Mandarin version of musical ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to premiere

A Mandarin production of the Broadway musical Beauty and the Beast will premiere at the Walt Disney Grand Theater in Shanghai Disney Resort this summer.

Based on the 1991 Academy-Award winning animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast premiered on Broadway in 1994 and has become one of the longest-running and highest-grossing Broadway shows.

Since licensing of the title began in 2004, there have been 28,000 productions in 37 countries and regions, and the show has been translated into 17 languages.

A Beauty and the Beast live-action movie based on the animated feature has enjoyed great success in China.

According to Alan Menken, who wrote the score, there are some new elements in the Mandarin production and it will be staged by local performers.

The theater has staged some 500 shows of the Mandarin version of Broadway musical The Lion King.