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
Duke of York's Theatre was a success at the theatre in 1894. In 1900, Jerome K. Jerome's "Miss Hobbs" was staged as well as David Belasco's "Madame Butterfly", which was seen by Puccini, who later turned it into the famous opera. This was also the theatre where J. M. Barrie's "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" debuted on 27 December 1904. Many famous British actors have appeared here, including Basil Rathbone, who played Alfred de Musset in "Madame Sand" in June 1920, returning in November 1932 as the Unknown Gentleman in "Tonight or Never". The theatre was Grade II listed by