ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Long-running musical theatre productions

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a play or musical before? You know, when people sing and dance and act out a story on a stage in front of a big audience? Well, sometimes those plays and musicals become really popular and lots and lots of people want to go see them. And when that happens, they can keep performing for a long time - even years and years!

These long-running musical theatre productions are special because they've been around for a really long time and people just keep wanting to see them again and again. They have lots of different actors and actresses who take turns playing the characters, but the story and songs stay the same.

One of the most famous long-running musicals is called "The Phantom of the Opera". It first started performing in a theatre in London way back in 1986 and it's still going strong today! That's over 30 years of people going to see the same story about a mysterious man who haunts an opera house and falls in love with a singer.

Another long-running musical is called "The Lion King". It's based on the Disney movie and it started performing on Broadway in New York City in 1997. That means it's been around for over 20 years! People love seeing the animals come to life on stage and hearing the famous songs like "Circle of Life" and "Hakuna Matata".

So those are just a couple examples of long-running musical theatre productions. They're super popular because people love the story and the music and the dancing, and they can keep coming back to see it again and again.