Musicals
Les Misérables, colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz, is a sung-through musical and an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel of the same name. The original French musical premiered in Paris in 1980 with direction by Robert Hossein. Its English-language adaptation by producer Cameron Mackinto...
Mamma Mia! (1999) is a jukebox musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of ABBA composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, members of the band. It includes such hits as "Super Trouper", "Lay All Your Love on Me", "Dancing Queen", "Knowing Me, Knowing You", "...
Oliver! is a British coming-of-age stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The 1968 film adaptation, directed by Carol Reed, was highly successful, winning six Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice (Broadway 1971, London 1972). Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, by 1980, the musical had grossed more than $237 million worldwide. Running for over eight years in Lond...
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood in 1963 which is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The musical premiered at the Theatre Royal Stratford East on 19 March 1963 to rave audience reaction. Richard Attenborough's film adaptation was re...
Starlight Express is a 1984 British musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. It tells the story of a young but obsolete steam engine, Rusty, who races in a championship against modern engines in the hope of impressing a first-class carriage, Pearl. Famously, the acto...
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a musical with music and lyrics written by Richard and Robert Sherman and a book by Jeremy Sams. It is based on the 1968 film of the same name written by Roald Dahl, Ken Hughes, and Richard Maibaum, which in turn is based on the book of the same name by Ian Fleming. The...
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a sung-through musical comedy with lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly with the full format wa...
Blood Brothers is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Willy Russell. The story revolves around fraternal twins Mickey and Eddie, separated at birth, one raised in a wealthy family, the other in a poor family. The musical won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical and went on natio...
Billy Elliot: The Musical is a coming-of-age stage musical based on the 2000 film, with music by Elton John, and the book and lyrics by Lee Hall, who wrote the film's screenplay. The plot revolves around Billy, a motherless British boy who begins taking ballet lessons. The story of his personal s...
The Rocky Horror Show is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. Premiered in London in 1973, it tells the story of a newly engaged couple getting caught in a storm and coming to the home of a mad transvestite scientist, Dr Frank-N-Furter, unveiling his new creation, a sort of F...
Sunshine on Leith is a stage musical featuring the songs of The Proclaimers and written by Stephen Greenhorn for the Dundee Rep Ensemble and first performed in 2007. The show won the TMA Award for Best Musical that year and has toured several times since.
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 musical comedy film directed by Richard Lester starring the English band the Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. The film portrays 36 hours in the lives of the group as they prepare for a television p...
The Commitments is a 1991 musical comedy-drama film based on the 1987 novel by Roddy Doyle. It was directed by Alan Parker from a screenplay written by Doyle, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. Set in the Northside of Dublin, the film tells the story of Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins), a young musi...
