When the British Musical Ruled the World

Film journalist Sellers (Peter O’Toole: The Definitive Biography) recounts how London’s commercial West End, beginning in 1978 with Evita, temporarily surpassed New York City’s Broadway in initial musical productions. The book’s focus is on the team of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice, who burst forth with Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971 and continued with successful collaborations. Thereafter, Cats, Starlight Express, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Chess, and Miss Saigon appeared first in London and then transitioned to the American stage. Benefiting from interviews with actors, singers, choreographers, dancers, designers, directors, and producers, this book shows how creative works staged in England crossed the Atlantic and were translated from stage to film. British musicals drew inspiration from a range of international sources and introduced more spectacular stage effects, such as the crashing chandelier in Phantom and the onstage helicopter in Miss Saigon. The book also points out occasional differences between critics’ pans and audiences’ praises, as with Les Misérables. Perceived failures such as Time and Metropolis show how musical success can be elusive, especially when colleagues aren’t amenable to rewrites.