Andrew Lloyd Webber has confirmed that his next West End and Broadway musical will be a stage adaptation of movie The Illusionist.
The Illusionist will be directed by acclaimed director Jamie Lloyd (Sunset Boulevard, A Doll’s House, The Tempest).
The news was first broken by Deadline.
The book of the new show is by Oscar-winning screenwriter Chris Terrio (Argo, Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), with British songwriter Bruno Major also contributing to the musical.
The Illusionist will be produced with Lloyd Webber’s long-term producing partner Michael Harrison (Hello, Dolly!, The Wizard of Oz, Starlight Express).
No details have been announced about dates or venues, with a firm production announcement still some way off.
Opening the show in London’s West End is Michael Harrison’s preferred premiere location.
The stage adaptation of The Illusionist is based on the novella Eisenheim the Illusionist featured in The Barnum Museum by Steven Millhauser, and in turn the 2006 movie directed by Neil Burger and starring Edward Norton and Jessica Biel.
The story is set in Vienna in 1900, where an illusionist called Eisenheim creates increasingly elaborate illusions, causing mayhem in the city.
Songs in the show include Invincible, I Only Came To Say Goodbye, and Always Everything To Me.
Further details, including casting, are to be announced.
Last week Lloyd Webber also confirmed that Jamie Lloyd would be directing a production of his musical Evita, in London in Summer 2025.
Jamie Lloyd’s current production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard starring Nicole Scherzinger and co-produced by Michael Harrison, has proved hugely successful, both last year in the West End at the Savoy Theatre, and currently on Broadway at the St James Theatre, where the show opened this month to mostly rave reviews.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows currently playing in London include long-runner The Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty’s Theatre, which this month celebrated its 38th birthday in London; and a new immersive production of Starlight Express, which recently extended its London run into October 2025.
Jamie Lloyd’s forthcoming West End projects include two Shakespeare productions at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, with The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver, and Much Ado About Nothing starring Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell.
Michael Harrison is currently producing Starlight Express at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. His forthcoming projects include Palladium panto Robin Hood at the London Palladium; and hit Off-broadway show Titanique, coming to the Criterion Theatre. He is also touring the National Theatre’s War Horse, and Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
More about The Illusionist tickets & news
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