Jihong Lu promoter of flop Auckland show City of 100 Lovers is 'fighting cancer' but still seeks comeback

The SkyCity Theatre production City of 100 Lovers was a commercial failure.

Fallout from New Zealand's largest theatrical bomb continues, with the show's controversial promoter claiming to have late stage cancer and seeking millions of dollars to refloat the flop.

Musical comedy City of 100 Lovers opened in October last year with a reported budget of $12 million - a sum unprecedented for a New Zealand stage production - but closed suddenly last month after lacklustre ticket sales and reports cast, crew and contractors had been unpaid for weeks or even months.

The Herald on Sunday has spoken to multiple sources with knowledge of attendance and ticket sales who confirm the production only rarely sold more than 20 tickets each night. Its venue, in SkyCity's theatre, has capacity for 700, leading to many performances playing to near-empty houses.

The show's promoter, colourful Auckland businessman Jihong Lu, initially offered to meet and discuss the show but later declined to be interviewed citing "the need to focus on the ongoing medical treatments for my severe health condition".

In a written statement, Lu said: "I am diagnosed for late stage cancer. After [having] been through chemo and surgery, I am now going through alternative treatments in Tokyo. I intend to fight on.

Jihong Lu aboard his superyacht in Auckland this week. Lu's $12m show City of 100 Lovers collapsed last month owing creditors hundreds of thousands of dollars. photo /Supplied

On Facebook this week, Lu posted pictures of himself diving into the Hauraki Gulf from the deck of his superyacht Templar.

In his statement, Lu said the prospects for creditors to be repaid depended on whether he could raise millions of dollars in additional capital and reopen the production.

"We are in discussion with our investor base now. If the fund is successfully secured, we would be in a position to clear all valid creditors, including SkyCity, cast and crew," he said.

This plan was viewed with scepticism from creditors - including 70 cast and crew - still owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.

One creditor said they would only entertain such a move if existing balances were first settled and future contracts paid in advance, while another rated the odds of the City of 100 Lovers coming back from the dead as a "snowball's chance in hell".

Jihong Lu aboard his superyacht in Auckland this week. Lu claims a diagnosis of "late stage cancer" was partly responsible for his complicated business affairs. Photo / Supplied

Colin Espiner, a spokesman for SkyCity, would only confirm that Lu had recently met with management with his plans to stage an ambitious comeback.

"Yes he has asked us to restart. We're talking to him," Espiner said.

It is understood the listed casino operator is the production's largest creditor.

The fall of the show sparked widespread discussion in the theatre and arts community, with many expressing long-held doubts about the viability of the production and questioning how it was allowed to develop into such an epic disaster.

Television producer and actor Nigel Godfrey said: "I don't think one should shed too many tears for those left high and dry here, I certainly won't be crying any. From opening night, which I attended, it was quite obvious that something was very wrong with this set-up."

Godfrey said the show itself was flawed - "a musical without a decent score or song ... a story with more holes than an old string vest" - and low audience numbers should have raised red flags and set off alarm bells much sooner.

"This was a disaster that some of us were prepared to come out and predict from before the opening."