Cats was also that increasing rarity, a musical that one could take children to. The tykes might die from vapidity poisoning, but at least there was no danger of them being exposed to anything dangerous, like an idea.
J. Kenrick, Musical theatre: a history (2008), 348
Both Sweeney and Evita were expensive productions with stunning stage direction by Harold Prince. Both won seven Tony awards, including Best Musical, in adjoining seasons. The key difference: Sweeney Todd made theatrical history but lost money, while Evita left history to its own devices and made gobs of money. This was not lost on producers and investors. It is easy to advocate artistic merit over financial concerns, but answer this: if you were investing $100,000 or more of your own money.
J. Kenrick, Musical theatre: a history (2008), 341
