The Broadway musical My Fair Lady is touring the mainland as a celebration of its 60th anniversary.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The Broadway musical My Fair Lady has made its debut on the Chinese mainland as it celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

The musical was first performed in Shanghai from April 29 to May 5, and will tour other cities, including Xiamen of Fujian province, Zhuhai and Guangzhou of Guangdong province, Chengdu of Sichuan province, Chongqing and Beijing, where it will be staged from June 9 to 19.

The eight performances of the show in Shanghai, which drew more than 10,000 people, impressed the audiences with its energetic cast, sets and timeless music.

The director, Jeffrey B. Moss, says that the experience so far has been overwhelming both for him and the cast.

Speaking of the audience response, Moss, who has been to China with smaller productions, says: "They have been so captivated by the show that they have been laughing and applauding all the way through. Sometimes they laugh in places we have not heard before. They give the company a wonderful ovation at the curtain-call bows."

The show, which first opened on March 15, 1956, at Broadway's Mark Hellinger Theater, is based on George Bernard Shaw's 1921 play, Pygmalion.

The musical, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, tells the story of Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, who was transformed into an upper-class lady by linguistics professor Henry Higgins.