Andrew Lloyd Webber...

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:01pm

Been reading this board for a while, and I finally built up the courage to post a thread.

Not much of an ALW fanatic here, but, alas, I must break my barriers and use a piece of his for an upcoming audition.

The more and more I listen to Mr. Webber's music, the more I feel it pales in comparison to Kander and Ebb, Sondheim, Styne, and the Tony-less Schwartz.

Is there anyone who agrees with this statement?

Plus, I'm having trouble picking out a song for a GUY to sing from one of his shows. I pride myself on picking different stuff too. (I'm not about to go out there and belt me some Phantom, if ya know what I mean)

Any input from all of ya would be much appreciated.

Thanks :)

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:05pm

"Is there anyone who agrees with this statement?"

*snort*

I don't think you've been reading this board long enough.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:06pm

<----BIG ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER FAN. I think his music rocks, well the older stuff more than the new (Jesus Christ Superstar, POTO, Evita, etc.) although I LOVE WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND.

Now about a male solo from his show, I would have to say........."Gethsemane" (JCS), "Love Changes Everything" (AOL), "Heaven on their Minds" (JSC), "Any Dream Will Do" (JATATD), "Close Every Door to Me" (JATATD)

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:07pm

Well...I know how much all of you hate Mr. Schwartz!

I was using him to prove my point of how low I put ALW on the totem poll.

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:10pm

Is there anything good in "Whistle Down the Wind"?

I usually try to bring something that my directors won't hear 30 other times during the audition process.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:12pm

Um....The title song is really good. I mean, it is usually sang by a woman, but there is a part in the show where it is sung by the dad.

[jo]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:25pm

UNSETTLED SCORES from WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND is a great dramatic piece. It was sung by Michael Ball on an album of the show ( not the cast recording) released at the time of the show's opening featuring several famous singing stars.

You can try singing one of his diva pieces. Michael has sung WITH ONE LOOK very effectively, as it is really an actor's song, not necessarily one that is relevant to a fading diva only. Just change some of the lyrics to convert it to a male actor's song. Updated On: 7/12/04 at 07:25 PM

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 7:55pm

ALW just likes to rip off the prolific works of brilliant composers.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:21pm

The "Jurassic Park Theme" (Gates of Heaven) from WDTW is good...

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:34pm

Lloyd Webber's written some solid stuff and some not-so-solid stuff, I'm not sure his hit-to-miss ratio is much better or worse than anyone else's. 'JC Superstar' is easily my favorite musical of all-time and it burst into pop consciousness in a way not a lot of musicals have been able to achieve. It's a strong, powerful work and it's not just Tim Rice carrying the load. 'Joseph' is a fun children's pageant of a show, with some genuinely clever lyrics from Rice and lots of people love 'Evita' (although I personally enjoyed the movie rewrites more than than the stage show.) I think 'Sunset Blvd.') has a great movie-feel to its score, it suffers from adding too much chorus to a small story and from being at the back end of the era of opulence. 'A Kiss Is A Terrible Thing To Waste' is a GREAT song from 'Whistle Down the Wind,' easily the best part of a show that doesn't work in the slightest.

I don't think ALW is the be-all-end-all of theater but he's written a handful of shows that people like a lot, some classic songs and is certainly a relevant part of musical theater history. Certainly a better composer than Stephen Schwartz ever was (Schwartz's 60's folk pop wasn't even that original when he started doing it, thirty years later and it's almost a joke how many inappropriate stories he's forced it onto.)

[LouW95]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:39pm

Heard some music from the new Webber show Woman In White and it sounds terrific. It opens in London in Sept. and could be his first major hit in a long time.

[BernieG]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:40pm

I enjoy some of his music but not everything. I like Jesus Christ Superstar and POTO with the exception of a few songs but I absolutely HATE Evita and Starlight Express, with the exception of the song Don't Cry for Me Argentina. His style kind fo annoys me. I prefer Schwartz and Sondheim.

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:40pm

how did you hear "some" music from the show?

[BernieG]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:42pm

some of HIS music

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:46pm

There are plenty of us that like Stephen Schwartz...I personally think that Andrew Lloyd Webber is more important than he is good. Without him, we wouldn't have Broadway Opera, and while some snobs will say that shows like Les Mis aren't operas, those shows wouldn't exist without Webber. His shows aren't that great (with the exception of maybe Phantom), but he is that important.

[Plum]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:53pm

You just stated my exact opinon on ALW, MusicPos. Except I hated Phantom. :)

I think ALW is influential, but not necessarily in a good way. "Broadway opera" often means scores that are impossible for any mortal singer to perform 8 nights a week. It means lip-synching, and sometimes it means spectacle over substance.

