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Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the most influential and successful composers of the modern musical. His work flows from stage to screen and he is one of the leading figures in the world of megamusicals. This guide explores Lloyd Webber’s early years in musical theatre and his hugely successful collaboration with Tim Rice. It then moves on to look at his blockbuster musicals of the 1980s and finally examines his hit and miss musicals of the twenty-first century.

Terminology

• Cantata: a medium-length narrative piece of music for voices with instrumental accompaniment, typically with solos, chorus, and orchestra.
• Concept album: a rock album featuring a cycle of songs expressing a particular theme or idea.
• Golden Age musical: a Broadway musical written and produced between 1943 and 1965.
• Linear plot: a series of events that have a clear beginning, middle and end.
• Megamusical: a large-scale musical produced for large commercial profit.
• Song cycle: a set of related songs intended to form a single musical entity.

Key Dates & Events

• 1948 - Birth of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
• 1971 - Premiere of Jesus Christ Superstar, one of the most successful rock operas of all time.
• 1980 - Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album for Evita.
• 1980 - Evita wins the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Original Score.
• 1981 - Cats opened at the New London Theatre in the West End.
• 1982 - Cats opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway.
• 1983 - Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album for Cats.
• 1983 - Cats wins the Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score.
• 1988 - The Phantom of the Opera wins the Tony Award for Best Musical.
• 1990 - Grammy Legend Award.
• 1995 - Sunset Boulevard wins the Tony Awards for Best Musical and Best Original Score.
• 1995 - Andrew Lloyd Webber was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.
• 1996 - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for the film adaptation of Evita.
• 2006 - Andrew Lloyd Webber was presented with the Kennedy Center Honors.
• 2015 - Premiere of School of Rock, featuring child musician actors as a live rock band.
• 2018 - Andrew Lloyd Webber was awarded the Special Tony Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
• 2018 - Andrew Lloyd Webber was awarded the Olivier Lifetime Achievement Award.