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Sir

Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh 20221130.jpg
Mackintosh at Hatchards, London, 2022
Born
Cameron Anthony Mackintosh

(1946-10-17) 17 October 1946 (age 78)
Enfield, London, England
Occupation Producer
Partner(s) Michael Le Poer Trench

Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a very famous British theatre producer and theatre owner. He is known for creating many incredibly successful musicals. In 1990, a newspaper called him "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world." He has produced huge shows like Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Oliver!, and Hamilton.

Cameron Mackintosh was made a "Sir" in 1996 for his amazing work in musical theatre. Two of his shows, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera, are the two longest-running musicals ever in London's West End. In 2021, it was estimated that he was worth a lot of money, showing how successful he has been.

Early Life and Dreams

Cameron Mackintosh was born in Enfield, London. His mother, Diana, was a production secretary, and his father, Ian, was a timber merchant and jazz musician. His father was Scottish, and his mother was from Malta, with Maltese and French family roots. Cameron went to school at Prior Park College in Bath.

When he was eight years old, his aunt took him to see a musical called Salad Days. After that, he knew he wanted to become a theatre producer.

His Amazing Theatre Career

Sir Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh in 2012

Cameron Mackintosh started his theatre journey when he was a teenager. He worked as a stagehand, helping behind the scenes at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Then, he became an assistant stage manager for shows that traveled around. In 1967, he started producing small plays with a friend. By the 1970s, he was producing shows in London. Some of his early London productions included The Card (1973), Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), and My Fair Lady (1978).

In 1981, he produced Cats, a musical about cats. Many people thought it was a strange idea for a musical, but it became a huge hit! It ran for a very long time in both London and New York. After Cats was so successful, he met with French writers Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil. He wanted to bring their musical Les Misérables to London. This musical opened in 1985 and, after a slow start, became a massive success. It is now the longest-running musical in London.

In 1986, Mackintosh produced another huge hit: Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. This musical is one of the most successful ever. The original show in London is still running today. The New York production of The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running show in Broadway history before it closed.

He then produced Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's next musical, Miss Saigon, which opened in London in 1989. This show was also very successful. The 1991 Broadway production sold more tickets before it even opened than any other show at that time.

Cameron Mackintosh has produced many other successful musicals. These include Five Guys Named Moe (1990) and a new version of Stephen Sondheim's Follies (1987). He also helped bring popular shows from the National Theatre to the West End, like Oklahoma! (1999) and My Fair Lady (2001).

Not all of his shows were huge worldwide blockbusters. For example, Moby Dick (1993) and Martin Guerre (1996) were not as successful. He also produced The Witches of Eastwick (2000), which ran for over a year but didn't become a global hit like his other shows.

In 1990, Mackintosh became a co-owner of Music Theatre International, a company that licenses shows. In 1991, he started his own theatre group called Delfont Mackintosh Theatres.

In 2001, Cameron Mackintosh met with the head of Disney Theatrical Productions to talk about making Mary Poppins into a stage musical. He helped create the musical version and produced both the London (2004) and Broadway (2006) productions. He also co-produced the London show of Avenue Q in 2006.

In 1998, Cameron Mackintosh celebrated 30 years in show business with a special concert called Hey, Mr. Producer!. It featured songs from all the shows he had produced. Many famous people performed, and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended one of the performances.

He produced a new version of Lionel Bart's Oliver! in London, which ran from 2008 to 2009. The main actors for this show were chosen through a BBC TV series called I'd Do Anything. This show was so popular that it sold tickets faster than any other West End show before it.

In 2010, Mackintosh brought a new production of the musical Hair to London. In 2013, he worked on a new version of Barnum. This show toured the UK and Ireland in 2014.

On January 27, 2014, Cameron Mackintosh became the first British producer to be added to Broadway's American Theater Hall of Fame. On May 3, 2014, he brought Miss Saigon back to London to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

In 2016, Mackintosh co-produced a new version of Half a Sixpence, which ran in London for 10 months. He also produced the London show of Lin-Manuel Miranda's huge Broadway hit, Hamilton, which opened in December 2017.

In 2019, his and Disney's production of Mary Poppins returned to London and ran until January 2023. In summer 2024, Cameron Mackintosh co-produced a new version of Oliver! which is set to transfer to London in December 2024.

His Influence on Theatre

Cameron Mackintosh is known for changing how musicals are produced. He realized that shows could be successful all over the world, not just in New York and London. He was one of the first to see that touring shows and productions in other countries could make a lot of money. This made musicals a global and very profitable business.

He also helped bring talented theatre directors and technical experts from other areas of theatre into the world of musicals.

Cameron Mackintosh's company, Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, owns eight famous theatres in London. These include the Prince Edward, Prince of Wales, Novello, Sondheim, Gielgud, Wyndham's, Victoria Palace, and Noël Coward theatres.

Personal Life

Cameron Mackintosh was knighted in 1996 for his contributions to musical theatre. His partner is Michael Le Poer Trench, a theatre photographer. They met in Australia in 1982. They live in homes in London, Somerset, and the Scottish Highlands.

Cameron Mackintosh is a supporter of The Food Chain, a charity in London that helps people with HIV. His younger brother, Robert Mackintosh, is also a producer.

Managing His Estate

In 1994, Cameron Mackintosh bought a large area of land called the Nevis Estate in the Scottish Highlands. He has been involved in discussions about how the land is used on his estate.

His Views

In 1990, there was a discussion about an actor playing a Vietnamese character in Miss Saigon. Cameron Mackintosh said that he did not agree with judging actors based on their race.

He has also shared his thoughts on how the country is run. In 2015, he donated money to a political candidate in the British general election. In 2016, he voted for the UK to leave the European Union. He explained that he loves Europe and works there a lot, but he felt the system needed to change.

Production Credits

See also

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