Mandarin 'Mamma Mia' planning new tour

The Mandarin version of the musical Mamma Mia! will return to China later this year, as the production plans a tour of Guangzhou from Nov 17 and Beijing from Dec 14, for a period of over two months. Rehearsal has been ongoing for seven weeks in Beijing.

The acclaimed musical has been performed in over 440 cities in 50 countries worldwide, reaching a combined audience of more than 60 million people. Since it was first performed in 2011, the Mandarin version of the musical — the show's 14th language total — set several records for audience numbers and box-office receipts. With over 400 performances across 24 cities in China, it has attracted audiences of more than 600,000.

Paul Garrington, director of this version of the musical, also directed the version of Mamma Mia that toured in 2011.

"The reaction from the Chinese audiences was glowing when we first staged the Chinese version of Mamma Mia. That's the magic of the musical," the director said in Beijing.

Now in its fourth season, the Mandarin version of the musical will feature several Chinese stars, including Hong Kong actress-singer Adia Chan, who played alongside Hong Kong pop star Jacky Cheung in the musical Snow.Wolf.Lake.