Singin' in the Rain, a West End musical production based on the classical Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, will conclude its three-and-a-half-month tour in China with 14 performances at Shanghai's West Bund Theatre from Feb 26 to March 8.

The 1952 movie tells about Don Lockwood, a silent movie star falling in love with a chorus girl, while he and his screen partner are making the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.

While the stage production remains very much true to the story of the movie, the live theater experience is enhanced by the use of 6,000 liters of water and over 100 meters of heavy-duty rubber hose.

"There are two huge water tanks that are linked up to bars that run across the stage to allow the rain to fall down," Michelle Bishop, resident director of the production, said.

Then the floor is flooded from beneath on a timer. "We can't get that timing wrong," Bishops says, "otherwise we will flood the wrong people."

With flooding from the ground, and rain from above, the performers will splash each other and even the audience. The theater has specially prepared raincoats for the audience in the "rain zone".

This unique interactive experience is particularly popular with audiences, according to Song Yang, general manager of West Bund Theatre, as the "rain zone" seats for all 14 shows in Shanghai have sold out a month before opening.

The water is heated to 37 degrees Celsius for the comfort of the performers and it takes 15 minutes to drain the water following each show. Afterwards the water is recovered, recycled, cleaned, and used again.