Best Broadway shows coming to Shanghai

China’s first musical theater, Shanghai Culture Plaza, will officially throw open its doors on September 23 after six years' construction.

Built with the aim of becoming the cornerstone of Asia’s answer to Broadway, the 65,000-square-meter theater is getting the show off to a flying start.

“Ultimate Broadway,” (极致百老汇) a musical that features some of the most popular songs from Broadway hits, will run from September 23-October 9, Shanghai Daily reported.

More on CNNGo: 'Mamma Mia!' leads the way for a brave new Chinese-language musical theater world 

The show is co-produced by Shanghai Grand Theater and GWB Entertainment Company and is directed by South African theater actor and director Paul Warwick Griffin, who wowed Shanghai with his “High School Musical” in 2009.

The report didn’t specify how many numbers there will be in total, but segments from "A Chorus Line," "The Phantom of the Opera," "Cats," "South Pacific," "Gypsy," "Wicked," "Les Misérables," "Chicago" and "Mamma Mia!" will all be part of the lineup.

Headlining the cast are established Broadway actors such as Brad Little, Eden Espinosa, Kevin Kern and Ria Jones.

According to the show’s official ticketing website ticket2010.com, Lea Salonga of “Miss Saigon” fame will also join the show as a special guest.

"We have had discussions for a long time about a proper musical work to open Shanghai Culture Square," said Fei Yuanhong (费元洪), project director of “Ultimate Broadway.”

"Eventually, we decided that presenting an amalgamation of great songs from different musicals would be the perfect start."

Brad Little, who performed in "The Phantom of the Opera" in Shanghai six years ago, expressed his excitement for “Ultimate Broadway” at a press conference.

"That was the start of my Asian career," he said. "I performed in Hong Kong and Taiwan in the following years, but the first stop, Shanghai, is always special for me."

More on CNNGo: 'Spin': Chinese musicals take center stage

The RMB 1.1 billion, 2,010-seat Shanghai Culture Plaza is built on the site of a former flower market in Shanghai’s Luwan district, and reaches 26 meters below ground level at its deepest.

Top-notch audio facilities are installed under each single seat.

Shanghai Culture Plaza is dubbed the world’s biggest and deepest underground theater and the only dedicated musical theater in China.

Ultimate Broadway (极致百老汇), Shanghai Culture Plaza, 36 Yongjia Lu, Shaanxi Nan Lu 永嘉路36号, 近陕西南路, September 23-October 9, RMB 80-1,280, ticketing hotline: +86 21 6472 9000, buy tickets