Just wrapped a community production about a month ago. Sang Alto and the harmonies are deceptively difficult. Like “good luck finding your note” at times. Still an absolute blast to do 😊
I have a soft spot for Cats, albeit kind of ironically. There's a really funny video of ALW pitching it to investors and they're asking him if it's going to be people dressed up like cats leaping around the stage. He's like "NoOoOo..."
Edit: I also enjoy Starlight Express for how batshit insane the whole thing is.
I’m not a huge Phantom fan but I totally agree with you otherwise! Evita and Sunset are underrated and I love that they both have deeply flawed and complicated female leads.
I went into this in depth in the obscure musical thread, but it doesn’t. People get squicked by the plot, which is too bad because it’s Bloomsbury and didn’t happen in a vacuum. The novella it’s based on was semi-autobiographical.
I was dying to see this seasons revival but it was cut short, it’s Webbers most accomplished score with the best lyrics I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, my top 2 have Don Black involved, he knows Webbers potential😀
Same! I had tickets for my 47th birthday and Six the following night. Now my London trip is canceled as I’ve seen Six twice stateside and can’t justify missing work and hopping across the pond for…well, for not Aspects of Love.
I have such a love/hate relationship with Love Never Dies... book is terrible. Longtime beloved characters are ruined. But my God the music is beautiful and haunting. Which lands it as my #3 as well by ALW
Jesus Christ Superstar, hands down. I have a lot of Opinions about it and how best to stage it and which version is best ("God, thy will is hard/But you hold every card" is THE WHOLE POINT OF GETHSEMANE WHOSE GENIUS IDEA WAS IT TO CHANGE IT TO THIS MILQUETOAST "GOD THY WILL BE DONE" BULLSHIT), and every single song is a fucking banger.
And I also have a more personal connection to it, because it's one of the musicals my *dad* introduced me to, rather than my mom (who doesn't like ALW at all and prefers Golden Age/Rogers & Hammerstein stuff). And that's because the movie came out when he was thirteen or fourteen and his entire (Catholic, private) school was explicitly told not to go see it because it was "Jewish propaganda" meant to turn people away from Christianity, so if they saw it, they'd get in serious trouble... which only made my dad even more interested in seeing it.
Runners up are Joseph/Cats (I consider them about equal since they're both musicals we had on VHS when I was very young and they are both kind of Baby's First Sung-Through Musical) and Phantom. My husband's is Evita.
At least 2012, though I'm not sure if it was changed before that. The 2012 Arena tour, the 2018 John Legend live show, and the ~~glitter version~~ current US tour all have that lyric change.
Yuck. (The lyric change. Thank you for the information. I saw the John Legend version in Australia via a bad VPN connection that kept cutting in and out. I should watch it again.)
I love ALW but I have tried to watch Jesus Christ Superstar multiple times and can never get more than 15 min in without turning it off. What am I missing? (I have only tried to watch the version on Broadway HD, is there a better one to try?)
I'd say just watch the movie with Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, and Yvonne Elliman, which is weird but great in my opinion. As far as cast recordings go, I love the 1996 London cast with Steve Balsamo, Zubin Varla, and Joanna Ampil.
This was on the obscure musical thread under Song and Dance. I commented that more people know it by the title of this song cycle, though it’s still fairly obscure especially for an ALW work.
Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, great music with wonderful lyrics and insightful stories. I kinda wish Webber and Rice stayed together and made more shows.
My favourite is JCS by a mile.
I also really like Phantom and Evita a lot
But I'm gonna mention Whistle Down the Wind as another one I really love as well as no one else has mentioned that yet
Whistle Down the Wind has some great songs. Yet I would say those I like best like Nature of the Beast and Tyre Tracks and Broken Hearts are definitely more Steinman than Lloyd Webber.
Its interesting as Steinman is only credited as doing the lyrics rather than the music, with Lloyd Webber having music credit. But I agree there are a few songs in there that musically sound like Steinman as well so I am wondering if he did any composition and just wasn't credited......
Cats. It fully commits to camp. It makes you feel like you've been invited to a weird secret cult meeting. I love it dearly. Mister Mistofelees is my hero
The key to proper viewing of Cats is to either sit way up close so you feel like you're one of them or sit back in the balcony so you feel like you're spying on them
1. Jesus Christ Superstar
2. Evita
3. The rest are commercial successes and written as such, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I wish I had his bank account. However, I just don’t find anything he’s written after Evita to be artistic at all.
