Webber Fears Musicals Future

[Kent]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:18am

Oh please......This from the man who brought us "CATS."

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
Article Link

[jasonf]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:28am

This was posted yesterday

[MrSweetNAwful]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:31am

haha,
"Theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber has criticised new musicals as uninteresting. The composer, whose hits have included Cats...said today's musicals were all about the 'feel-good factor.'"
what? Sir you wrote a non-narrative show about singing, dancing cats!!!

[AvenueQPat]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 10:32am

I don't think that people want Evita's right now with 25 minutes of bleakness at the end. From the last week

Avenue Q
Beauty and the Beast
Hairspray
Mamma Mia
Spamalot
Tarzan
Spelling Bee
Color Purple
Lion King
Phantom
Wicked

All had above 90% of the house filled, with what seems like an average ticket price. I think its obvious that people who want to go to musicals are generally going to Happy, Silly, Frivolous musicals - Dopey Showgirls in Gooey Gowns.

In another 5 years, we may see another switch again to more serious shows - but in the past week (no i didn't do any long term research - just playbill.com) its obvious that many tickets are selling to fun musicals.

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 11:29am

The bleakness from Evita is fine, given that it was well written.

The Woman in White may have had a happy ending.

But it was dull.

Perhaps Lord Lloyd-Webber would like to focus on his own musicals as of late?

[jimnysf]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 11:35am

"This was posted yesterday"

and I already made the same comment about "Cats" in that thread that I see here.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 11:42am

Evita's actually not all THAT well written. Compositionally I think Webber didn't know how to write for a voice then. He wrote vocal parts very instrumentally, which makes it hard to sing. Also I've never been sure which way the audience is supposed to feel about her. It sort of makes her out to be this greedy opportunist.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 12:08pm

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.cfm?thread=906149#2378746

[ALWrules]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 1:02pm

I agree that there is some hypocracy, considering this is the man who not only wrote Cats, but don't forget Starlight Express and By Jeeves, both of which are pretty frivolous musicals.
However, I think he is also trying to say that there is a problem in musical theater today because there are very few serious works out there. Many shows do focus on the "feel-good factor," because frankly it creates a better musical. Starlight ran for 17 years in London, and Cats for about the same time on both the West End and Bway. How long did The Beautiful Game or Aspects of Love last? But it is a shame that it is so hard to find engaging theater now, and instead we are filled with shows like the Drowsy chaperone and Mamma Mia.I think that he also pointing out how hard it is to run a profit in London. He owns a lot of these theaters, and apparently it is very hard to run a profit in London.
Though almost every composer has written frivolous musicals, I think they all would like to see at least some serious works out there.

[kissmycookie]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 1:13pm

Wondering if he's seen 'The Light in the Piazza?' Or 'See What I Wanna See?'

[ErinDillyFan]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 1:24pm

ALW is not talking about the state of the art or even Broadway.

He is talking about the financial state of the theaters in London specifically. If you read the article, he states only 3 shows in London are making money despite good attendance. A significant number of London's theaters need maintenance and repair that are not going to be able to be recouped with the current cost structures.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 1:25pm

Neither of those shows sustain a very long life, compared to the other shows. Although I wouldn't say the Color Purple is a "feel-good" type show.

And I agree about Evita. I saw the tour last year and I wasn't sure how I was suppose to feel about her. Is she a slut that slept her way to the top? Is she good because she came from the slums? etc.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 2:44pm

I think the beauty of EVITA is that it's non-committal; It does not take sides. In the end, it's left up to the audience's intepretation. Many people view (and have viewed) Eva Peron as either a patron saint of the poor or a power-hungry opportunist. There is no middle ground.

Updated On: 8/2/06 at 02:44 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:14pm

Right, you either hate Evita or love her. I usually hate her in the show. And most actresses play the role incredibly evil like LuPone and Covington, though are those who try to sweeten it up a la Madonna. Even with those evil Evitas though there are moments of tenderness; LuPone's Evita for instance made me tear up when she was dying.

I think the purpose of ALW's show though was to ultimately show that Eva wasn't the saint people make her out to be. That's why Che is there, to point out how the people actually feel as opposed to how Eva thinks they feel. Like the scene with her foundation; she thinks it's so helpful and wonderful, and Che tells the audience that, no, it really doesn't do that much.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:18pm

The American Musical makes an interesting comment that audiences, post 9-11, look for light musicals as an escape. I think it's a logical explanation.

[Jazzysuite82]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 3:18pm

Which is kind of odd to me. Write a show about this icon who was really a slutty bitch. That's like the E! True Hollywood Musical.


Actually I find the musical contradicts itself in it's point of view. I think you have to have a point of view or you're confused. I always ask myself, what did they set out to do with this piece. I think the answer should always be clear when theatre is concerned. The character can be ambiguous yes, but the actual point of the piece isn't.
Updated On: 8/2/06 at 03:18 PM

[bella cantato]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 6:10pm

I was wondering exactly who he was going to blame for "Woman in White" doing so poorly-

[Kent]

Posted: 8/2/06 at 7:33pm

"'This was posted yesterday'

and I already made the same comment about "Cats" in that thread that I see here."


Well get her.....