After years of drought, a deluge. A recent flood of musicals pouring into London shows no signs of abating. Last autumn, theatre talk seemed only about what were quickly called "the big three": the planned productions of "The Woman in White", "The Producers" and "Mary Poppins". These ventures have now all opened and look like running for seasons to come, putting the musical firmly back in the West End. Before long, these shows will be joined by others. In February comes the premiere of "Acorn Antiques", a musical version of popular television sketches by Victoria Wood, a British national treasure. (That show has already caused controversy for being the first in the West End to charge a top-ticket price of £65, which at current exchange rates easily outstrips the forbidding $100 for most Broadway musicals.) The spring brings "Billy Elliot, The Musical", based on the British surprise film success by Stephen Daldry about a young dancing dynamo. A new production will also open of "Guys and Dolls", the Frank Loesser musical from 1950 that figures on plenty of people's list of the best two or three Broadway musicals. Also in the works-though the mind boggles-is a stage musical of "The Lord of the Rings".
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