance in the live entertainment sector, according to an announcement by Shanghai Culture Square.

A news conference on March 25, saw French musical actor Abi Bernadoth perform a song from Moliere, le Spectacle Musical, which will debut in China in Shanghai on Sept 12. The production was created by Dove Attia, composer of the musical Mozart L'opera Rock, premiered in Paris in 2023 and has successfully toured China multiple times.

Winner of the French reality competition series The Voice: La Plus Belle Voix in 2020, Bernadoth will give his first public performance in China, playing the antagonist, Prince de Conti. He tells the media that he is aware "there is a huge community waiting for new musicals and they are eager to discover you and new universes. I can't wait to exchange with people to see how they receive the show, how they share that bond with us, how they send love, and how we're going to send that love back.

"To prepare, I'm slowly but surely learning Chinese," says the French singer.

"China is one of the largest overseas markets for French musicals. Shanghai takes the largest share of that. That's why we are seeing a growing number of French musicals coming to Shanghai," says Fei Yuanhong, general manager of Shanghai Culture Square. "This is an effective tie between the Chinese and French cultures. They take into consideration the possibility of touring Shanghai, even during the creating phase."

One of the most anticipated productions on the 2025 program is Spirited Away, which premiered in Japan in 2022. The play, adapted and directed by John Caird, former associate director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, is based on the Japanese film of the same title by Hayao Miyazaki. Shanghai Culture Square sold out more than 37,000 tickets to the 25 shows "within one day after box office opening", according to Fei.

At the news conference, Shanghai Culture Square announced that they added 17 more performances.

The upcoming shows mark the play's second tour outside Japan, following a successful London tour last year.

All 42 shows taking place at Shanghai Culture Square from July 14 to Aug 17 "are probably still not enough for Shanghai", Fei says. "This play will be phenomenal. We look forward to receiving audiences from not only China but also nearby countries in the Asia-Pacific region."

This is not the first time Shanghai Culture Square has held dozens of performances for one production. "We presented 64 shows of The Phantom of the Opera, and War Horse, too," he says. The German musical Elisabeth also had 40 shows at the theater in 2014.

Musicals and theater productions from other countries are also making their China debut at the venue this year, such as British production of Wuthering Heights by Wise Children theater company, which was created and led by the multi-award-winning director Emma Rice, and the West End production of Life of Pi directed by Max Webster, which was created in 2019 and is now on its first Asia tour, as well as the German production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Russian author Anton Chekhov's masterpiece The Cherry Orchard, with the internationally renowned French film star Isabelle Huppert, opened last Friday for a three night run.

According to Huppert, Chekhov's masterpiece explores universal human feelings, which transcend time and culture. The play's cherry orchard represents philosophical and metaphoric existence, she says. "It can be real or fictional. That's what makes Chekhov a genius. It could be a person, property or an old place."

Huppert gave her first performance at Shanghai Culture Square doing a reading of Marguerite Duras in 2017. "Shanghai audiences welcomed me passionately. I felt their enthusiasm and am happy to return," says the actress.

Earlier this year, Huppert participated in a Chinese reality TV show as a guest mentor. She said she hopes to have more opportunities working in China with Chinese filmmakers. Huppert has seen many films by Chinese directors and named a few that she particularly liked, such as Jia Zhangke, Bi Gan and Lou Ye.

Shanghai Culture Square was founded 14 years ago as the first theater in the city to be designed to showcase musicals. Since then, Shanghai has gradually become an important center for performing arts in China and for the global live entertainment industry, Fei says. "It is a natural choice for big theater productions from abroad to premiere in Shanghai. The market proves that our audiences have strong consumption power for overseas repertoire, not just French but also German, Italian, Russian and Spanish shows. Our audiences have developed distinctive preferences — some favor French, some German, and some only go for Broadway shows."

Meanwhile, China's live entertainment market has evolved with high-quality productions emerging, Fei observes. "Musical talents are gathering in Shanghai. Such a virtuous circle has accelerated the continuous development of China's musical industry," he says.

From April 18 to 27, British singer Sarah Brightman will lead the revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Sunset Blvd at AIA Grand Theatre in Shanghai. The production kicked off its Asian tour in Beijing on March 27.

In May, the English musical Six will start a residential performance at Shanghai's Majestic Theatre. Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, it gives the untold story of King Henry VIII's six wives.

Six is a project under Shanghai Media Group's new residential live show brand "See You in Shanghai", which highlights theater shows as an important attraction for domestic and international visitors. Les Miserables the Arena Spectacular will also be presented under the brand at the Shanghai Grand Theatre for eight weeks starting Nov 4.