Musical theatre responsible for "Les Misérables", which became the longest-running international musical hit in history. The team, in collaboration with Richard Maltby Jr., continued to produce hits, including "Miss Saigon", inspired by the Puccini opera "Madama Butterfly". The British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber saw similar success with "Evita", based on the life of Argentina's Eva Perón; "Cats", derived from the poems of T. S. Eliot (both of which musicals originally starred Elaine Paige); "Starlight Express", performed on roller skates; "The Phantom of the Opera", derived from the Gaston Leroux novel, "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra"; and "Sunset Boulevard" (from the classic film of
Madame Butterfly (short story) classical in "Madame Butterfly" reflected the blending of Japanese and traditional styles in the arts and crafts movement around the turn of the 19th century and American fascination with Japan that began with the "opening of Japan" by Matthew C. Perry in 1854. The story interested American playwright David Belasco who, collaborating with Long, adapted it to a one-act play, "Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy of Japan". The play premiered in New York's Herald Square Theatre on March 5, 1900. Seven weeks later, Belasco took it to London's Duke of York's Theatre, where it played to full houses. In 1988, David