Singapore musical Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress is one of the most successful and epic productions in local theatre history, selling over 100,000 tickets in three soldout runs. Now Singapore Repertory Theatre and Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay are set to revive it, with pop singer Kit Chan reprising her lead role as the legendary Empress Dowager Cixi, the most powerful woman in the late Qing dynasty.With music by Dick Lee, the cast also includes Malaysia's Cheryl Tan (Beauty World) and Singapore's Sebastian Tan (Broadway Beng), as well as West End and Broadway star Earl Carpenter (Les Miserables) and Broadway star Steffanie Leigh (Mary Poppins).

Forbidden City: Portrait of an Empress plays at the Esplanade Theatre from Aug 8 to 27. Tickets from Sistic.