Talking with Cameron Mackintosh

There is nobody - really, nobody - whose name is more synonymous with late 20th and early 21st-century musical theatre than Sir Cameron Mackintosh.

Cats. Miss Saigon. Les Miz. Phantom. Part of the reason these shows and many others are such household names is because Cameron Mackintosh was behind them. Now in his fourth decade producing, Cameron’s reach is global. At any given time, dozens of Cameron Mackintosh productions are entertaining and dazzling audiences on Broadway, in London’s West End, and at theaters across Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Once described by the NY Times as “the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world,” Cameron began his career in his late teens as a stagehand at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane - a theater he now owns (along with seven others) in London. By his early-20’s, Cameron became a London-based producer. In 1981, at the age of 35, Cameron produced Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats, which told its story completely through music and dance, with virtually no dialogue. Cats revolutionized the way we look at set design, with theatergoers immersed in the oversized junkyard in which the action takes place.

After the success of Cats, Cameron produced a string of mega-hits: Les Miserables (1985), The Phantom of the Opera (1986), and Miss Saigon (1989). A limited-run revival of Miss Saigon is planned for Broadway in Spring 2017.

Additional notable London and Broadway productions from Cameron include Five Guys Named Moe (1990), FOLLIES (1987), Martin Guerre (1996), and The Witches of Eastwick (2000). In 2004 (London) and 2006 (Broadway), Cameron co-produced Mary Poppins with Disney Theatricals.

Cameron’s magical touch extends to producing new versions of such classics as My Fair Lady and Oliver! Noting the success of reality TV, Cameron cast a revival of Oliver! via the hit BBC television series “I’d Do Anything.” The publicity and attention surrounding the production was unprecedented on the West End stage, and it was reported in January 2009 that the production was the fastest-selling show in West End history, with £15 million of pre-opening sales. Cameron’s reimagining of Barnum captivated audiences at the Chichester Festival in 2013 and sparked rumors of a Broadway transfer in the future.

In conjunction with Universal Pictures, Cameron brought Les Miserables to a whole new generation in an award-winning film starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, and Eddie Redmayne. Film adaptations of Oliver! and Miss Saigon are currently underway.

In 1996, Cameron was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to musical theatre. In 2014, he was the first British producer to be inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.