MAMMA MIA! to Become First Major Western Musical to Recieve Chinese Production

According to xinhuanet.com, MAMMA MIA! will be come the first major western musical to be produced in Chinese for a run in China.  The website reports: "[China Arts and Entertainment Group] CAEG, which promotes Chinese-language productions of musical theatre masterpieces, signed the licensing agreement [with European music company Littlestar] at a ceremony in Beijing on Wednesday (June 2, 2010), and is now set to produce "Mamma Mia!" 13th foreign-language version, following its original English...Zhang Yu, president of CAEG, said "Mamma Mia!" will be the first worldwide musical masterpiece to be produced in Chinese..."

The show received a staging in 2007 in Shanghai and Beijing to great commercial success.  No production details - including venue and time-line information - have been released.

Inspired by the story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs, writer Catherine Johnson's enchanting tale of family and friendship unfolds on a Greek island paradise. On the eve of her wedding, a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father brings three men from her mother's past back to the island they last visited 20 years ago...

With music & lyrics by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus, "MAMMA MIA!" is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast. The production is designed by Mark Thompson with lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce & Bobby Aitken and musical supervision, additional material & arrangements by Martin Koch.

From West End smash to global phenomenon, "MAMMA MIA!" has already been seen by more than 40 million people in over 190 cities across North America, Australia, Europe and Asia. It has already grossed over $2 billion at the box office worldwide. The original London production opened in 1999 and has been seen by over 5 million people, grossing over £185 million at the UK Box Office. The International Tour is in its fifth year of touring, having been seen by over 3 million people in cities as diverse as Cape Town, Zurich, Dublin, Beijing, Taipei, Berlin, Paris, Lisbon, Pretoria, Dubai, Copenhagen, Tel Aviv, Riga, Shanghai, Helsinki, Bratislava, Prague, Glasgow and Budapest.