Stage classic strikes a modern chord

Twenty-three years after Les Miserables was first performed in Shanghai, the epic musical has returned to the city. The staged concert production began its run at Shanghai Grand Theatre on Nov 4 and will go through Dec 28.

Jointly presented by the Shanghai Media Group, Mailive, and Shanghai Grand Theatre, Les Miserables: The Staged Concert Spectacular is part of the "See You in Shanghai!" project initiated by SMG Live, which aims to integrate live entertainment with the city's tourism, retail and other sectors to promote economic growth.

Altogether, there will be 64 presentations of the show in the city, with all 102,000 tickets selling out soon after going on sale at the end of last year.

On Oct 25, SGT released a few hundred extra tickets for temporary seats, and enthusiastic audiences queued up at midnight in front of the theater to buy them.

According to the theater, about half of ticket buyers are from other parts of the country.

"Many people have traveled all the way to Shanghai especially for the show," says Zhang Xiaoding, general manager of SGT.

Shanghai has the largest market for musical shows, according to Ma Chencheng, president of SMG Live. "For more than a decade, we have been committed to developing the musical theater industry and promoting the maturation of China's musical theater industry across the entire industry chain, from creation to production and operation. China's musical theater market has now entered a period of rapid growth, or its golden era," he says.

In 2002, Les Miserables was the first Western musical to perform at Shanghai Grand Theatre, when 21 shows took place. "It was a milestone for the theater, as well as China's live theater scene," Zhang says.

At that time, the musical was still a new thing to most Chinese audiences. The first wave of theatergoers, most of whom were middle-aged, came to the production largely because of their love for the classic novel, from which the musical was adapted. "After the first few nights, the tickets sold out so rapidly that we had to sell extra tickets that allowed people to sit on the stairs in the aisle," Zhang recalls.

Compared to 23 years ago, this production of Les Miserables is attracting younger audiences, the majority of whom are women, she finds. Many of them are very familiar with the musical repertoire, with some passionate fans traveling abroad to see musicals on Broadway or in the West End, she says.

These audiences are also enthusiastically buying the show's merchandise, which was jointly launched by the production company and SGT. From fake baguettes printed with 24601 — the prison ID number of the hero in the show — to badges, fridge magnets and mugs, the merchandise sells like hot cakes.

Three toy bears, each bearing the costume of a leading character: Jean Valjean, Javert and Enjolras, are especially popular with consumers. On the opening night alone, more than 600 toy bears — the larger ones priced at 299 yuan ($42) each — were sold out by the intermission. Many people bought more than one, taking an extra bear for someone else.

"We have introduced toy bears for a series of musical shows in the past, from Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, to The Phantom of the Opera," Zhang says. "They have become very popular souvenirs that people can take home to keep as part of their cultural life."