You see a musical. A producer sees a story that has to be made, financed, carried across markets—and given a life beyond its first production.
Event Information
13 September 2026
UK: 1:00–2:30 PM
China: 8:00–9:30 PM
Guest speaker: Sophie Qi
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Harmonia Holdings
Tony, Olivier & Grammy Award-winning producer
Who this is for:
- Musical theatre audiences curious about who makes the decisions behind the stage
- Anyone interested in how Broadway, the West End and Asian markets connect
- Creators and professionals working in—or hoping to enter—producing, IP, rights, marketing and international collaboration
- People interested in how Asian stories can become an active force in the global entertainment industry
If you have ever sat in the audience, you may have wondered
Why do some musicals travel from one city to another country, while others stop after their first production?
When a project lands on a producer’s desk, what really determines whether someone says yes? Is it the story, the team, the market, the audience—or the long-term potential of what that story could become?
Box office matters. But is the value of a musical limited to the tickets sold in one run? Once IP, international licensing, rights management and new territories enter the picture, how much further can a story travel?
In this edition of Talking, we bring those usually hidden decisions into the conversation.
Starting with Death Note: opening up the business of a commercial musical
Sophie Qi uses Death Note: The Musical as a starting point to take us inside the decisions made by producers and investors.
From the first time a project is considered to the moment someone decides whether to back it; from capital entering the production to producing, marketing, rights and international strategy—a commercial musical is shaped by crucial decisions long before an audience enters the theatre.
How do producers evaluate a project? What makes them say yes—or walk away? Once the money is in, how is risk managed? And after the first run ends, where can a show continue to create value?
This is about more than how to invest in a show
- What makes a project worth backing: how producers and investors think about stories, opportunities and risk
- What happens after the money goes in: how production, market and project risks are managed
- Value beyond the box office: how IP, international licensing and rights management can extend the life of a story
- Why some shows travel: how Broadway, the West End and Asia-Pacific connect through production and partnership
- What comes next for Asian stories: whether Asia remains primarily a market or becomes an active participant in content, capital, production and global value creation
Why should Asian stories be more than a “market”?
As Asia develops more stories, IP and audiences, a bigger question is emerging.
Does an Asian story need validation from Broadway or the West End before it can travel globally? Should Asia mainly receive established international productions—or can it enter earlier, shaping development, investment, production, rights and international partnerships from the beginning?
Having spent more than fifteen years connecting Broadway, the West End and Asia-Pacific, Sophie brings this question into the room through her own experience of producing and international collaboration.
For audiences, it is also a chance to see “global musical theatre” differently. The cultural exchange visible on stage is accompanied by another flow behind it: of ideas, capital, markets and rights.
About Sophie Qi
Sophie Qi
A producer connecting Broadway, the West End and Asia
Sophie Qi is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Harmonia Holdings, a global entertainment company specializing in theatrical production, intellectual property development, international licensing, artist management and cultural partnerships.
With more than fifteen years of experience across the international entertainment industry, her producing credits include Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Jagged Little Pill and Death Note: The Musical.
Sophie is a Tony, Olivier & Grammy Award-winning producer, the first China-born Chinese American Tony Awards voter, and a member of The Broadway League.
She is also the founder of Broadway Academy and creator of the annual Chinese New Year Benefit Concert, while continuing to support arts education and collaboration across Broadway, the West End and Asia-Pacific.
Her work is not only about deciding which show to invest in next. It asks a larger question: Which stories are worth investing in for the long term—and what does it take to help them travel globally?
One question to take with you
When you love a story, you might buy a ticket.
But what if you were the person deciding whether that story gets made at all?
Would you bet on a story?
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