Chicago China Run Descends into Farce Amid Worries for Beijing Performance

Despite Chinese media reports suggesting that the China run of blockbuster Broadway musical "Chicago" is in trouble, promoters contacted by us this morning insist that at least the Beijing and Shanghai legs of the tour remain unaffected.

Reports surfaced on The Beijing News today that the show, which began its China run in December, has been beset by problems that have led to the cancellation of a number of dates. Stories of broken promises, counter accusations, technical difficulties and limitations have painted nobody in a good light. But it seems that, at least for now, despite there being a fair amount of bad blood between local promoters and the Chicago production team, the Beijing performances will go ahead as scheduled from the end of this month.

Vice-president of promoters Joyway Culture, Zhang Yuzi, revealed that the multi award-winning show, which debuted on Broadway in 1975, has been plagued with complications. He claims two Fuzhou performances descended into farce with no dialogue spoken at all during the show, making them "unofficial" performances.

"Because it's a touring performance, the previously agreed terms in the contracts may be changed from day to day," said Zhang. "One day they'll have to switch venues, and the next they'll have to make do with a makeshift stage; performers may only have one day a week to rest. The producers claimed that they didn't have enough time to set up a stage, so then we had to cancel the performances in Wuhan and Xiamen."

This weekend's shows in Chongqing have already been axed, but promoters are hoping to retain performances scheduled after January 15 in Qingdao, Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai.

Just yesterday, Chicago producers claimed that selected venues were "not suitable" for the production, but Zhang says the producers had checked out the theaters as recently as the beginning of December and had approved the nine suggested venues.

Stay tuned to thebeijinger for any further developments.

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