Chinese actor Wang Luoyong [CRI]

"Jane Eyre", the novel had nothing to do with "Miss Saigon", the musical. That is not until Chinese actor Wang Luoyong returns to the theater stage next month.

Wang, who has been hailed as a "top Asian actor in Broadway" for leading the long-running musical "Miss Saigon" in 1990s, will play Jane Eyre's lover, Edward Rochester, in an upcoming Chinese theatrical adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic romantic novel.

Actress Yuan Quan will star as Jane Eyre.

The show, which will have a ten-day run at Beijing's National Center for the Performing Arts from June 19, is Wang's first theatrical effort in seven years.

Chinese-born Wang went to the United States in the 1980s and was recognized as one of the rare Asian faces in Broadway for playing the Engineer in "Miss Saigon". When the show closed in 2001 as one of the longest-running hits in Broadway's history, Wang had led nearly 2,500 performances.

His portrayal of the Engineer, which was played by Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce in the London original, was "nothing less than a dazzling reinterpretation that raised the level of the entire show," according to a New York Times review.

Wang returned to China following the conclusion of "Miss Saigon" to focus on his career on the small screen. He was recently seen in last year's television hit drama "The Legend of Bruce Lee".

Director: Wang Xiaoying
Cast: Yuan Quan, Wang Luoyong
Dates and Time: June 19-28, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: National Center for the Performing Arts, No.2 West Chang'an Avenue, Beijing
Tickets: 100 - 500 yuan
Tel: (86 10) 6655 0000

(CRI May 26, 2009)