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The director will have an overall vision for the piece and their own interpretation of the book. They may have a particular style or concept in mind for staging the work. A director works closely with the actors and other professionals to make sure that the vision is achieved onstage, pulling the whole piece together.

The musical director is in charge of the music for the piece. He or she may rearrange pieces of music, conduct the orchestra and is usually the rehearsal pianist. A musical director will also have a vision for the musical elements of the piece, working closely with the director. They might have specific ideas about how they want a song to be performed onstage.

The choreographer is another key role. A choreographer arranges and directs the dance sequences in a musical. As dance is such an important element this is a major role. Some musicals are more dance-based than others, such as Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, where the original choreography by Bob Fosse is so famous that it is often retained from production to production.

The designer is responsible for sets, costumes and lighting or special effects. These elements usually play a big part in the staging of a musical, particularly a large budget one on Broadway or in London’s West End. There may be just one designer who works with the director to deliver their vision throughout the drama medium. Or there may be several separate designers taking responsibility for different areas, such as costume, set, sound and lights.

All of the above elements are often lavish in large scale musicals. The West End production of Miss Saigon, for instance, which ran in London for 10 years before transferring to Broadway, New York, had a helicopter onstage that came down from the roof! It opened again in London’s West End in 2014 in its 25th anniversary year.