8 Fun Theatre Facts

Today, I’m bringing you 8 Fun Theatre Facts you may not have known!

1. The longest running overall show in West End history is the Mousetrap, with over 27,000 performances – the longest running musical is Les Misérables, with over 13,000 performances

 

2. Meanwhile across the pond, the longest running show is the Phantom of the Opera, closely followed by Chicago

 

3. Since Phantom of the Opera opened on Broadway, 300 custom made masks have been used

 

 

4. You may hear of shows being on or off Broadway, but this isn’t actually decided by geography. Instead, a theatre being on or off Broadway is actually determined by its size. If a theatre has 500 seats or more, it’s on Broadway, whilst off-Broadway theatres have 100-499 seats and off off Broadway theatres (which I didn’t even know were a thing until I started researching this article), have less than 100 seats.

 

5. Another iconic show is Wicked – a prequel of sorts to the Wizard of Oz, and based on the book by Gregory Macguire, it’s protagonist’s name actually comes from the initials of its predecessors author. L. Frank Baum = L F B = Elphaba

 

6. Speaking of Wicked, it also pays tribute to the Wizard of Oz musically, as disguised versions the first seven notes of Somewhere Over the Rainbow are featured in the show’s ongoing ‘Unlimited’ theme.

 

7. Going back to London theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe is the only building in London allowed to have a thatched roof following the famous great fire in 1666.

 

8. The honour of the most Tony Awards ever received by a single musical is still held by The Producers – the West End show with the most Oliver awards is Matilda