For anyone with an interest in theatre, the chances of coming across an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical are pretty high. For many, an early memory (no pun intended) is likely to be Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – perhaps performing in it at school or being taken to see it as a child. For me it was Cats, an old VHS tape that would play on repeat. To this day, Cats remains pretty much my all-time favourite musical and so the opportunity to celebrate its composer’s 70th Birthday in every way possible was a must… there were plenty of ways.
Working in theatre, I’m fortunate enough to cross paths on an almost-daily basis with the most inspiring people. The one person I was yet to encounter was indeed the composer of Cats and a plethora of other musicals – Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber… until this week.
This week saw the publication of his memoir Unmasked and a 4 CD collection as well as a very rare evening in conversation with Graham Norton – which I was incredibly fortunate to attend with Jack. Not only did we leave with a copy of Unmasked, it was a complete experience and window into the mind of someone who completed his first composition 61 years ago aged just 9… even at 26 I can’t play chopsticks on a keyboard.
The evening started with a roof-raising performance from the cast of School Of Rock, ALW’s latest hit. Whilst I can’t say that particular show is up there with my favourites, what School Of Rock does do is prove ALW’s undeniable versatility. The music is completely unrecognisable from the likes of Phantom or Evita, where you can perhaps draw parallels in melody or style. I can’t take anything away from those kids however, they are insanely talented. The show (alongside Matilda) is another much needed opportunity in the West End to nurture young talent.
There was a “This Is Your Life” style video before the Lord himself wandered out onto stage. One thousand people rose to applaud the man, unfazed and unassuming as he gently suggested they needn’t do such a thing. The love in the room was unlike anything I’d quite witnessed before. During the Q&A which was opened to the floor, people were barely managing to keep it together but that just goes to show the power of music and particularly that of ALW.
Other things to come out of the evening was the promise of Starlight Express returning to the UK. It’s now a question of when rather than if. The show was recently revived as a series of concert-style workshops at The Other Palace (a theatre ALW owns). Some of the work to come out of that will be put into the long-running German production that plays in a purpose-built theatre in Bochum. There are two UK theatres currently in mind for the show – one in London, one not.
There are also big plans for the 50th anniversary of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this year and into the not so distant future. Plans are still to be signed-off but it was clear that ALW’s head was bursting with ideas.
A production of Love Never Dies faired better in Australia than the original in London. It’s currently doing well in America and should its success continue across the pond, the plan is to bring it home to London, or at least to the UK once more.
It seems a movie version of Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close could be on the horizon, so long as a producer agrees but both Glenn and Sir Andrew are fully invested.
He also announced part-way through the evening that the theatre we were sat in – the New London Theatre (another of which he owns) – is to be renamed in honour of the legendary choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne. 37 years previously she choreographed Cats in that very building. A decision I’m wholeheartedly on board with, unlike the one to change Rum Tum Tugger into a rapping kitten…
The book, dubbed “a medium sized doorstop” by ALW is already fascinating and I’m merely two chapters in (I’ve been busy this week). It ends at The Phantom of the Opera, so he could have published it some thirty years ago but I guess it’s taken that to write it. In conversation at the New London Theatre he said how much of it was recalled to him by Sarah Brightman and many other friends and family members. He stopped the writing at Phantom for after that came many “failures”. He is open to talk about what didn’t go so successfully but to write the stories down in a book isn’t something he believes should be shared – “people show their true colours when things don’t go to plan.”
The 4 disc Platinum Collection album (and 40-page booklet) is equally as in-depth as the publication, with original recordings and some new gems from as recently as the Starlight Express workshops in September 2017. Mica Paris and George Ure‘s rendition of I Am The Starlight is a particular highlight.
Nicole Sherzinger’s version of Memory is on there, just as moving as it was live at the Palladium. Even Beyoncé’s Learn To Be Lonely live from The Oscars features on disc two. The booklet has notes on all of the songs chosen for the collection and messages from the likes of Elaine Paige, Sierra Boggess, Michael Crawford, Tim Rice, Don Black, even Barbra Streisand and Lana Del Ray.
I guess I’m writing this because I feel that I need to share so much of what I’ve discovered about the musical genius recently. One of the best things is a new members area of his website. It’s a theatrical goldmine of content – some favourite famous videos and some that have never been seen before. It’s a handy library of links to video gems like this behind the scenes making of the 2018 trailer for The Phantom of the Opera.
This is a man who so far has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, a Latin Requiem Mass and shows no sign of stopping. His vast amount of stories and anecdotes are endless, enchanting, witty and revealing. This week is a time to celebrate a man and his music that has shaped not only our own theatrical journeys but those of millions around the world.
Rainbow high, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is truly unmasked “in that wondrous little corner of show business called musical theatre.”
Happy Birthday Sir!
SCOTT JAMES BIRD 