WEBBER A. LLOYD - Hardcover

Michael Walsh examines Lloyd Webber's personal motivations and professional methods and recounts his enduring influence on the development of the popular musical. Walsh covers the famous shows as well as Lloyd Webber's lesser-known works, such as "Requiem" and "Jeeves," his only outright flop, which, nevertheless, in 1996 was revived successfully both in England and the United States as "By Jeeves." This updated and enlarged version of the book takes the reader to the opening of "Sunset Boulevard," through the long-running negotiations for the movie version of "Evita," and right up to Lloyd Webber's latest musical, "Whistle Down the Wind." Going behind the scenes, Walsh tells of a middle-class boy who dropped out of Oxford and became an international superstar. He also relates Lloyd Webber's mercurial relationships with the press, his colleagues, and his collaborators, including lyricist Tim Rice, directors Trevor Nunn and Hal Prince, and leading ladies Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman (his second wife), and Glenn Close. Finally, he charts Lloyd Weber's latest milestones - including a third marriage and a lordship - and his transition from composer to impresario to international business entrepreneur.

Jesus Christ Superstar. Evita. Cats. The Phantom of the Opera. Sunset Boulevard. Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit parade of West End and Broadway musicals has established him as the foremost theatrical composer of our time. His shows have broken all theatrical box-office records and have been produced all over the world; successful film versions include Jesus Christ Superstar and the recent award-winning Evita. In this important critical biography, now fully updated, Michael Walsh makes a complete, unblinking assessment of the man hailed by some critics for his innovations and melodic extravagance and denounced by others for creating "schlock operas" that rely on spectacle more than musical virtuosity.

The illustrations include candid photographs of Lloyd Webber, performance shots of all the shows by world-renowned theater photographers, and sketches for costume designs and sets, providing a rich overview of Lloyd Webber's unique theatrical world.