LONGEST RUNNING SHOWS
These are the longest running shows in London:
THE MOUSETRAP: This nonmusical play we must mention opened 25 November 1952 originally at the Ambassadors Theatre; it celebrates the 55th year. It is also the longest running show in Canada; started on 19 August 1977 it closed on 18 January 2004 after running for 26 years.
FANTASTICKS: The show’s original production off-Broadway opened in 1960 ran for 17.162 performances, becoming the world’s longest-running musical, for 42 years.
LES MISÉRABLES: Opened 8 October 1985 originally at the Barbican Theatre; 23 years on show.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: Opened 9 October 1986; 22 years ago. With 8747 performances, the musical is still running.
CATS : Opened 11 May 1981 at the New London Theatre and closed 11 May 2002 on its 21st anniversary.
*FROM THEATRE TO CINEMA
ANNIE 1977(musical) – 1982(film)
Eleven-year-old Annie is in an orphanage who keeps the little girl orphans in line by bullying and threatening them. The girls are ever hopeful that they will find parents and happiness while Miss Hannigan is unhappy with her situation. Annie decides to escape to find her parents, running with a friendly dog.
Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie. The musical ran for nearly six years on Broadway, spawned numerous productions in many countries and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. There were major differences between the stage musical and the film; the film featured four new songs. It received Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Music, Original Song Score and Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score.
CHICAGO 1975(musical) – 2002(film)
Chicago centers on Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart, two murderesses who find themselves on death row together in 1920s Chicago. Velma, a professional vaudevillian, and Roxie, a housewife with aspirations of being a star, fight for the fame that will keep them from the gallows.
The show had the misfortune of opening the same year as the highly successful A Chorus Line, which beat out Chicago in both ticket sales and at the Tony Awards. The show was on the verge of closing. The movie grossed $306,403,013 worldwide and has the highest gross of any film never to reach 1 or 2 in the weekly box office charts.
MAMMA MIA! 1999(musical) – 2008(film). On the fictional island of Kalokairi, 20-year-old bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan nervously posts three wedding invitations to three different men. Sophie has found her mother’s diary and learned she has three possible dads: New York-based architect Sam Carmichael, Swedish adventurer and writer Bill Andersson, and British banker Harry Bright. She sent their invites without telling her mother, believing that after she spends time with them, she will at last know who her real father is.
The film and the musical are based on the songs of the successful pop group ABBA. As of 2008, the musical has been performed in eleven languages. It is the third highest-grossing film of 2008 internationally, with a total of $429,028,596. It is said that there could be a sequel of Mamma Mia! because of its success.
CATS 1981(musical) – 1998(film)
The musical centers around the Jellicles, a tribe of cats who meet once a year at the Jellicle Ball. During the Ball, one of the cats will be selected to go to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn. The various songs feature several cats who may be considered for this honor. The musical first opened in the West End in 1981. It won numerous awards, including both the Laurence Olivier Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical. Cats has been performed around the world in numerous productions and has been translated into more than 20 languages. It was also made into a video film that has been broadcast on television.
*FROM CINEMA TO THEATRE
MARY POPPINS 1964(film) – 2004(musical)
George Banks, an old-fashioned London banker, is trying to find a nanny for his two naughty children, Jane and Michael. His children produce an advertisement for their ideal nanny. Floating down from the sky, the “practically perfect” Mary Poppins arrives, having rescued the remains of the children’s advertisement. She charms George into giving her the job, and soon delights the children with her songs and magic, while remaining extremely firm and militant, and only promising to stay until the wind changes.
The stage musical is not a direct adaptation of the Disney film, but features elements of both the film and the original children’s books, written by P.L. Travers. The West End production received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre Choreography.
PETER PAN 1924(film) – 1950(musical)
M. Barrie’s 1904 novel is the story of a boy who didn’t want to grow up and spent his life in Neverland battling the pirates and Indians. When he brings the Darling children to Neverland with him he finally defeats his foe, Captian Hook, and befriends the Indian chief.
Peter Pan is the fourteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. The film was celebrated for its innovative use of special effects. Initially intended as a full-blown musical, it was originally staged with only five songs, by Leonard Bernstein. The show was not doing well, so director Jerome Robbins hired lyricists and a composer to add more songs and several other fine numbers, turning the show into a full-scale musical in Broadway.
THE LION KING 1994(film) – 1997(musical)
A young lion prince is born in Africa, thus making his uncle Scar the second in line to the throne. Scar plots with the hyenas to kill King Mufasa and Prince Simba, thus making himself King. The King is killed and Simba is led to believe by Scar that it was his fault, and so flees the kingdom in shame. After years of exile he is persuaded to return home to overthrow the usurper and claim the kingdom as his own thus completing the “Circle of Life”. It is the 32nd film in the Disney animated feature canon. The Lion King is regarded as a landmark in animation, and received positive reviews from critics, who praised the film for its music and story. The film grossed more than $783 million worldwide, becoming the most successful one released that year (1994).
The musical debuted in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Orpheum Theatre, before premiering on Broadway. It is still running with success.
BILLY ELLIOT2000(film) – 2005(musical)
The story revolves around motherless Billy, who trades boxing gloves for ballet shoes. His personal struggle and fulfillment are balanced against a counter-story of family and community strife caused by the eighties’ coal miners’ strike in Northern England.The film was nominated and won ten awards worldwide. The musical, opened in London’s West End, won four Laurence Olivier Awards in 2006. These were Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Sound design, and Best Actor(s) in a musical. At thirteen, Liam Mower, the young main character, was the youngest actor ever to win the award.