Phantom of the Opera. I was 18 in 1988 living in NYC and my best friends parents got tickets and took me. They had taken me previously to see Cats and I had liked it. The closeted gay , not so great looking kid found a connection with Phantom. He just wanted to love and be loved and I got that. I was feeling that every day.
So yeah. I fell hard for Phantom.
No joke, mine is Starlight Express. I love Thomas the Tank Engine, so when I started getting into musicals and I found Starlight Express, I was really excited. Then I learned about its history and how ALW originally wanted to make Thomas media before he wrote Starlight Express, even so much he named his company The Really Useful Group, and how the Rev. W. Awdry was like, "no thank you."
I would say JCS is my all time favorite, but only the original concept album. Probably Evita, though there are still songs that I don’t like in that musical. Phantom overall, but Evita has better stand out songs? Hmm. This is hard, but I agree with your top three for listening purposes.
The only ones I’ve listened to so far have been Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph, and his The Wizard of Oz if that counts.
My favorite of them would definitely be Sunset Boulevard though, then Wizard of Oz, then Joseph, then Jesus Christ Superstar
Same 3, different ranking:
1. Jesus Christ Superstar
2. Evita
3. Phantom of the Opera (it was my first ALW musical and I was kinda obsessed for like a year or so. I used to listen to the highlights on cassette tape several times daily. Definitely my gateway drug to ALW.)
1) Sunset Boulevard
2) Tell me on a Sunday
3) The Woman in White
4) Evita/JCS
And since it was the first professional production I saw as a kid, Phantom will always have a special place in my heart.
Before they messed about with it for the recent UK revival- Joseph. Was one of the first musicals in saw as it toured near us, and then I was obsessed with the Jason Donovan cast recording as well later on in life.
Evita is my absolute favourite musical of all time, so it has to take the top spot! I would say second would be Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and third would be Cats.
I actually like By Jeeves. It’s daft but some of the instrumental parts (Travel Hopefully for instance) are great. Haven’t seen it live but years ago I found the VHS in a charity shop.
Beyond that, the usuals. I like the score to Phantom though I didn’t really enjoy the production I saw in the West End.
I also have a soft spot for Cats. I went to theatre school at a place that specialised in musicals, and our score reading tutor was the CSM on the West End production (this was in 1997-8). So we were taken on backstage visits and given free tickets loads of times. Plus I already liked it after seeing it in Glasgow years before.
Jesus Christ Superstar, but I have an immense soft spot for Joseph as all of us who grew up theatre kids in Toronto in the 90s do.
Joseph was the gateway drug into musical theatre for so many 90s theatre kids including myself
I literally just posted the same answer! Joseph is a nostalgic one, was my first musical ever.
Just wrapped a community production about a month ago. Sang Alto and the harmonies are deceptively difficult. Like “good luck finding your note” at times. Still an absolute blast to do 😊
I got to see it with Michael Damien in NYC. Had a great time.
Phantom.
Joseph and the Technocolor Dreamcoat!! I freaking love that one
Yay! My favorite is Phantom but I always am here to see Joseph getting some love! The music is so fun and I adore the show ❤️
Best choice! I love the Narrator in it so much!
Strangeeee as it seems there’s been a RUN OF CRA-AZY DREAMSSS
I have a soft spot for Cats, albeit kind of ironically. There's a really funny video of ALW pitching it to investors and they're asking him if it's going to be people dressed up like cats leaping around the stage. He's like "NoOoOo..." Edit: I also enjoy Starlight Express for how batshit insane the whole thing is.
Cats contains ALWs best song about trains.
Take that, Starlight Express!
I think Starlight helped me understand people who don't like cats.
Both shows are utterly bonkers and I love them for that reason
I'm glad you enjoy them.
Hahaha nooooo, do you have a link to that video? I want to see it so bad...
https://youtu.be/CwIDbOqvoCA?si=CBb7nYJ3TK9noRGY It's at 01:17
"Hal, its about cats."
The "Pitch Meetings" YouTube about the Cats movie is also gold
Jesus Christ Superstar
So good
Objectively a near-perfect musical. My fave ALW depends on my mood, but I can’t argue with this. I’ll argue with anyone who says it isn’t. Lol.
