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Spotlight on Andrew Lloyd Webber

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To many, the name Andrew Lloyd Webber is synonymous with the musical theatre genre. The winner of six Tony’s and three Grammy’s, even those who make limited appearances at theatrical presentations would recognize the titles, “Cats” and “The Phantom of the Opera”. But it wasn’t always this way.

Andrew Lloyd Webber was born in London, England on March 22, 1948. His father was a professor of theoretical subjects (composition and music theory) and also a church musician. His mother played violin and was also a singer. Even as a boy, Webber’s talent and interest in music was evident and he published his first musical compositions while he was just eleven years old.

A typical boy, Webber was exposed to classical music but was also fond of pop groups like The Everly Brothers. He attended musical performances whenever he had the chance.

As a young adult, Andrew Lloyd Webber paired up with lyricist, Tim Rice to write a short composition for a school festival and a new collaborative team was born. Thanks in part to the influence and support of Webber’s father, their composition received a second opportunity to be performed to very favorable reviews. They were on their way. Eventually, this short musical work was expanded into Webber’s first full-length musical, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” which was first performed in 1976.

Webber and Rice continued in their pursuit of other religious themes at a time when churches were trying to appeal to a younger generation. “Jesus Christ Superstar”, the single, was released in 1969. Although it had a meager start, a double album was produced which, to their delight, began to see excellent sales. From this album, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, the musical, opened in 1971 and Webber and Rice have reaped great monetary rewards from this project.

For Webber’s next project, he collaborated with a British playwright. “Jeeves”, which was written in 1975, was the first of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals written for the stage. This, and the fact that it contained spoken dialogue, set it apart from his previous works. Unfortunately, it was not successful.

Returning to collaborate with Tim Rice, Webber scored the music for a recording of “Evita”, out of which came the theatrical production. (Sadly, this was the last musical by the Webber/Rice team). For Webber, this began his incredibly successful run. By 1982, Webber had three productions all playing simultaneously. This unlikely phenomenon occurred again in 1988 and 1994.