The next Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is...

[leeinlondon]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:37am

to be based based on the novel "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov.

The novel is apparantly about the appearance of the devil in Moscow at the time of Stalin's purges, the Devil is aided in his tasks of mayhem by a giant black cat and a naked woman.

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:39am

I'm excited!

I love my ALW!

[2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:39am

a giant black cat and a naked woman.

Oh, God... Well, ALW, good luck with that!

[timote316]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:43am

Well, that sounds.... strange.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:43am

Interesting. Can't wait to see what this will be like.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:43am

This seems really odd.

[aspiringactress]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:44am

It's just a ploy to get people to his shows. Put a naked woman on stage for 2.5 hours, and you get all the straight male tourists.

By the way, I was joking, so don't eat me.

[Becoz_i_knew_you21]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:45am

^ haha

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:47am

I kind of like Andrew's new works...he's trying to change his image, maybe he'll prevail.

[leeinlondon]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:49am

Cast of characters from the novel:

Woland
a mysterious gentleman "magician"
Behemoth
fast talking black cat
Koroviev
"ex-choirmaster" valet
Azazello
the fanged hitman
Abadonna
a pale-faced individual
Hella
the witch
Berlioz
the head of the literary world
Margarita
the Master's lover

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:52am

Please please please work with a good lyricist this time...I kind of want to see this turn out really well.

And please, Lord Lloyd Webber, don't have the Devil and the naked lady send the giant black cat up to Kitty-Cat Heaven in a huge pyrotechnic piece of trash. Amen.

Updated On: 8/25/06 at 10:52 AM

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 10:53am

I like Andrew Lloyd Webber as a composer. This musical sounds... interesting to say the least.

[musicalkid]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 11:14am

It's a great book, just wating to be turned out into a good musical...
BUT WHY ALW?!
anyone else, please! come and take the rights from him, he will ruin a perfectly good story for a musical.

(anacdote: I once saw an original israeli musical based upon that book, with Topol as the devil, and it was lousy. a bad bad bad score.)

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 11:32am

This story has always intrigued me, should be interesting.

But please, no Michael Crawford this time. Pleeeease!

[jv92]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 11:38am

Oh god. This seems odd. Updated On: 8/25/06 at 11:38 AM

[frontrowcentre2]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 12:18pm

When will all ALW's fan understand that he doesn't know how to write a musical?

He writes wonderful melodies (or "borrows" them from the right people, i.e. Puccini) but he has no idea where to use music for dramatic effect, how to use it to heighten emotion and develop character, and most importantly when not to use and let dialogue carry the story. Any theatricality to his shows is a result of the direction and design elements. There is nothing inherently theatrical in the writing.

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 12:20pm

I love his new stuff, so I will probably love this!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 12:23pm

Oh, no! More cats?!!!

[wishinguweresomehow]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 12:53pm

It will either be really GOOD or really NOT GOOD.

But knowing ALW he'll find some sort of creative way to handle it!

:)

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 1:15pm

This is really out of the box for him. This could be his best work ever or a completely delicious disaster. I can't wait.

[Roger246]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 1:19pm

I agree colleen, its either going to be great or a disaster!

[Caleb]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 1:28pm

Well, I must say that the reception this news is getting on this board is at least better than the detestable reaction it's getting on Talkin' Broadway.

I'm glad people are hoping that Andrew Lloyd Webber writes a good piece of theatre. They've already dismissed him on the other board, which I think is just terrible. Why do we tear down writers that we've put in boxes when they try and break out of them? The same thing happened when Stephen Schwartz announced that he was writing an opera. Who is it helping? Is it really the actions of people who claim to love theatre? If we love it, I think we should approach every new work hoping that it's the best thing we've ever seen. Otherwise, you're actively hoping for the art form you love to fail and die.

The one person so far who has said this won't be good for Andrew Lloyd Webber did it intelligently and with reasons why they don't like Lloyd Webber's writing. While I personally disagree with that poster's comments, and don't like the attitude that they're right and "When will ALW's fans learn?", at the heart of it they were merely expressing an opinion without vitriol and nastiness. I hope that people go a little easier on Lloyd Webber.

Anyway, as I read the brief description of the novel, it sounds like it might be the perfect piece to reunite Lloyd Webber with Tim Rice. It sounds like there are equal parts religious and political satire/commentary, which we've seen Rice handle before. Thoughts on that? Does anyone who knows the novel better have any ideas for the lyricist?

[Roninjoey]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 1:36pm

What's up with all the cries of "Oh that's so weird why is he picking that project"? I'm sure all of you who went "Oh well... that sounds... interesting?" haven't even read the book. Webber usually picks, at the very least, interesting and off the wall projects. Whether or not it'll be any good we'll have to wait and see. After Woman in White, unless it is received pretty spectacularly in England, I wonder if it will even make it here.

[BwayBaby18]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 1:38pm

Oh Andrew Lloyd Webber will you please end this Charade.

[colored by esteem]

Posted: 8/25/06 at 1:48pm

Well, I'm officially stunned...

*mouth hangs agape*

This is one of the most complex and interesting novels I've read, and the concept of it being musicalized has never, ever entered my mind. Not a light read!!

I wish ALW could be placed in a time machine and transported to 1976 before he was actually allowed to compose/write this project, but that seems unlikely, no?

Updated On: 8/25/06 at 01:48 PM