premier of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, Willetts succeeded him at Her Majesty's Theatre in the West End. He subsequently played the role of the Phantom in Manchester, on the UK tour to critical acclaim, winning an Evening News Theatre Award. In 1990, he was given his first opportunity to originate a role when he appeared opposite Petula Clark in Someone Like You, a musical for which she had composed the score. Since then, Willetts has appeared in a concert version of Jesus Christ Superstar, taken the lead role in Leicester Haymarket's acclaimed production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, appeared as Old Deuteronomy in the 20th anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats in London, and as Jean Valjean in the 10th anniversary production of Les Misérables in Sydney, Australia. He took the role of Heathcliff in the studio recording of Bernard J. Taylor musical version of Wuthering Heights. In 2004, he appeared in the West End production of Ragtime alongside Maria Friedman. In December of the same year he appeared in Aladdin in Bromley. He has played the starring role of 'Adam Pontipee' in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in the West End (2006). and the national tour in 2002. He then played the role of 'Emile de Becque' in a UK touring production of Rogers and Hammerstein's South Pacific, which toured the UK until July 2008. In 2007, Dave played the role of 'Julian Marsh' in a UK Tour of 42nd Street. He returned to the role in 2012, when the show again toured the UK. He played Max in a scaled-down production of Sunset Boulevard at the Comedy Theatre (now The Harold Pinter), directed by Craig Revel Horwood in September 2008. For which he was nominated for Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In October 2014, he appeared as Father God in 'Love Beyond' at SSE Wembley Arena. Then in 2015, he appeared in 'Pure Imagination' at the St James Theatre, London in a musical based on the work by Leslie Bricusse. In 2017, he appeared as the White Rabbit in Wonderland, a new musical by Frank Wildhorn also starring Wendi Peters and Kerry Ellis. Discography Willetts has recorded several albums, mostly collections of songs from musicals. Including 'Once in a Lifetime', released just before his 60th birthday. He has performed on albums alongside Lesley Garrett, Clive