Andrew Lloyd Webber on Musicals and Political Correctness- Page 3

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 11:04am

joevitus said: "But, geez, all you have to do is look at the comments here about Miss Saigon, or at the issues that arise whenever The King and I is revived to see Lloyd Webber has real reason to believe he'd be sabotaged if he tried at this point to write a work populated by people of a different culture/racial identity than his own."

Based on your examples here, it would seem that his effort would be criticized if the product proved to be unresearched (and thus ignorant) or cast in an offensive way. It sounds to me like the saboteur in your scenario would be ALW. Am I missing something?

[bear88]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 12:02pm

The King and I and Miss Saigon aren’t great examples either. Both shows got major Broadway revivals recently as well as national tours even though many writers and commenters here have significant issues with them (especially the latter, which also faced controversy in its original incarnation). Nothing was cancelled.

I’m not suggesting that a new musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber about characters and events in Africa or Asia wouldn’t draw a level of scrutiny that it might not have 45 years ago. But Webber could almost certainly get his hypothetical musical made anyway. And Here Lies Love is my example because it’s almost directly on point (white creatives, Evita-like plot). Webber cannot credibly say he couldn’t make X today when something with a fair number of similarities to X just started previews on Broadway.

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 12:32pm

See, this is why watching Andrew Lloyd Webber nearly fall down a flight of stairs was the undisputed highlight of my recent trip to London. And I got engaged on that trip!

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 12:41pm

I feel like The Lion King is an apt example here as well: It’s written by a white, British man (and developed by a white director) but it hired Black artists in prominent roles to lend their experiences to create a more authentic, specific piece of work. 

 

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 12:46pm

How about the fact that so many years later, Book of Mormon is still running, still making money?

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 1:35pm

Parker and Stone also made changes to Book of Mormon after the George Floyd protests, in collaboration with the Black cast members. These are two creators who have built their entire career mocking political correctness, and yet they were demonstrating a level of responsiveness and accountability to their Black cast and audience members that ALW has not demonstrated interest in with these comments.

Updated On: 6/19/23 at 01:35 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 6/19/23 at 1:48pm

MikeInTheDistrict said: "ALW has not demonstrated interest in with these comments."

A good point. In fact, he has demonstrated landed gentry mindset vis-a-vis his genuine (as contrasted with self-serving) interest in others. We are, after all, talking about the man who wanted to open his theatres during the pandemic "safely" by spraying toxic chemicals on his audiences and employees.

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 6/20/23 at 12:34am

I think it really depends on how you tell the story.  ALW mostly does abstract fantastical things.  It's not really meant to be an accurate portrayal of real events.  Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Joseph are in a way fiction.