The production team includes conductor Du Ming-yuen, director Hsieh Shu-ching and arranger Jan Tien-hao, plus performers Cheng Bo-ren, Lo Mei-ling, Lin Tzu-yin and Chi Chi. They have been working together since 2008.

Taiwan and China have been governed separately since the end of a civil war in 1949. This war also forced many lovers or couples to live in different cities across the Taiwan Strait.

"My granduncle living in Taiwan never married before his death because he could not forget his lover in China," Hsieh said, adding that with the normalization of cross-strait relations, Taiwanese young women could fall in love with Chinese young men, and vice versa. One Suzhou girl told the director that she was deeply moved after seeing the performance because her boyfriend was from Taiwan.

The musical portrays love stories about the older and younger generations in Shanghai and Taipei. But the plot, Lo said, has been edited several times based on current affairs, such as cross-strait direct flights in 2008, Taiwan's openness to Chinese tourists in 2009, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China signed last month, the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and the Taipei International Floral Expo in November.

Younger audiences may find they have a lot in common with the characters in the musical, especially their views on life and love. But the actors' singing will have resonance for an older audience.

Jan arranged the popular, old songs between the forties and the eighties for the musical, including some golden oldies sung by Teresa Teng, a Taiwanese singer who was hugely popular throughout China from the late 1970s to the late 1980s. In the early 1980s, the Chinese government banned people from listening to her songs because of political tensions. Despite the ban, her popularity in China continued to grow. She was also popular among Taiwanese fans because her sweet voice comforted those homesick for loved ones on either side of the Taiwan Strait.

In this musical, the performers will sing Teng's hit songs, such as "Tian Mi Mi," "I Only Care About You," "Lovers' Tears," "Endless Love," and "Green Island Serenade."

The musical will be staged at the National Theater in Taipei at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 14 and at 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 15, in Matsu at 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 11, and at the Nanjing Zijin Grand Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 17-18. Tickets for the Taipei performance are now available at http://www.artsticket.com.tw/