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Cameron Mackintosh
Born	(1946-10-17) 17 October 1946 (age 65) Enfield, London

Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York Times.^[1] He is the producer of shows such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppins, Martin Guerre, Miss Saigon and Cats.

Early life[link]

Mackintosh was born in Enfield, London, the son of Diana Gladys (née Tonna), a production secretary, and Ian Robert Mackintosh, a timber merchant and jazz trumpeter.^[2] His father was Scottish and his mother, a native of Malta, was of Maltese and French descent.^[3][4] Mackintosh was raised in his mother's Roman Catholic faith^{[citation needed]} and educated at Prior Park College in Bath.

He first knew that he wanted to become a theatre producer after his aunt took him to a matinee of the Julian Slade musical Salad Days when he was 8 years old.^[5]

Theatrical career[link]

Mackintosh began his theatre career in his late teens, as a stagehand at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, graduating to stage manager on several touring productions. Before long, he began producing his own small scale tours before becoming a London-based producer in the 1970s. His early London productions included Anything Goes (which closed after only two weeks), Side By Side By Sondheim, The Card, My Fair Lady and Tom Foolery.

In 1981, he produced Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, then considered an unlikely subject for a musical. It became the hit of the season and went on to become one of the longest running musicals on both sides of the Atlantic. After the success of Cats, he approached the French writing team Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil about bringing their musical Les Misérables (then a successful French concept album) to the London stage. The musical opened in 1985 at the Barbican before transferring to the Palace Theatre. Les Misérables had a shaky start at the box office and a lukewarm critical reception before becoming a massive hit, largely by word-of-mouth.

In 1986, Mackintosh produced Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, perhaps the most commercially successful entertainment enterprise in history,^{[citation needed]} outgrossing hit films such as Titanic and E.T.. The original London and New York productions are currently still running.

In 1990, he produced Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil's next musical Miss Saigon, which opened at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, and was similarly successful, and the Broadway production achieved what was then the largest advance ticket sales in theatre history.

Mackintosh has produced several other successful musicals, including Five Guys Named Moe and a much-revised production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies.

In 1995, Mackintosh produced the 10th anniversary concert of Les Misérables in London. Additionally, throughout the 1990s, he was responsible for presenting the West End transfers of the National Theatre revivals of Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, and Carousel.

Mackintosh's less successful productions include Moby Dick, Martin Guerre and the stage adaptation of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick which, despite some positive reviews and run of over 15 months, failed to replicate the worldwide success of his previous blockbusters.

When Walt Disney Theatrical president Thomas Schumacher met Mackintosh in 2001, Schumacher found out Mackintosh wanted to make Mary Poppins from screen to stage. So, together, they started making the musical. Mackintosh's involvement in the development of the 1964 musical adaptation led to his producing both the 2004 West End and 2006 Broadway productions, at the Prince Edward Theatre and the New Amsterdam Theatre, respectively along with Schumacher. He also co-produced the London transfer of Avenue Q, which opened at the Noël Coward Theatre on 1 June 2006.

In 1998, Mackintosh celebrated thirty years in the business with Hey, Mr. Producer!, a gala concert featuring songs from shows he had produced during his career. The concert was performed twice, on 7 and 8 June, with proceeds going to the Royal National Institute of the Blind and the Combined Theatrical Charities. Many celebrities took part, and the 8 June performance was attended by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2008–9, Mackintosh produced a revival of Lionel Bart's Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The production was cast via the hit BBC television series I'd Do Anything. Jodie Prenger became the eventual winner and was subsequently cast as Nancy in the production, with Rowan Atkinson as Fagin. 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.^[6]

Mackintosh has voiced interest in producing a Broadway revival of Barnum with American actor Neil Patrick Harris in the title role.^[7]

In April 2010 Mackintosh staged a West End revival of the musical Hair in London's Gielgud Theatre. This production was transferred from Broadway where a production was revived in 2009.^[8]

Influence[link]

Mackintosh is notable as a producer for his transformation of the musical into a global, highly profitable brand, and was the first theatrical producer to recognise that both touring productions and worldwide productions (often in countries where musicals were seldom seen, such as the former eastern bloc countries in the early 90s) were potentially highly lucrative markets which could, collectively, match and even surpass the revenues generated from New York and London productions. ^[9] In mounting a plethora of productions across the globe, he has maintained tight creative control of his musicals in order to ensure the consistency and quality of the productions, no matter where they are seen. As far as possible, productions worldwide of Mackintosh musicals use the same staging, production design, lighting, front-of-house design, and orchestrations as their London and New York counterparts. This is a departure from previous practice, where international productions of West End or Broadway musicals would often be licensed out to foreign producers and entirely reconceived locally, with highly variable and often substandard results.

Mackintosh has also had considerable success in bringing legitimate theatre directors (such as the Royal Shakespeare Company's Trevor Nunn and Nicholas Hytner) and technicians to the world of musical theatre.

He is renowned for how closely he works with the creative team of a production.

He has recently expressed his interest in producing musicals from the otherwise neglected Asian and African regions, citing that the potential in these markets is inexhaustible.

Mackintosh's Delfont Mackintosh group owns seven London theatres, the Prince Edward, the Prince of Wales, the Novello, the Queen's, the Gielgud, the Wyndham's, and the Noël Coward.

Personal life[link]

Mackintosh was knighted in the 1996 New Year Honours for services to musical theatre.^[10]

His partner is Australian-born theatre photographer Michael Le Poer Trench.

In 2006, Mackintosh was listed 4th on The Independent on Sunday's Pink List, a list of the most influential "out-and-proud" gay men and women.^[11] He was also listed 4th in 2005.^[12] Mackintosh also topped The Stage 100 list in 2007 for the first time since 2000.^[13] The list recognises the most influential members of the performing arts community at the end of each year.

He is a Patron of The Food Chain, a London-based HIV charity.

His younger brother, Robert Mackintosh, is also a producer.

In 1994 Mackintosh bought the Nevis Estate, on North Morar, to the east of Mallaig in the West Highlands of Scotland, covering around 14,000 acres (5,700 ha). He has since been involved in a long-running dispute with a tenant crofter, over the land use on the estate. Mackintosh wants to use the land for building holiday homes, but the crofter says the land is needed for grazing.^[14][15]

Politics[link]

In 1998 Mackintosh was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party (UK),^[16] a decision he was later to regret,^[17][18] saying: "Labour really fucked it up. They were profligate at a time when we were doing well. That's why we have the problems we have now. They didn't save any money for a rainy day. It couldn't have been worse these last 12 years."^[19]

See also[link]

• The Sundowe, A new Scottish-based musical being produced by Cameron Mackintosh in association with Eden Court Theatre and the Scottish Executive

Further reading[link]

• Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh by Sheridan Morley and Ruth Leon, published in the UK by Weidenfeld & Nicolson and in the US by Back Stage Books, 1998

References[link]

External links[link]

• Cameron Mackintosh Official Website
• Delfont Mackintosh Official Website