Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals

Are there any other ALW fans here in the forums?

I have been kind of a fan of him since childhood. Yup, guilty as charged. Grew up loving Joseph, Evita and JCS. And then came CATS - I believe it was the first musical I ever watched on Broadway. A truly transformative experience - it made me believe in the awesome power of the stage musical, and the ephemeral nature of it (once it's gone, it's gone).

Love Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita

And the answer is... a qualified yes

Cats was also my first stage musical experience but I was actually disappointed. I loved the songs, but grown ups prancing around dressed as cats and no story wasn't my ideas of a good show! Phantom of the Opera on the other hand was a magical experience.

I've often wondered why ALW musicals don't do better as films. Personally I think Evita is very good and very underrated. Jesus Christ Superstar is not a great film. Joseph is barely a film. Phantom of the Opera is the polar opposite to the low budget Joseph, a big-budget gothic excess and I enjoyed it despite its obvious flaws. Cats was a movie travesty.

Phantom of the Opera (the Broadway version) was pretty good but a bit stodgy imho, nowhere near as fun as CATS! It's possible that I just watched the latter one at just the right age, and the idea of a musical that's entirely based on poems (thus, no need for story) still seems cool to me.

The movie version didn't quite do it justice, but as surprisingly faithful to the source material, I thought. It really didn't quite get a fair shake, despite being based on one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time. Then again, maybe they should just have gone the animated route and maybe that would have kept expectations more reasonable.

I love the shows Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.

Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Aspects of Love, all have at least a few songs that I love, but the shows aren't as good as the music.

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Maybe I'm not his fan exactly but I've enjoyed some of his work. It's been a while since I've listened to them but Cats, Starlight Express, and Evita have been my favorites.

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