With a hip-swivel, a trilby toss and a moonwalk, history was made at the Lyric theatre this week when Michael Jackson musical Thriller Live became the longest running show in the Shaftesbury Avenue venue’s 125 year history.
At 1,815 performances and counting, the celebration of the King of Pop’s musical career has broken the previous record set by Five Guys Named Moe in the 1990s.
Speaking after the record-breaking performance, Nica Burns, who owns the Lyric theatre, told the audience: “You are part of history being made tonight. Michael Jackson won so many amazing awards and set some impressive records in his lifetime and he continues to do that today!”
The musical extravaganza, which shies away from telling a rigid story in favour of throwing all of its considerable energy into making the most of Jackson’s extraordinary catalogue of work, has been blaming it on the boogie in the West End since early 2009. When Jackson died later that year it became a place of pilgrimage for fans of the singer.
The production, which features songs including Bad, Thriller, Billie Jean and ABC, has now been seen by more than 2.3 million people in 26 countries, and is booking in London until March 2014.