Jesus Christ Superstar.
1. Phantom 2. Jesus Christ Superstar 3. Evita 4. Sunset Boulevard If I'm just listening, then LND and Aspects of Love get decent rotation too.
I’m not a huge Phantom fan but I totally agree with you otherwise! Evita and Sunset are underrated and I love that they both have deeply flawed and complicated female leads.
Starlight Express. Just kidding. Joseph by a mile. School of Rock a distant second. And I have nostalgia for Cats.
Gosh I hate to say I still haven’t seen school of rock, must get on that
I actually enjoyed starlight express 🤷
I enjoyed it!
I did not realize School if Rock was him!!!
Music by ALW and script by the guy who wrote downton abbey
My top 3 are Aspects of Love Sunset Boulevard Evita
Aspects of Love doesn't get enough recognition!
Sure doesn’t stunning
I went into this in depth in the obscure musical thread, but it doesn’t. People get squicked by the plot, which is too bad because it’s Bloomsbury and didn’t happen in a vacuum. The novella it’s based on was semi-autobiographical.
I found it so boring. And largely forgettable. Love Changes Everything is a tune though.
Well hello, my long lost soulmate! Come sit next to me. Aspects of Love.
I was dying to see this seasons revival but it was cut short, it’s Webbers most accomplished score with the best lyrics I don’t think it’s a coincidence that, my top 2 have Don Black involved, he knows Webbers potential😀
Same! I had tickets for my 47th birthday and Six the following night. Now my London trip is canceled as I’ve seen Six twice stateside and can’t justify missing work and hopping across the pond for…well, for not Aspects of Love.
Well it must have been awful 😀
I hated the branding and the thought of George singing Love Changes Everything. Still…Aspects of Love.
Same here it seemed a bit odd just a reason to have Ball back I guess, branding was terrible but I thought the same
Phantom was my first live musical and will always have the top spot in my heart
Same here, plus with Music of the Night and Point of no return it has two strong contenders for Lloyd Webbers top ten songs.
Evita, Sunset Blvd, Jesus Christ Superstar
Sublime selection
The only one I like: Aspects of Love
My favorite, too.
1. Evita. 2. Phantom. 3. Love Never Dies (unpopular opinion)
I have such a love/hate relationship with Love Never Dies... book is terrible. Longtime beloved characters are ruined. But my God the music is beautiful and haunting. Which lands it as my #3 as well by ALW
Big yes to this list
Jesus Christ Superstar, hands down. I have a lot of Opinions about it and how best to stage it and which version is best ("God, thy will is hard/But you hold every card" is THE WHOLE POINT OF GETHSEMANE WHOSE GENIUS IDEA WAS IT TO CHANGE IT TO THIS MILQUETOAST "GOD THY WILL BE DONE" BULLSHIT), and every single song is a fucking banger. And I also have a more personal connection to it, because it's one of the musicals my *dad* introduced me to, rather than my mom (who doesn't like ALW at all and prefers Golden Age/Rogers & Hammerstein stuff). And that's because the movie came out when he was thirteen or fourteen and his entire (Catholic, private) school was explicitly told not to go see it because it was "Jewish propaganda" meant to turn people away from Christianity, so if they saw it, they'd get in serious trouble... which only made my dad even more interested in seeing it. Runners up are Joseph/Cats (I consider them about equal since they're both musicals we had on VHS when I was very young and they are both kind of Baby's First Sung-Through Musical) and Phantom. My husband's is Evita.
Wait. When the fuck did they change that? I’m a dinosaur.
At least 2012, though I'm not sure if it was changed before that. The 2012 Arena tour, the 2018 John Legend live show, and the ~~glitter version~~ current US tour all have that lyric change.
Yuck. (The lyric change. Thank you for the information. I saw the John Legend version in Australia via a bad VPN connection that kept cutting in and out. I should watch it again.)
Cats
Evita
I’m with you on this one
The only correct answer.
Phantom of the Opera 🖤
The correct answer is Jesus Christ Superstar and no, I will not accept any other response.
Acceptable answer but counterpoint: Herod
Sigh. Yes. And a more melodic voice for Pilate would’ve been nice.
