Andrew Lloyd Webber (Yale Broadway Masters Series)

284 Pages·2004·1.3 MB·English

by  John Snelson

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forthcoming
IrvingBerlin, by jeffrey magee
LeonardBernstein, by carol oja
GeorgeGershwin, by larry starr
JohnKanderandFredEbb, by james leve
JeromeKern, by stephen banfield
FrankLoesser, by thomas l. riis
ColePorter, by patrick o’connor
SigmundRomberg, by william a. everett

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[To view this image, refer to
the print version of this title.]

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W
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E B B E R
J o h n S n e l s o n
WithaForewordby
Geoffrey Block,
GeneralEditor
Yale University Press New Haven & London

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E PublishedwithassistancefromtheKingsleyTrustAssociationPublicationFund
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D establishedbytheScrollandKeySocietyofYaleCollege.
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L Frontispiece:AndrewLloydWebber(photo:JohnSwannell).
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D Postersandrecordjacketspicturedonpages11,12,14,23,35,43,44,48,50,52,
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on ThePhantomoftheOpera,Mexico,pages84,85,86,100,107,112,and120,
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el FernandoAcevesandJuanCarlosEquihua.
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7 Copyright©2004byYaleUniversity.
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Thisbookmaynotbereproduced,inwholeorinpart,includingillustrations,inanyform
(beyondthatcopyingpermittedbySections107and108oftheU.S.CopyrightLawand
exceptbyreviewersforthepublicpress),withoutwrittenpermissionfromthepublishers.
DesignedbyJamesJ.JohnsonandsetinElectraRomantypes
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PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyR.R.DonnelleyandSons.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Snelson,John.
AndrewLloydWebber/JohnSnelson;withaforewordbyGeoffreyBlock,generaleditor.
p. cm.—(YaleBroadwaymasters)
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindex.
isbn0-300-10459-6(cloth:alk.paper)
1.LloydWebber,Andrew,1948– Criticismandinterpretation. 2.Musicals—Historyand
criticism. I.Block,GeoffreyHolden,1948– . II.Title. III.Series.
ml410.l78s64 2004
782.1'4'092—dc22 2004004311
AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
Thepaperinthisbookmeetstheguidelinesforpermanenceanddurability
oftheCommitteeonProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityofthe
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SeriesForeword,byGeoffreyBlock ix
Acknowledgments xi
chapter 1
. AspectsofLife 1
chapter 2
. TellingTales:ASurveyoftheShows 20
chapter 3
. Pop,Rock,andClassical:FirstElementsofaStyle 55
chapter 4
. ‘‘WhoAreYou,StrangeAngel?’’:Multiple
PersonalitiesinThePhantomoftheOpera 77
chapter 5
. ‘‘I’mReadyforMyClose-Up’’:
LloydWebberonScreen 123
chapter 6
. ‘‘Memory’’:MusicalReminiscencesinLloydWebber 157
chapter 7
. ‘‘NowandForever’’:CanonsandChallenges 183
ListofWorksbyAndrewLloydWebber 213
Notes 221
Bibliography 247
Permissions 249
GeneralIndex 255
IndexofLloydWebber’sWorks 263

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W
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D GeoffreyBlock,
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Before Andrew Lloyd Webber, one must turn to the historic Broadway in-
vasionofArthurSullivan’smusicandW.S.Gilbert’swordsandstoriesinthe
late 1870s and early 1880s (H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The
Mikado) to find a British theater composer who so consistently conquered
Americanpopularculture.FromtheNewYorkarrivalofJesusChristSuper-
star in 1971 to the present, the sun has yet to set on the Lloyd Webber era
eitheronBroadwayorinLondon’sWestEnd.Evita,JosephandtheAmazing
TechnicolorDreamcoat,StarlightExpress,andSunsetBoulevardallenjoyed
considerablepopularacclaimfromthelate1970stothemid-1990s,andin
1997,oneLloydWebbershow,Cats,surpassedtherecordofAChorusLine
forlongest-runningBroadwayshow.LloydWebber’smegahiteventuallylost
its ninth lives in New York and London after eighteen years (1982–2000)
and twenty-one years (1981–2002), respectively. Meanwhile, The Phantom
oftheOpera(London,1986;NewYork,1988)continuesitsspectacularrun
onbothsidesofthepond.
Alongside extraordinary and continuous popularity, Lloyd Webber has
suffered a divided and often negative critical response, especially in the
Americanmedia,andthehostilityofneglectintheacademy.Consequently,
despitephenomenalcommercialsuccessesonBroadway,intheWestEnd,
andinotherinternationalmarkets,LloydWebberhasnotreceivedthekind
of serious and balanced scholarly and critical attention a figure of his cul-
tural importance merits. John Snelson’s Andrew Lloyd Webber is the first
booktocomprehensivelyexplorethedevelopmentofthecomposer’smusi-
cal and dramatic language and his professional career. Snelson’s study also

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