Theatre's Mt. Rushmore: Andrew Lloyd Webber Shows

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

Welcome to a new feature, we’ll be doing on the blog- Theatre’s Mt. Rushmore!

In this column, we’ll discuss the Mt. Rushmore for various theatre artists, topics, shows, etc. We’ll be picking what are the best, most definitive, and most impactful of the bunch. Just like Mt. Rushmore itself, we’ll be selecting four choices. Let’s get into it!

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With the closing of The Phantom of the Opera and the announced closing of Bad Cinderella, Broadway will not have an Andrew Lloyd Webber show playing for the first time in over three decades. It feels only fitting to kick this series with the Mt Rushmore of Andrew Lloyd Webber shows.

Cats

It’s not his best musical. It’s probably not even in his top three. But when we talk about the most popular and iconic musicals of the latter half of the 20th century, Cats has to be on the list.

While the score is inconsistent, its highs are higher than many other composers could ever hope to climb. ‘Memory’ remains one of the finest compositions in musical theatre history.

As Timout said about the show,

“As iconic as it is annoying, as genius as it is dumb, ‘Cats’ is in some ways the pivotal musical in Lloyd Webber’s career, the start of his post-Tim Rice commercial-juggernaut phase. Yes, it’s three hours of felines singing in a dump. But it’s full of memorable moments and is more at ease with itself than the terrifying-looking upcoming film adaptation.”

The show opened on Broadway on Oct 7th, 1982. At the time, it was the most expensive show ever produced, but it recouped its investment within its first ten months. It was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won seven including Best Musical.

The Phantom of the Opera

While we can debate the greatness of The Phantom of the Opera, we cannot deny its popularity and impact on musical theatre. For those two reasons alone, it belongs on his Mt. Rushmore.

Growing up, this was one of the first musicals that really got me excited about theatre.

Opening in January of 1988, the show received mostly positive reviews. Frank Rich of the New York Times said,

"It may be possible to have a terrible time at The Phantom of the Opera, but you'll have to work at it. Only a terminal prig would let the avalanche of pre-opening publicity poison his enjoyment of this show, which usually wants nothing more than to shower the audience with fantasy and fun, which often succeeds, at any price.”

The show was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won six including Best Musical, beating out the arguably better, Into the Woods.

Jesus Christ Superstar

While I don’t think this is his best overall show, it is the best score he ever wrote and the most controversial. This is Andrew Lloyd Webber at his most ambitious and with Tim Rice, the two of them are just cooking masterpieces from track to track.

I’ll be honest; it’s a better show to listen to than to see. The show received mixed reviews when it opened on Broadway and it wasn’t even nominated for a Tony for Best Musical.

However, decades after its premiere, I think we can all say it belongs on the mountain.

Evita

Evita is not only a masterpiece and Llord Wbber’s best overall show. It’s one of the best musicals of the 20th century.

Everything about this show works. The storytelling, the music, the lyrics, all the very best of Webber and Rice is in this show. This is why it was the easy choice to win Best Musical, even despite not having much competition that year.

Timout agreed, ranking this as Webber’s best show.

“Yes, she’s ‘High Flying, Adored’, and top of our big ol’ list. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s characteristically offbeat decision to make a musical about the little-known wife of an Argentinian president paid off in a wonderfully varied show with the kind of emotional heft their other hits mostly lack.”