Andrew Lloyd Webber

Within musical theatre, five of the most successful shows of all time are Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, and Sunset Boulevard. What is even more remarkable than the enormous success and quality of these theatre musicals is that all were composed by one individual, Andrew Lloyd Webber. Without peer as a composer in contemporary musical theatre on both sides of the Atlantic, Webber was knighted in 1992 and has been the recipient of seven Tonys, three Grammys, six Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, and International Emmy, and the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, (Playbill, p. 1). Perhaps even more astonishing than any of the above is the fact that these five musicals represent only a handful of the shows composed and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and exclude his compositions for film, of which there have been three, Gumshoe, The Odessa File, and Requiem, (Playbill, p. 1). Andrew Lloyd Webber's most recent work is the composition of the score for the film version of The Phantom of the Opera, directed by Joel Schumacher, and due for release in December 2004, (Really, p. 1).

Webber was born on March 22, 1948, in London, England, the son of William Lloyd Webber, a composer and musical scholar who taught at London's Royal College of Music, (Andrew, p. 1). Webber was also born to a mother with music talent, Jean Johnstone Lloyd Webber, a piano teacher. At an early age, this environment influenced And

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perfect for adapting the thriller into a musical, since it is "a great Victorian melodrama from an era he so admires," (Martland, p. 41). Webber is also revitalizing some of his old musicals to reopen in London's West End. He also successfully wrangled the rights back from Warner Brothers for the film rights to The Phantom of the Opera for $1 million-plus, a film that is now in post-production and due for December release, (Wolf, p. 67). Despite this flurry of activity and a spate of projects in the works, onlookers maintain that Webber needs a true smash hit to recapture his previous fame and fortune. The Woman in White is a show that some contend might be his next smash, but others are not so certain. As Martland (p. 41) reports, "Among the mixed critical response to The Woman in White, the Sunday Times reviewer was so glowing that he predicted at least a 10-year run for the piece. Such a scenario is very unlikely." Aside from his musical productions, film productions, and business interests, Andrew Lloyd Webber also maintains other areas of interest in his personal life related to the arts. One of these is his enormous fascination and desire for fine artworks. As a collector, Lloyd Webber's art tastes are varied, incl

Category: Arts - A