One of the most well known musical composers of our time is Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. He's responsible for creating some of the most famous, and commercially successful, musicals of all time; such as "Evita," "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Cats," and, of course, "Phantom of the Opera" (which has been running on Broadway for thirty years now). Famous Broadway actors have been in his shows, such as Patti LuPone, who originated the role of Eva Peron in 1979 when the show opened on Broadway. Back in 2017, there were four of Webber's shows running on Broadway at the same time, something that hadn't been done since the days of Rogers and Hammerstein's musicals.
However, there is some backlash that comes with Webber's shows, as it tends to happen with something popular. And I'll admit, even I see some of the faults in his shows, because no one is perfect. Musically, his scores aren't always the strongest. All I Ask of You is one of my favorite duets in musical theater, but musically it doesn't go anywhere. What I mean by that is that the key stays the same throughout the song doesn't change. To give some context for the song, Christine and Raoul are on the Opera House rooftop singing a typical love duet where they promise to always love each other (it's an incredibly cheesy moment found in most Broadway musicals, but still manages to melt my heart ninety five percent of the time). Instead of having the key continuing to rise to reflect their heightened emotions like most love ballads do, it's kept the same. So if you listened to the song without the lyrics, you could be at any verse and have know way of being able to tell which one. I still love the song, but I recognize its musical faults.
Another problem I've noticed with some of Webber's shows is that if they're not directed well, the story might not come across to the audience. I had a friend who went to see a production of "Evita," knew almost nothing about the show and unfortunately the theater she saw the show in didn't have a great sound system. And since the show is sung through and she could only hear about every other word, she didn't have a great idea about what was going on and I had to explain it to her.
Last Sunday I went to see "Cats" for the first time at PPAC, and I knew almost nothing about the show, apart from the song Memory. I'm still processing what I witnessed. The show's sung through and has no plot. Knowing nothing about the show makes it hard to follow, especially if you go in blind. Plus there were a lot of characters I didn't know the names of and didn't really care about. All I wanted was more from Grizabella (the cat who sings Memory) because she seemed to have a compelling, emotional backstory rather than just nonsense. One of my friends, who is a Cats fan, even said that particular production wasn't directed well, making hard for new comers to follow.
Though the biggest crime Webber's committed, in my book, was creating "Love Never Dies." Anyone who knows me knows that "Phantom of the Opera" is one of my all time favorite shows. Webber had the brilliant idea to write a sequel, a sequel so bad it's been called "fan fiction with a budget" (which is an insult to fan fiction). I could go on a whole tangent about the bad writing, ruining characters and the whole thing not making any sense to begin with, but that's a rant for another day.
I think that it's important to remember that a composer is still human. Just because they may have created something that seems larger than life doesn't mean that they're not a normal, flawed person. Even the best artist can create something mediocre. Even if you're not a huge Webber fan, like many people I know, plenty of people still love his work, there's a reason "Phantom" is still on Broadway. I don't see anything wrong with something that brings a lot of people joy, even if others think it's just okay or terrible.
