Whistle Down the Wind (musical)

Whistle Down the Wind
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Music	Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics	Jim Steinman
Book	Patricia Knop Andrew Lloyd Webber Gale Edwards
Basis	1961 film Whistle Down the Wind
Productions	1996 Washington DC 1998 West End 2001 UK Tour 2006 West End revival 2007–08 U.S. Tour 2010 UK Tour

Whistle Down the Wind is a musical with music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who also co-wrote its book with Patricia Knop and Gale Edwards, and its lyrics were written by Jim Steinman. It is based on the 1961 film Whistle Down the Wind, whose source novel of the same name was written by Mary Hayley Bell in 1959.

The musical premièred in 1996 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., and a concept album was released the same year. It was revived in the West End in 1998 and has been revived since then several times and toured extensively.

The show premièred at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. on 12 December 1996, starring Davis Gaines as the Man and Irene Molloy as Swallow. It drew mostly negative reviews, and the Broadway opening that had been scheduled for 17 April 1997, was subsequently cancelled. Critics felt that, among other things, Harold Prince's direction led to its failure. However, it got a huge amount of advance publicity, due to Steinman's popularity as a songwriter and the unusual pairing of Steinman and Lloyd Webber.

A reworked, and more successful, production opened in the West End at the Aldwych Theatre on 1 July 1998, starring Marcus Lovett as The Man and Lottie Mayor as Swallow. It ran for 1,044 performances and closed in January 2001. This production was darker than the Washington, D.C. production and was revised and directed by Gale Edwards, who had previously collaborated with Lloyd Webber on an updated production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

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