Let her RIP: Teresa Teng is back  Photo: Peng Peng

Legendary Chinese diva Teresa Teng (aka. Deng Lijun) will be the subject of a new musical at Beijing Exhibition Hall Theatre next month. Love U, Teresa, tells the story of Teng's musical career with 30 of her most popular songs.

The musical, which made its debut in Hong Kong on the last day of 2010 and became a hit during its tour among other cities, marks Chinese music producer Li Dun's new attempt to stage something new after his signature work Butterfly.

"After Butterfly, I had been thinking about doing something different. And people, old and young all like to listening to Teng's music, even now, years after her death. So I came to the idea of staging her story with her own songs," said Li.

Li turned to renowned scriptwriter Wong Huiling for help, who had worked at Ang Lee's movies Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Lust, Caution. But she didn't want to write about Teng's past, and there was no future for this singer. She hoped to create something that incorporated her feelings. "I believe audiences don't only want to recall the memory of her. They want to see something positive, so the story about her dreams fits," said Wong.

The music director Lao Zai didn't only use her classic household songs like "Story of a Small Town" and "Sweet Honey", but created a new song for the theme: "No Place that Love Can't Reach".

The musical has toured 15 cities across the country. After it wraps in Beijing, it will tour Tianjin and then to Teresa Teng's birthplace in Taiwan in September.

When: August 5 and 6, 7:30 pm

Where: Beijing Exhibition Hall Theater

Tickets: 100 yuan to 680 yuan

Contact: 400-610-3721