Napoleon (musical)

Napoleon (musical)

Napoleon, The Musical is a musical by Canadians Andrew Sabiston and Timothy Williams (composer). It premiered at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto on 23 March 1994 with Jérôme Pradon in the title role and Aline Mowat as leading lady Josephine. Directed by John Wood and orchestrated by David Cullen, it was the largest ever Canadian musical, with a budget of five million dollars. It was nominated for a Dora Award for Best Musical.

The musical was later produced at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London with previews from 30 September 2000 and officially opened on 13 October 2000, starring Paul Baker and Uwe Kröger (who performed three of the eight a week in the title role), with Anastasia Barzee as Josephine. It was directed by Francesca Zambello, and legendary West End producer by Duncan Weldon. The orchestrations were by Jonathan Tunick.

Napoleon ran for six months. While Friday through Sunday were sold out, Tuesday through Thursday were slow. With 32 in the cast and an orchestra of 28, producers cited the high running costs as the principal reason for closure. The show closed on 3 February, just two months after the booking period was extended to 28 April 2001.

The show celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2009 with a brand new concert version in Barrie, Ontario. It was directed by Richard Ouzounian. The concert version starred Canada's own Adam Brazier (previously seen on Broadway in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White and Blythe Wilson. To mark the anniversary the original 1994 cast album with Jérôme Pradon and Aline Mowat was released by Stage Door Records (UK), with 15 tracks. The original release was 18 tracks.

Andrew Sabiston is a television and theatre writer in Toronto, and Timothy Williams (Composer) went on to be a film/television composer. In addition, he orchestrated and conducted 300, Watchmen and The Day The Earth Stood Still. He has won a Dora Award and two Thea awards.