UNMASKED: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber @ Papermill

Mild spoilers ahead....

Andrew Lloyd Webber deserves so much better.

Just back from Papermill, where Sondheim On Sondheim has become Lloyd Webber on Lloyd Webber, with far less success and far more tedium.

I was really looking forward to this, because, often I love Lloyd Webber's music even of I don't care much for the show it's in.

I'm struggling to find good things to say about this aimless and directorless show, but it just has no idea what it wants to be.

The show uses the same structure as Sondheim on Sondheim, where Lloyd Webber is on video providing narration to his music. He has a very droll and dry humor, which I very much like, but his scripted words don't enlighten as much as I might have hoped. A segment on playing Rachmaninoff backwards made me wish the rest was equally as fascinating.

I guess I should get the casting issue out of the way. I'm trying to be kind, but it's difficult. The women fare infinitely better than the men and that's not saying much. My companion looked at me at intermission and this is a direct quote: "Did they find this cast at Starbucks?" One company member, I hope was under the weather. The person simply cannot sing.

For example, the Jesus Christ Superstar material was crucified, particularly Gethsemane, my favorite song from that show. Many in the cast cannot hit the notes in song after song. I kept having Elena Roger flashbacks.

The choreography, if you choose to call it that, was less interesting and less complex than what I did in high school. It added nothing to the production. I mean, what is added by having a cello soloist who is center-stage picked up and turned upside-down by two male dancers, while playing. It's kinda neat, but it's cheap, cheesy and pointless. The balcony of the Casa Rosada is a small staircase of 5 steps with Eva on the 4th step. Community theater at $130 a ticket.

While on the cheesy subject, it might be nice if the MUSIC of Andrew Lloyd Webber had a full orchestra playing his MUSIC. The orchestra is slight and has difficulty transitioning from Lloyd-Webber playing piano on film to their playing live.

If a director is going to eliminate applause breaks, then do it. It they want them included, then include them. The whole evening is a series of not knowing if or when to applaud, so the applause is often, here and there and all over the place. It's a bit unfair to the cast and the musicians.

2/3 of the first act is so awkward, that I cringed for the cast and actually felt bad for them. The whole exercise screams for a director who has a clue what they're doing.

If this wasn't ready 2 years ago, I can't imagine what it looked like back then, and with the talentless John Doyle at the helm.

This desperately needs to be trimmed by half an hour. The acapella medley that opens the show is excruciating. Several lesser known/original songs must go. And, why conclude the evening with Stick It To The Man from School of Rock, which many in the audience may not have seen. Then, an encore from Starlight Express that most people probably have never heard or have forgotten is just so weird and out of place, it needs to go.

At 2hrs 45min, it feels much longer. Act One is almost 90 minutes.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's music deserves so much better. There are some good moments (mostly Phantom and Love Never Dies), but not enough to warrant a trek out to Papermill.

Updated On: 2/1/20 at 01:08 AM

Thank you Wolfwriter for sharing your detailed thoughts. I had high hopes but you saved me a tedious shlep and $35 in tolls.

This looks pathetically cheap from the production photos they released.

This reeks of The Prince of Broadway.

I find it hard to believe if Hal Prince really approved that final version of Prince of Broadway. Especially those eyeglasses props!

I agree with all of the previous posts. It really is a very cheap, embarrassing looking evening of community theater. I will also add that while it is quite common in the UK and Europe to have the same designer do both scenery and costumes, here it seems to be done to save money. The costumes are quite atrocious and look like a combination of being hurriedly pulled from a community college stock room and an after Christmas sale at hot topic. It is always so disappointing when shows like this have a developmental period that seems to have gone unused.

I think you guys are being way too catty...these video clips (see link below) just posted look and sound terrific to me! I'm looking forward to seeing the show on Feb 22, and can't wait!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay/VIDEO-First-Look-at-Footage-From-UNMASKED-at-Paper-Mill-Starring-Mamie-Parris-Alex-Finke-and-More-20200205

Lot666 said: "The OP stated that the male performers are weak, which makes me wonder about Bronson Norris Murphy, who is a swing at Phantom Broadway and played the lead for most of the Love Never Dies U.S. tour. We saw the tour twice, and although he reads too young for the part, we were pretty impressed with his vocals."

Sorry. That’s my fault. I should have been more specific when I said the good parts were mostly from Phantom and Love Never Dies.

Bronson Norris Murphy did most of that material and he did really well with the it. He very much outperforms everyone else on stage.

wolfwriter said: "the good parts were mostly from Phantom and Love Never Dies.

Bronson Norris Murphy did most of that material and he did really well with the it. He very much out performs everyone else on stage."

Thanks for the clarification. I don't really know any of the other male performers, but I expected a solid performance from Mr. Murphy.