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Long-running Musical Theatre Productions
This is a selected list of the longest-running musical theatre productions in history divided into two sections. The first section lists all Broadway and West End productions of musicals that have exceeded 2,500 performances, in order of greatest number of performances in either market. The second section lists, in alphabetical order, musicals that have broken historical long run records for musical theatre on Broadway, in the West End or Off-Broadway, since 1866, in alphabetical order. :Legend: ::m = music, l = lyrics, b = book ::(Noteworthy trivia appear in parentheses) ::(5,678) = number of performances (in original Broadway production if not specified) ::> denotes shows that are still in production. The number of Broadway performances is updated per Playbill.com as of March 2020. The number of West End performances is updated per Britishtheatre.com as of December 2016, and sporadically as information becomes available. ::"Tony Award winner" denotes winner of Tony for Best ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole. Although musical theatre overlaps with other theatrical forms like opera and dance, it may be distinguished by the equal importance given to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements. Since the early 20th century, musical theatre stage works have generally been called, simply, musicals. Although music has been a part of dramatic presentations since ancient times, modern Western musical theatre emerged during the 19th century, with many structural elements established by the works of Gilbert and Sullivan in Britain and those of Harrigan and Hart in America. These were followed by the numerous Edwardian musical comedies and the musical theatre w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fred Ebb
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera. Background He worked during the early 1950s bronzing baby shoes, as a trucker's assistant, and was also employed in a department store credit office and at a hosiery company. He graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in English Literature, and also earned his master's degree in English from Columbia University.McKinley, Jess"Fred Ebb, 76, Lyricist Behind 'Cabaret' and Other Hits, Dies"''The New York Times'', September 13, 2004. One of his early collaborators was Philip Springer, and a song they wrote together ("I Never Loved Him Anyhow") was recorded by Carmen McRae in 1956. Another song Ebb wrote with Springer was "Heartbroken" (1953), which was recorded by Judy Garland, the mother of his future protégée, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cats (musical)
''Cats'' is a sung-through musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based upon the 1939 poetry collection ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' by T. S. Eliot. It tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make the "Jellicle choice" by deciding which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. As of 2022, ''Cats'' remains the fourth-longest-running Broadway show and the seventh-longest-running West End show. Lloyd Webber began setting Eliot's poems to music in 1977, and the compositions were first presented as a song cycle in 1980. Producer Cameron Mackintosh then recruited director Trevor Nunn and choreographer Gillian Lynne to turn the songs into a complete musical. ''Cats'' opened to positive reviews at the New London Theatre in the West End in 1981 and then to mixed reviews at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in 1982. It won numerous awards including Best Musical at both the Laurence Olivier and Tony Awards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Johnson (playwright)
Catherine Johnson (born 14 October 1957) is a British playwright, producing works for stage and television. She is best known for her book for the ABBA-inspired musical '' Mamma Mia!'' and screenplay for the musical's film adaptation. The film became the highest-grossing British picture of all time in the UK, and the biggest selling UK DVD of all time in January 2009. She also co-wrote the 2018 sequel, ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again''. Johnson grew up in Wickwar near Wotton-under-Edge and attended Katharine Lady Berkeley's School in Wotton. She was expelled from school at 16, married at 18 and divorced by the age of 24. She moved to Bristol and finding herself unemployed and with one child to support and another on the way she spotted a notice in the local paper for the Bristol Old Vic/HTV West playwriting competition. She wrote ''Rag Doll'', using the pseudonym Maxwell Smart, a play about incest and child abuse, which won the competition and was staged by the Bristol Old Vic. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' For the 2008 film version of ''Mamma Mia!'' and its 2018 sequel, ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'', he worked also as an executive producer. Since 2001, he has been active with his own band Benny Anderssons orkester. Early life Göran Bror Benny Andersson was born 16 December 1946 in the Vasastan district of Stockholm to civil engineer Gösta Andersson (1912–1973) and his wife Laila (1920–1971). His sister Eva-Lis Andersson followed in 1948. Andersson's musical background comes from his father and grandfather (Efraim); they both enjoyed playing the accordion, and at six, Benny got his own. His father and grandfather taught him Swedish folk music, traditional music, and schlager. The first records Benny bought were "Du Bist Musi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, producer, a member of the musical group ABBA, and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma Mia!'' He co-produced the films '' Mamma Mia!'' and ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'' with fellow ABBA member and close friend Benny Andersson. He is the oldest member of the group. Early life Björn Kristian Ulvaeus was born in Gothenburg on 25 April 1945. In 1951, he moved with his family to Västervik, Kalmar County. His parents were Aina Eliza Viktoria (née Bengtsson; 1909–2005) and Erik Gunnar Ulvaeus (1912–1999). Ulvaeus has one sister, Eva Margareta (born 1948). Ulvaeus studied business and law at Lund University after undertaking his military service, alongside comedian Magnus Holmström. Career Pre-ABBA Before gaining international recognition with ABBA, Ulvaeus was a member of the Swedish folk- schlager band Hootenanny Singers, known earlier as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mamma Mia! (musical)
