The Chinese production will be the 18th language the show is performed in.
Two weeks before its premiere, the Shanghai Grand Theatre invited members of the media for a backstage tour. Denny Berry, the executive choreographer for the Chinese edition, who also used to work with the flagship production in New York, told the media that being in Shanghai was "bittersweet" as her colleagues had to "put to bed the flagship production" while she had to be here in another country to bring to life the musical's first Mandarin production.
Stage rehearsals for the Chinese production began on the same day the Phantom of the Opera had its final curtain call at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway.
The Chinese production team consists of more than 120 members, 40 of whom work with the technical department.
According to Rainer Fried, the executive director of the Chinese production, all casting was conducted online in a "nerve-wrecking, long process" due to the pandemic. It was only six weeks ago that more than 40 cast members from the original Webber production landed in Shanghai.
Fried describes the feeling of walking into the rehearsal room and meeting the cast as "emotional, moving and scary", but he expresses satisfaction with the casting choices. "We haven't made a single casting mistake. The actors exceeded expectations completely. I can't speak highly enough of them," he says.
