Theatreland's top 100 players
Andrew Lloyd Webber and David Ian, his co-judge on the BBC's 'How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?', head this year's list of the 100 most influential people in theatre. <i>The full list appears in the December 29, 2006 issue of The Stage</i>
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1= ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
Composer, producer, theatre owner. In addition to reviving The Sound of Music in London, his 1976 show Evita was revived in the West End to rave reviews and The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running musical on Broadway.
1= DAVID IAN
David Ian, a president of the production company Live Nation, which produces shows in the West End, the regions and the US. Co-judged How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? with Lloyd Webber, and co-produced the resulting musical.
3 CAMERON MACKINTOSH
Brought Avenue Q to London, and celebrated 21 years of Les Miserables, the West End's long- est running show.
4 HOWARD PANTER AND ROSEMARY SQUIRE
Of the Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns more West End theatres than anyone else.
5 NICA BURNS/MAX WEITZENHOFFER
Nimax duo bought first West End theatres in 2005. Shows like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?made big profits.
6 MICHAEL BOYD
Artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now presenting The Complete Works of Shakespeare, an ambitious project.
7 NICHOLAS HYTNER
Artistic director, the National Theatre. Also directed The Alchemist and a film version of The History Boys.
8 JUDE KELLY
Artistic director of the South Bank Centre in London. Overseeing the cultural side of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
9 BILL KENWRIGHT
The producer's successes included Hay Fever starring Judi Dench, The Crucible at the Gielgud, and a dark revival of the musical Cabaret.
10 MICHAEL GRANDAGE
Artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse. A busy year included directing Don Juan and Frost/Nixon.
11 SONIA FRIEDMAN
Producer. Worked on Tom Stoppard's Rock 'N' Roll in the West End and the reality TV winner The Play's the Thing.
12 HAROLD PINTER
After his Nobel Prize last year, Pinter acted in Samuel Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape which sold out its short run in 17 minutes.
13 JON CONWAY/ NICK THOMAS OF QDOS
The light entertainment and panto kings explored new ventures as far afield as Las Vegas.
14 KEVIN SPACEY/SALLY GREENE OF THE OLD VIC
Moon for the Misbegotten was a high for Spacey, while Greene is doing well with Billy Elliot.
15 DAVID LAN
Artistic director of London's Young Vic. He revamped and re-opened his small venue with the help of the architect Stephen Tompkins.
16 GRAHAM SHEFFIELD
Artistic director of the Barbican. Sheffield is proving adventurous, even staging the Barbican's first panto.
17 VICKY FEATHERSTONE/JOHN TIFFANY
National Theatre of Scotland. Its work has proved a triumph, especially Black Watch.
18 JONATHAN CHURCH
Artistic director of Chichester Festival Theatre. He has staged fine productions of Nicholas Nickleby and Pravda.
19 RUFUS NORRIS
A director, his work this year included Market Boy at the National and the radical revival of the musical Cabaret in the West End.
20 DOMINIC COOKE
The director made an acclaimed The Crucible and oversaw RSC's festival of new work. New artistic director of the Royal Court.
Other leading figures
Producers
Bob Boyett/Bill Haber for Spamalot, Matt Byam Shaw/Nick Salmon for A Voyage Around My Father, Judy Craymer for Mamma Mia!, Mark Goucher for Footloose, Thelma Holt for The Crucible, Richard Jordan for Lunch with the Hamiltons, Phil McIntyre for We Will Rock You, David Pugh for Rebecca, Thomas Schumacher for The Lion King, Bill Taylor for Blue Man Group, Arielle Tepper Madover for Donmar Warehouse transfers, Kevin Wood for First Family Entertainment
Dance
Matthew Bourne for Edward Scissorhands, Javier de Frutos for Cabaret, Akram Khan for his work with Sylvie Guillem
Literary
Alan Ayckbourn for If I Were You, Alan Bennett for The History Boys, Caryl Churchill for Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, David Eldridge for Market Boy, David Harrower for Blackbird, Terry Johnson for Piano/Forte, Peter Morgan for Frost/Nixon, Patrick Marber for Don Juan in Soho, Mark Ravenhill for Dick Whittington, Tom Stoppard for Rock 'n' Roll
Performers
Simon Russell Beale for Life of Galileo, Richard Griffiths for The History Boys, Judi Dench for Hay Fever, Connie Fisher for The Sound of Music, Derek Jacobi for A Voyage Around My Father, Idina Menzel for Wicked, Ian McKellen for The Cut, Elena Roger for Evita, Rufus Sewell for Rock 'n' Roll, Michael Sheen for Frost/Nixon
Design/Technical/Architects
Paule Constable for Cosi Fan Tutti, Bob Crowley for The History Boys, Chris Davey for The Merchant of Venice at the Edinburgh Lyceum, David Farley for Sunday in the Park With George, Tim Foster for Trafalgar Studios, Rob Howell for Hedda Gabler, Eugene Lee for Wicked, Katrina Lindsay for Market Boy, Christopher Oram for Evita, Stephen Tomkins for The Young Vic redesign
Regional/Subsidised
Michael Attenborough at the Almeida, Ian Brown at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Anthony Clark at the Hampstead Theatre, Giles Croft at the Nottingham Playhouse, Dominic Dromgoole at the Globe, David Farr at the Hammersmith Lyric, Peter Hall for Amy's View, Samuel West at Sheffield Theatres
Musicals
Elton John/Lee Hall for Billy Elliot, Stephen Schwartz for Wicked
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