Cameron Mackintosh's Contribution to the Development of the Essay

Cameron Mackintosh's Contribution to the Development of the Megamusical - Essay Example Mackintosh, Cameron born was a British theatrical producer who oversaw the era of the international "megamusical" in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming the worlds most prominent and powerful impresario. Mackintosh was born on Oct. 17, 1946, in Enfield, Middlesex, England, to Ian Mackintosh, a Scottish timber merchant and jazz trumpeter, and Maltese-born Diana Tonna Mackintosh, who had been actor Nigel Patricks secretary when the couple met in Italy during World War II. Eight-year-old Mackintosh was taken to see a production of the musical Salad Days, after which he demanded to speak to the author, Julian Slade, who gave him a backstage tour and instilled in the boy a fascination with theatrical production. Mackintosh studied stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London but left after one year. He became a stagehand at Londons Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, cleaning the auditorium after performances to earn extra money. His first West End presentation, a 1969 revival of Anything Goes, failed. In 1976, however, his production of the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim ran 781 performances in London before transferring to Broadway, his first stateside effort. (Lawson, 1999)