Andrew Lloyd Webber on Musicals and Political Correctness — Page 3

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.

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. 

 

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

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.