Musical MARVELS

Take your seats for a look at some of our best-loved musicals on at the theatre

- ANDREW SHAW

Over the years, Britain has brought more than its fair share of memorable musicals to the stage. Here are just a few must-see shows currently on at West End theatres and around the UK.

The Phantom of the Opera

With lavish sets and costumes, and well-known songs, such as The Music of the Night, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical is set in the Paris Opera, where a mysterious masked genius becomes obsessed with a beautiful soprano. Since it opened in the West End in 1986, the show has played to more than 140 million people, in 33 countries, and grossed almost £5 billion. In April, the curtain finally comes down on the Broadway production after a record-breaking 35-year run.

✣For West End details, visit uk.thephantomoftheopera.com

Mamma Mia!

With ABBA’s back catalogue of chart-topping songs to draw on, how could this ‘jukebox musical’ not be a smash hit? Since it opened in the West End in 1999, audiences have been dancing in the aisles to classics, such as Voulez-Vous and Take a Chance on Me. In the story, set on a Greek isle, 20-year-old Sophie is about to marry, but which of her  mother’s past lovers is her father? A highlight of the 2008 film version is Meryl Streep’s clifftop rendition of The Winner Takes It All.