Editing Musical theatre (section)

==== 1980s ====
[[File:Sir Cameron Mackintosh.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Cameron Mackintosh]]]]
The 1980s saw the influence of European "[[megamusical]]s" on Broadway, in the West End and elsewhere. These typically feature a pop-influenced score, large casts and spectacular sets and special effects – a falling [[chandelier]] (in ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera]]''); a helicopter landing on stage (in ''[[Miss Saigon]]'') – and big budgets. Some were based on novels or other works of literature. The British team of composer [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] and producer [[Cameron Mackintosh]] started the megamusical phenomenon with their 1981 musical ''[[Cats (musical)|Cats]]'', based on the poems of [[T. S. Eliot]], which overtook ''A Chorus Line'' to become the longest-running Broadway show. Lloyd Webber followed up with ''[[Starlight Express]]'' (1984), performed on roller skates; ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (1986; also with Mackintosh), derived from the [[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|novel of the same name]]; and ''[[Sunset Boulevard (musical)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1993), from the 1950 [[Sunset Boulevard (film)|film of the same name]]. ''Phantom'' would surpass ''Cats'' to become the longest-running show in Broadway history, a record it still holds.<ref name=EL250>Everett and Laird, pp. 250–256</ref><ref name=AH206>Allain and Harvie, pp. 206–207</ref> The French team of [[Claude-Michel Schönberg]] and [[Alain Boublil]] wrote ''Les Misérables'', based on the [[Les Misérables|novel of the same name]], whose 1985 London production was produced by Mackintosh and became, and still is, the [[Long-running musical theatre productions|longest-running musical in West End and Broadway history]]. The team produced another hit with ''Miss Saigon'' (1989), which was inspired by the Puccini opera ''[[Madama Butterfly]]''.<ref name=EL250 /><ref name=AH206 />

The megamusicals' huge budgets redefined expectations for financial success on Broadway and in the West End. In earlier years, it was possible for a show to be considered a hit after a run of several hundred performances, but with multimillion-dollar production costs, a show must run for years simply to turn a profit. Megamusicals were also reproduced in productions around the world, multiplying their profit potential while expanding the global audience for musical theatre.<ref name=AH206 />