Mamma Mia! features a Chinese cast, which is a big draw for local audiences.[Photo/China Daily]

"It was hard to survive as a musical actor," says Xia, who landed only two roles in 2008 after earning his degree.

Of his 30-odd classmates, only five or six still work in musicals.

Xia has had roles in more than 10 musicals, including as Munkustrap, a leading character in the Chinese version of Cats that toured from 2012 to 2014. Six of his roles have come this year alone.

"The situation has become better now, since musicals are being accepted by audiences," he says.

In the past, pioneering Chinese producers such as San Bao and Li Dun have tried to push made-in-China musicals, despite the tough local market.

"Even now many people ask what a musical is and what a Chinese musical is," says Li Dun, who has devoted nearly three decades to the art form.

He has invested money in a career of musicals that spans from Shenzhen to Beijing to Shanghai. In April he launched Oriental Theater, a musical theater in Beijing, staging more than 60 performances of his two early works: Love U, Teresa and Mama, Love Me.

"I believe that the ultimate goal is to produce Chinese musicals based on Chinese stories and then export them around the world," Li Dun says.