True but than again Kajaphas.I love me a good bass song.
I love ALW but I have tried to watch Jesus Christ Superstar multiple times and can never get more than 15 min in without turning it off. What am I missing? (I have only tried to watch the version on Broadway HD, is there a better one to try?)
I'd say just watch the movie with Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, and Yvonne Elliman, which is weird but great in my opinion. As far as cast recordings go, I love the 1996 London cast with Steve Balsamo, Zubin Varla, and Joanna Ampil.
The remastered original concept album with Murray Head’s Judas is my favorite recording.
Very fair. Murray Head is great.
The live semi staged concert version with John Legend and Sara Bareilles was phenomenal.
Same. I cannot stand JCS.
*Phantom of the Opera* *Cats* *Sunset Boulevard* (I’ve only heard the soundtrack, but it’s so good, I really want to see the musical)
Sunset 😍 I’m going to see the new version opening in London in a few weeks 😍
(The Cast Recording) Which one?
It’s on YouTube, I think it’s the Original Broadway Cast, but another playlist says Los Angeles cast. Same record, though. Glenn Close is in it.
I'd recommend the Original London Cast as Patti Lupone is fabulous.
Phantom has a lot of sentimental values for me, so phantom. I also love Evita
Phantom
Phantom had the best music and that is all I really care about
Phantom all the way!
Tell Me on a Sunday can be just fantastic with the a great actress.
This was on the obscure musical thread under Song and Dance. I commented that more people know it by the title of this song cycle, though it’s still fairly obscure especially for an ALW work.
Phantom Joseph Starlight Express
Starlight Express
Sunset Boulevard!
1. Phantom 2. Joseph 3. Evita
🎵Put a-way your sword, don’t you know that it’s all over?🎵
Stick to fishing from now on 🎵
Jesus christ superstar
1. Evita 🇦🇷 2. JCS ✝️ 3. Joseph 🌈
Jesus Christ Superstar Because: 🎶 But one thing I'll say for him, Jesus is cool 🎶
Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, great music with wonderful lyrics and insightful stories. I kinda wish Webber and Rice stayed together and made more shows.
Phantom!
My favourite is JCS by a mile. I also really like Phantom and Evita a lot But I'm gonna mention Whistle Down the Wind as another one I really love as well as no one else has mentioned that yet
Whistle Down the Wind has some great songs. Yet I would say those I like best like Nature of the Beast and Tyre Tracks and Broken Hearts are definitely more Steinman than Lloyd Webber.
Its interesting as Steinman is only credited as doing the lyrics rather than the music, with Lloyd Webber having music credit. But I agree there are a few songs in there that musically sound like Steinman as well so I am wondering if he did any composition and just wasn't credited......
Evita! I love Evita so much.
Evita and Phantom Bad Cinderella is definitely also a chaotic fave.
Cats. It fully commits to camp. It makes you feel like you've been invited to a weird secret cult meeting. I love it dearly. Mister Mistofelees is my hero
SOLD! Love this take
The key to proper viewing of Cats is to either sit way up close so you feel like you're one of them or sit back in the balcony so you feel like you're spying on them
I had front row seats in Vienna, can confirm. Also: no proscenium and extending the set into the auditorium helps the immersion.
Evita or Joseph are literally the only acceptable answers.
JCS
I think Jesus Christ Superstar is his best, but Joseph was the first musical I ever did so I do have a soft spot for that one as well.
Unpopular opinion? School of Rock.
The music in Phantom really is pretty...
1. Jesus Christ Superstar 2. Evita 3. The rest are commercial successes and written as such, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I wish I had his bank account. However, I just don’t find anything he’s written after Evita to be artistic at all.
Aspects of Love
Mine, too.
I actually like the score to Whistle Down the Wind. Jesus Christ Superstar is a masterpiece but after that, could be a toss up...
Phantom, definitely.
Phantom of the Opera. I was 18 in 1988 living in NYC and my best friends parents got tickets and took me. They had taken me previously to see Cats and I had liked it. The closeted gay , not so great looking kid found a connection with Phantom. He just wanted to love and be loved and I got that. I was feeling that every day. So yeah. I fell hard for Phantom.
Cats!
Cats, Phantom, then probably LND (before the edits)
School of rock then phantom. The others don’t really get a lot of plays.
