Sunday, March 20, 2005

Phantom of the Opera The musical Phantom of the Opera has been staged in the Shanghai Grand Theatre for the past 3 months. The final performance was last week, and overall it has been a huge success. It had the highest box office income for a theatre show in China, and they even staged additional shows during its last week on stage. A couple of weeks ago we went to see the show, and I was very impressed by it. It was performed by a foreign cast, and all the usual sets are being used, including the huge chandelier that falls down from the ceiling. On both sides of the stage the text was shown in Chinese characters. Interestingly in the old Chinese way, vertically and from right to left. But the characters were simplified Chinese, not the original characters (the ones still being used outside China). The audience behaved very well, that[base ']s often something that can spoil the performance. No flashes from cameras, and no ringing mobiles. Maybe because the tickets were relatively expensive? Another noticable thing is that nobody left before the end of the performance, and even during the applause people stayed in their seats instead of immediately leaving the theater. I am glad to see that this kind of performances is also staged in Shanghai now, and especially that the public appreciates it. Andrew Lloyd Webber, who came to Shanghai to watch the musical here as well, told the press that he is in discussions now to also stage other of his musicals in Shanghai. Great! 11:01:55 PM    comment []