#26
Posted: 6/24/06 at 12:45pm
Andrew Lloyd Webber needs to work with a strong book writer and lyricist. He should also NOT build shows around spectacular scenic effects: That is the frosting for the big professional stagings. If the show is well written it can be equally effective with a minimalist staging. The three show written with Tim Rice (JOSEPH, SUPERTAR & EVITA) are all fine, with EVITA the best of the three, and these shows play well both in elaborate or simple productions.
Apparently being part of a successful team was not what Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted. Instead of Webber & Rice (or other lyricists/book writer), he wanted the shows announced as "Andrew Lloyd Webber's ________________ .
CATS was a stunt. It worked for some (many) because of the effects and the dancing. Also without a plot the show cut across cultural boundaries. It was the first show since OH! CALCUTTA to attract the Japanese businessmen. It ran 18 years made tons n money in New York, a similar long run in London, and a healthy road tour.
SONG AND DANCE was a stunt as well. An interesting experiment. It didn't quite work but Richard Maltby's reworked Broadway version at least gave some character to Emma. Try as they might no one could successfully connect the two segments, but they really do not need connection. I suspect the show would work better if the two halves were reversed. The London production was a success, but the Broadway production was an expensive failure.
STARLIGHT EXPRESS was another stunt show but one that was totally bankrupt both artistically and musically. This was the one that made me start hating ALW. Still a lot of people in London loved it where it ran on and on despite critical carping. On Broadway it lasted two years but closed with a multi-million dollar loss.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was better but the sloppy story telling and the dull, repetitive lyrics push me away rather than drawing me in to the story. Still, many have responded to the show's lush operetta romance and it has bee hugely successful on Broadway, In London, and here in Toronto and everywhere else it plays. This makes me worry about the general "dumbing down" of Broadway. A mediocre show like this can become the longest running show in Broadway history, while many other far superior shows have trouble lasting a year or more. But that is a problem with audiences, not the shows themselves.
ASPECTS OF LOVE contains several beautiful melodies, but some of the lyrics are bland and the story is very dull. I give him marks for writing a romantic opera about the mysteries of love, but the result falls far short of the goal.
SUNSET BLVD was sloppy! Sloppy! SLOPPY! In a rush to get the show on to save his failing Really Useful Group, Webber took a bunch of older songs - some from failed shows, some unused - and asked the lyric writers to fit new words to these melodies. The lyrics and text do not explore character and the depth of emotion from the original screenplay. Instead we get a re-telling of the film but without any subtext. People who have never seen the film get swept up in the story, but this one falls far short of what it could have been. It lost millions in London, in New York, in Toronto and on Tour. Now, some people are clamouring for a film version making me wonder how much money can one show lose?
WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND and BEAUTIFUL GAME were not successful in London and did not come to North America. WOMAN IN WHITE did and was a dismal failure here as it was in London. All three scores have their moments but again the lyrics/text let all three down.
People...DEMAND more from Broadway. You are paying $100 a ticket and you deserve shows much better than these.
Apparently being part of a successful team was not what Andrew Lloyd Webber wanted. Instead of Webber & Rice (or other lyricists/book writer), he wanted the shows announced as "Andrew Lloyd Webber's ________________ .
CATS was a stunt. It worked for some (many) because of the effects and the dancing. Also without a plot the show cut across cultural boundaries. It was the first show since OH! CALCUTTA to attract the Japanese businessmen. It ran 18 years made tons n money in New York, a similar long run in London, and a healthy road tour.
SONG AND DANCE was a stunt as well. An interesting experiment. It didn't quite work but Richard Maltby's reworked Broadway version at least gave some character to Emma. Try as they might no one could successfully connect the two segments, but they really do not need connection. I suspect the show would work better if the two halves were reversed. The London production was a success, but the Broadway production was an expensive failure.
STARLIGHT EXPRESS was another stunt show but one that was totally bankrupt both artistically and musically. This was the one that made me start hating ALW. Still a lot of people in London loved it where it ran on and on despite critical carping. On Broadway it lasted two years but closed with a multi-million dollar loss.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was better but the sloppy story telling and the dull, repetitive lyrics push me away rather than drawing me in to the story. Still, many have responded to the show's lush operetta romance and it has bee hugely successful on Broadway, In London, and here in Toronto and everywhere else it plays. This makes me worry about the general "dumbing down" of Broadway. A mediocre show like this can become the longest running show in Broadway history, while many other far superior shows have trouble lasting a year or more. But that is a problem with audiences, not the shows themselves.
ASPECTS OF LOVE contains several beautiful melodies, but some of the lyrics are bland and the story is very dull. I give him marks for writing a romantic opera about the mysteries of love, but the result falls far short of the goal.
SUNSET BLVD was sloppy! Sloppy! SLOPPY! In a rush to get the show on to save his failing Really Useful Group, Webber took a bunch of older songs - some from failed shows, some unused - and asked the lyric writers to fit new words to these melodies. The lyrics and text do not explore character and the depth of emotion from the original screenplay. Instead we get a re-telling of the film but without any subtext. People who have never seen the film get swept up in the story, but this one falls far short of what it could have been. It lost millions in London, in New York, in Toronto and on Tour. Now, some people are clamouring for a film version making me wonder how much money can one show lose?
WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND and BEAUTIFUL GAME were not successful in London and did not come to North America. WOMAN IN WHITE did and was a dismal failure here as it was in London. All three scores have their moments but again the lyrics/text let all three down.
People...DEMAND more from Broadway. You are paying $100 a ticket and you deserve shows much better than these.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