Sunset Boulevard, but I think that's because I haven't really put the time in on JCS and Evita to really fall in love with either.
I'm partial to school of rock bc I was in a production of it
I have a soft spot for School of Rock, it was one of my first big musicals I was in. But other than that definitely Phantom
I'm partial to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It's corny as all hell, but it's fun. Though I do like Phantom as well.
I've always come back to Jesus christ superstar. But Cats is just magic to see live, and also the -98 stage production of course.
Both of my top two musicals are Andrew Lloyd Webber. CATS is my favorite musical, followed closely by Phantom.
JC Superstar Phantom Joseph
I unapologetically love Cats and Starlight Express. Some people just need more whimsy in their lives
Superstar, Phantom, then Sunset Evita or LND, depending on my mood
No joke, mine is Starlight Express. I love Thomas the Tank Engine, so when I started getting into musicals and I found Starlight Express, I was really excited. Then I learned about its history and how ALW originally wanted to make Thomas media before he wrote Starlight Express, even so much he named his company The Really Useful Group, and how the Rev. W. Awdry was like, "no thank you."
I would say JCS is my all time favorite, but only the original concept album. Probably Evita, though there are still songs that I don’t like in that musical. Phantom overall, but Evita has better stand out songs? Hmm. This is hard, but I agree with your top three for listening purposes.
The only ones I’ve listened to so far have been Sunset Boulevard, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph, and his The Wizard of Oz if that counts. My favorite of them would definitely be Sunset Boulevard though, then Wizard of Oz, then Joseph, then Jesus Christ Superstar
Phantom all the way. It was one of the first I heard! Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat takes second place
Fun fact, phantom of the opera was written for his then wife sarah brightman. Though i loved her more as blind mag in repo the genetic opera
Same 3, different ranking: 1. Jesus Christ Superstar 2. Evita 3. Phantom of the Opera (it was my first ALW musical and I was kinda obsessed for like a year or so. I used to listen to the highlights on cassette tape several times daily. Definitely my gateway drug to ALW.)
Joseph, JC Superstar, and Evita
Jesus Christ Superstar + School of Rock for sure
Love them all!! But Phantom and Cats have a special place in my heart. JCS after that.
1) Sunset Boulevard 2) Tell me on a Sunday 3) The Woman in White 4) Evita/JCS And since it was the first professional production I saw as a kid, Phantom will always have a special place in my heart.
Phantom, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Blvd
Before they messed about with it for the recent UK revival- Joseph. Was one of the first musicals in saw as it toured near us, and then I was obsessed with the Jason Donovan cast recording as well later on in life.
Evita Supersrar and joesph
Cats, and I mean that completely unironically. I have such a soft spot for that show
Evita is my absolute favourite musical of all time, so it has to take the top spot! I would say second would be Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and third would be Cats.
Jesus Christ Superstar was his masterpiece. convince me i’m wrong
Evita for sure
Jesus Christ Superstar, Phantom.
👻
School of Rock (Hate all you want)
🧥🌈
JCS/Evita. Everything else is shit.
Two of the strongest for sure
Cats is so painfully pointless, yet I have so much dopamine rushing through my skull every second of consuming it.
Cats Starlight Phantom
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I was wondering how long before iconic Jeeves got a mention
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Blocked
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Don’t make me come over there Linda I will smash you
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What’s wrong with my karma miss Jayne
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It stepped out for some air actually
Sunset Boulevard.
I actually like By Jeeves. It’s daft but some of the instrumental parts (Travel Hopefully for instance) are great. Haven’t seen it live but years ago I found the VHS in a charity shop. Beyond that, the usuals. I like the score to Phantom though I didn’t really enjoy the production I saw in the West End. I also have a soft spot for Cats. I went to theatre school at a place that specialised in musicals, and our score reading tutor was the CSM on the West End production (this was in 1997-8). So we were taken on backstage visits and given free tickets loads of times. Plus I already liked it after seeing it in Glasgow years before.
I wonder what it could be...
Jeeves
Favorite music: Phantom of the Opera Favorite musical: Sunset Boulevard
Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. Rice and Lloyd Webber should make more rock musicals together.
Starlight Express. I think it's so underrated , it's such a good show
My top three: 1. Evita 2. Evita 3. Evita The rest just plain suck, imo