Mackintosh to Transfer 'Les Miserables,' Other Hits to China

BBC reports Producer Cameron Mackintosh will "help stage Chinese versions of hit West End shows like Miss Saigon and The Phantom of the Opera.  The first, a Chinese-language version of Les Miserables, will debut next year at Beijing's National Grand Theatre."

The article says auditions for the show will take place across China by the end of 2007.   Mackintosh is also producer of hits like Mamma Mia!, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady (now touring America) – he hopes to bring these productions to Asia later.  Cats is scheduled to reach Macau, Decemeber 24 - 28 (tickets on sale now).

The productions are part of an agreement with the China Arts and Entertainment Group, affiliated with China's Ministry of Culture. In a statement, Mackintosh says "he will help to train Chinese writers, performers and production crews to create original Chinese musicals."

Mackintosh was the first Western producer to transfer a Broadway production to China with Les Miserables in 2002.  Following came productions The Sound of Music and The Lion King, which hit Chinese soil this past year.  The trend continues with a current successful production of 42nd Street touring China and other major Asian cities.