Mainland producers, hampered by a lack of big-name Chinese musicals, are adapting and translating more Western works into Putonghua, but one expert has questioned whether that is the best way to develop the art form.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats will become the second top Western musical to be performed in Putonghua next month, following last year's Mama Mia.
Shanghai-based United Asia Live Entertainment, the producer of both adaptations, says making Putonghua versions of the cream of Western musicals is a necessary step before Chinese can produce their own.
However, mainland researcher Wen Shuo said that strategy displayed 'an incorrect understanding of the musical' and would not succeed.
United Asia general manager Tian Yuan said that while Chinese people wanted to turn out their own high-quality and commercially successful musicals, it was difficult to pull off.
'Making a musical is a systematic effort that presents high requirements for every aspect of the production process, ranging from players and stage designers to stage managers and so on,' Tian said. 'But there is little such talent on the mainland with enough experience on musicals.
'Artists experienced in making films or producing stage dramas might not adapt well to musicals. What's more, it's a huge challenge for us to recruit musical players.'