''Mamma Mia!'' (promoted as ''Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia!'') is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on songs recorded by Swedish group ABBA and composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, members of the band. The title of the musical is taken from the group's 1975 chart-topper " Mamma Mia". Ulvaeus and Andersson, who composed the original music for ABBA, were involved in the development of the show from the beginning. Singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad was involved financially in the production and she was also present at many of the premieres around the world. The musical includes such hits as " Super Trouper", "Lay All Your Love on Me", " Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "Take a Chance on Me", "Thank You for the Music", "Money, Money, Money", "The Winner Takes It All", " Voulez-Vous", " SOS" and " Mamma Mia". Over 65 million people have seen the show, which has grossed $4 billion worldwide since its 1999 debut. A film ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Mecchi
Irene Mecchi (born September 21, 1949) is an American screenwriter and playwright, whose prominent works include screenplays for several Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney animated films. She co-authored the screenplays for ''The Lion King'' (1994), ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film), The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), and ''Hercules (1997 film), Hercules'' (1997). With co-author Roger Allers, she received a 1998 Tony Award, Tony nomination for writing the book for ''The Lion King (musical), The Lion King'' stage musical. Biography Mecchi was born in the third generation of her family that lived in San Francisco, California. She attended the University of California, Berkeley, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in theater. Early into her career, her aspirations to direct theater led her to study at the American Conservatory Theater, where her instructor, Joy Carlin, was impressed with her writing and encouraged her to pursue it on a full-time basis. She agreed. Her fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roger Allers
Roger Charles Allers (born June 29, 1949) is an American film director, screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist, and playwright. He is best-known for co-directing ''The Lion King'' (1994), the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time, and for writing the Broadway adaptation of the same name. He also directed Sony Pictures Animation's first feature-length animated film, '' Open Season'' (2006). Life and career Early life Born in Rye, New York, but raised in Scottsdale, Arizona, Allers became a fan of animation, at the age of five, after seeing Disney's ''Peter Pan'' (1953). Deciding that he wanted to pursue a career in animation, and even work alongside Walt Disney himself, a few years later, he was sent off to Disneyland for a do-it-yourself animation kit. However, Allers, by then a high school student, grew discouraged about achieving his dream when he had heard of Disney's death in 1966. Despite not getting the chance to meet Walt Disney, Allers still presse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ''Jesus Christ Superstar'', and ''Evita''; with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote ''Chess''; and with Disney on '' Aladdin, The Lion King'', the stage adaptation of ''Beauty and the Beast'', and the original Broadway musical ''Aida''. He also wrote lyrics for the Alan Menken musical ''King David'', and for DreamWorks Animation's ''The Road to El Dorado''. Rice was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to music in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, is a Disney Legend recipient, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors. In addition to his awards in the UK, he is one of seventeen artists to have won an Emmy, Osc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s, having released 31 albums since 1969. Collaborating with lyricist Bernie Taupin since 1967, John is acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his work during the 1970s, and his lasting impact on the music industry. John's music and showmanship have had a significant impact on popular music. His songwriting partnership with Taupin is one of the most successful in history. John was raised in the Pinner suburb of London and learned to play piano at an early age, forming the blues band Bluesology in 1962. After leaving Bluesology in 1967 to embark on a solo career, John met Taupin after they both answered an advert for songwriters. For two years, they wrote songs for other artists, and John worked a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lion King (musical)
''The Lion King'' is a Musical theatre, musical play based on the 1994 Walt Disney Animation Studios' The Lion King, animated feature film of the same name with music by Elton John, lyrics by Tim Rice, and Book (musical theatre), book by Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi, along with additional music and lyrics by Lebo M., Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor, and Hans Zimmer. Directed by Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets. The show is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. Production history The musical debuted on July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Orpheum Theatre (Minneapolis), Orpheum Theatre and was successful before premiering on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theatre on October 15, 1997, in previews, with the official opening on November 13, 1997. On June 13, 2006, the Broadway production moved to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of ''Mary Poppins (musical), Mary Popp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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