A still from "Aida." [File Photo: Xinhuanet]

The Broadway classical musical "Aida" will hit the Shanghai stage in September, marking its Chinese tour debut, event organizers announced on Tuesday.

Having played theaters across North America for five years, and many places across the world in Europe and Africa, about 20 shows will be performed at the Majestic Theater from September 25 to October 12.

Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" features music by John, lyrics by Rice, and book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang. "Aida" was originally directed by Robert Falls and produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.

Big League Theatricals, which recently produced the acclaimed North American tour of "Miss Saigon," has conceived and developed this new touring production.

Staging is by T.J. Young and Choreography is by Sarita Allen. The design team for the new production includes Neil Patel (scenery), Emilio Sosa (costumes) and Charlie Morrison (lighting).

The Broadway production named "Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" opened at the Palace Theater on March 23, 2000, and ran 1,852 performances, making it one of the longest running shows in Broadway history, generating a successful national tour and several international productions.

Big League Theatricals Inc acquired the rights to create the new touring production.

Based on the story from the classic Verdi opera, "Aida" is an epic tale of love, loyalty and betrayal with an exhilarating score by John and Rice, their first collaboration since writing the music for the worldwide phenomenon "The Lion King."

Moving away from traditional opera, "Aida" features John's modern pop score with spoken dialogue and all kinds of recognizable song types including urban-based rhythm and blues, gospel-inspired songs and ballads.

(Shanghai Daily July 2,2008)