9 musical locations on Google Streetview
There is nothing quite like the power of theatre to transport you to different worlds, whether it's the New York of West Side Story or 1970's Vietnam in Miss Saigon, the settings of musicals often form just as much a part of the show as the music and dialogue.
We take a look at some of the real life locations that have been used as inspirations for our favourite productions.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
186 Fleet Street, London, England
Sweeney Todd had his barbers at 186 Fleet Street, seen above on the right hand side of the image, now the Dundee Courier building. The church to the left of the building is St Dunstan's Church, under which a tunnel ran between the cellar of Sweeney’s shop to Mrs. Lovett’s pie shop.
The Book of Mormon
Missionary Training Centre, 2005 North 900 East, Provo, Utah, USA
The show opens with Elder Price leading his fellow classmates in a demonstration of the door-to-door attempt to convert people to Mormonism ("Hello!"). This takes place in the Missionary Training Centre in Utah. He is then sent to Uganda, unfortunately they don't have streetview there yet.
West Side Story
Upper West Side, New York, USA
Sondheim's story of the warring Jets and Sharks gangs is set in the Upper West Side neighbourhood in New York City in the mid-1950s. In the early 60s much of the area was cleared in an urban renewal project, and is now home to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Phantom of the Opera
Palais Garnier, Paris, France
A 1,979-seat opera house, the Palais Garnier was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. Due to the abnormally high groundwater underneath the Opera house a legend arose that the venue was built over a subterranean lake, depicted in Lloyd Webber's musical during the show's title song.
Les Miserables
Cavée St Firmin, Montreuil-sur-Mer, France
It is said that one afternoon in September 1837, Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, was walking through Montreuil-sur-Mer, a town not far from Calais, when a horse stumbled on the cobbled incline of the town's Cavée St Firmin, toppling its cart and trapping the driver beneath the wheels. Before a jack could be sent for, a man stepped forward and lifted the cart off the man. The carter was immortalised as Père Fauchelevent, and his rescuer became Jean Valjean, aka Père Madeleine.
Billy Elliot
Embleton Street, Dawdon, County Durham, England
Billy lives in the fictional Everington during the 1984-85 UK miners' strike. The settings for the film and musical are based on Easington and the surrounding areas including Dawdon and Middlesbrough. As part of the recent Billy Elliot Live event, special screenings took place at the historic Easington Social Welfare Centre, formerly the Easington Colliery Miners' Institute, one of the settings for Billy's inspiring story.
Evita
Casa Rosado, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Upon the announcement that Juan Perón is elected President, Evita stands on the balcony of the Casa Rosada to address her adoring supporters, revealing that despite her initial goal of achieving fame and glory, she has found her true calling to be the people of her country ("Don't Cry for Me, Argentina").
Oliver!
London Bridge, London, England
In the final scene of Lionel Bart's musical classic, Bill Sykes holds Oliver hostage on London Bridge. Many people get London Bridge confused with Tower Bridge, which is the next bridge down the Thames on the way out of London, seen in the distance on the image above.
London Road
79 London Road, Ipswich, England
London Road is a musical written by Alecky Blythe set in and around London Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, during the Ipswich serial murders and subsequent trial of killer Steve Wright. Number 79 London Road, seen above on the left, was where Wright lived.