For him, though, it's also meant buttloads of money, so what do I know?

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 8:59pm

"It means lip-synching, and sometimes it means spectacle over substance."

Ok, WHAT? Have you ever even seen Phantom of the Opera? There is no lip synching going on there. Also, I along with MANY others were fans of POTO before we even set foot into the theatre. Also, The Who's TOMMY is "technically" the first rock opera, but JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR was the first staged and it changed the face of theatre. Also, it is like one of the founding fathers of controversial theatre in the 20th century. I mean, have you seen footage of the picket lines that gather around this show? He is influential and damn good composer. Everyone always talks about POTO and JCS. But, he also wrote "Variations" and "REQUIEM." What other broadway or musical theatre composer has written a requiem?

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:21pm

Well, Webber's Requiem is pretty second-rate (or even third-rate) as requiems go, considering the requiems of Mozart, Verdi, Brahms, Britten, Berlioz, et al ...

As far as composers primarily known for their work in musical theatre who have ventured into the classical realm, I'll take Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess," "Rhapsody In Blue" or "An American In Paris," Bernstein's "Trouble In Tahiti," "Mass" or "Chichester Psalms," or La Chiusa's "First Lady Suite."

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:22pm

to each his own.......

[StageMom2]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:26pm

I agree there has been some amazing songs written by ALW. I love music from the "Phantom", "Jesus Christ Superstar:, Sunset Boulevard". I have the "Whistle Down the Wind" 2 CD - and have really enjoyed the music from it. Very different kind of musical - would have loved to have seen it! I agree with some of the previous people who have posted on some of the songs, etc. I also believe that "Vaults of Heaven" is a great song for a guy to do (Michael Ball did it on ALW"s 50th B'Day celebration). Actually, the other suggestions on really very good for an audition. Does it have to be ALW song? Just curious because my son's voice teacher had him learn "Anthem" from Chess that he did recently for an audition. When we asked why that song - she said that it was a very hard song to sing and yet it would show different ranges that he can do and that is what they look for. Must have worked because he got the part! Just a thought - Good Luck and let us know what you do for the audition!

[Musetta1957]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:29pm

"Ok, WHAT? Have you ever even seen Phantom of the Opera? There is no lip synching going on there."

Hah! Where have you been?

Most of the title song is pre-recorded. As is:
* the "Gentlemen, if you would prepare to take your seats, I will be sitting in box 5" conversation
* the screaming and commotion after "The Point of No Return"
* the Phantom's laugh at the end of Act 1

[MusicPos2]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:34pm

How do you figure that all the operas on Bway are impossible to sing? In fact, Webber is one of the easiest range wise to sing that I've seen. I'm not a huge fan of Requiem, and as I said most important doesn't mean best. While I think Beethoven was better than Mozart, many would disagree with me. No self-respecting historian, though would ever say that Mozart is remotely even close to Beethoven in terms of importance: Beethoven changed music history four times in his life.

[Juliette Capulet]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:39pm

I'm a Phantom fan, but I have to say that there is some lip synching. As far as I know, it's only during the title track.

Tendres Baisers,
Juliette Capulet

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:40pm

Did Christopher say that Schwartz is better than Andrew Lloyd Webber??? Hold on, just one second... (HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA AH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Okay I'm back. I just needed to get that out of my system...

(oh, lord. I'm having nightmares. 'bridges I didn't know I crossed until I crossed'... what does this mean??? what are you trying to tell me oh, holy one???) Updated On: 7/12/04 at 09:40 PM

[Broadway Matt]

Posted: 7/12/04 at 9:46pm

It's a lot of fun to trash Webber for many of the shows he's unleashed upon the world. God knows he deserves it for a lot of them. And no, his music isn't the most sophisticated or complex musical theatre. But in this "pop Broadway" world we live in, a world full of Wildhorn, Wicked, and Mamma Mia-type shows, I've come to re-appreciate what exactly is good about Webber. Granted his great work is few and far between, but the good scores he's written are quite excellent for what they are. I personally love Phantom, JCS, and Sunset Boulevard and have a weird appreciation for Starlight Express. One thing you have to give Webber, he manages to write catchy tunes in many different styles of music. Another advantage he has over Schwartz, he's not afraid to work with a separate lyricist. Based on overall body of work, I would probably rank Webber over Schwartz now that Wicked is a factor. If Schwartz could find a good lyricist and focus his attention more on the music, he might be able to write something as successful as Phantom or even *ugh* Cats.