Test for a big show

The Broadway classic Into the Woods has debuted in Beijing for a long run, but musicals seeking audiences in China are not out of the woods yet, writes Raymond Zhou.

When Into the Woods premiered at Beijing's PLA Theater on Nov 8, the lavish set, the lobby decor and the wall-to-wall posters outside the house were jaw-dropping for the audience. But for professionals, it was the length of the run, 100 performances till the end of January, that truly took industry insiders' collective breath away. It is short by Broadway or West End standards, but in China, only revues at tourist hotspots command the consecutive number of shows in the three digits.

Even Mama Mia, arguably China's most successful musical commercially, did not open with such a long run. It and a few others, like Avenue Q, had a cumulative run of over 100 performances in China, including touring shows in different Chinese cities.