Best Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Tim Rice. After multiple amateur and festival productions, the musical opened on the West End in 1973 before being expanded to its current version. It then played in Leicester in the UK, off-Broadway in the US, and opened on Broadway in 1982. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat follows the biblical story of Joseph, whose father gives him a coat of many colors causing his many brothers to become jealous and sell him into slavery. Joseph then discovers he can interpret dreams and gains power with the Pharaoh. In addition to many productions, it was also made into a film of the same name starring Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman, Joan Collins, and Richard Attenborough.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Based on the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the Bible, it was originally released as a concept album before opening on Broadway in 1971, where it was nominated for five Tony Awards and won a Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Composer. It has been revived multiple times on Broadway and the West End, and NBC broadcast a live concert in 2018 starring John Legend as Jesus, Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas, Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, Alice Cooper as King Herrod, and Norm Lewis as Caiaphas.

EVITA is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and music and lyrics by Tim Rice. It was originally released as a concept album before opening on the West End in 1978, where it won two Olivier Awards including the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. It opened on Broadway in 1979, starring Patti LuPone as Eva and Mandy Patinkin as Che, and won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. It has since had many tours and revivals and has been made into a film of the same name starring Madonna, Jonathan Pryce, and Antonio Banderas. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a new song for the film, “You Must Love Me,” which won a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award for Best Original Song.

CATS is a musical based on the T.S. Eliot book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by T.S. Eliot, Trevor Nunn, and Richard Stilgoe. Cats opened in the West End in 1981, where it ran for 21 years, and on Broadway in 1982, where it ran for 18 years. It has since had many global productions and was turned into a film of the same name in 2019, starring Judy Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, Taylor Swift, and Ian McKellen.

STARLIGHT EXPRESS is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe. Its actors all perform on roller skates, and it follows a steam engine named Rusty who competes against more modern trains as he tries to impress Pearl, an observation car. Starlight Express opened on the West End in 1984 and on Broadway in 1987.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Charles Hart, and libretto by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe. This hit musical opened on the West End in 1986, where it won four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, and on Broadway in 1988, where it won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical. It is the longest running show in Broadway history.

SUNSET BOULEVARD, based on the film of the same name, has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The original West End production opened in 1993 and starred Pattie LuPone as silent film star Norma Desmond. The Broadway production opened in 1994 and won seven Tony Awards including Best Musical and starred Glenn Close as Norma Desmond.

LOVE NEVER DIES is a sequel to the hit musical The Phantom of the Opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and book by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ben Elton, Frederick Forsyth, and Glenn Slater. The musical opened on the West End in 2010 starring Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine Daaé and closed in 2011.

SCHOOL OF ROCK is based on the 2003 film of the same name with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and book by Julian Fellowes. It opened on Broadway in 2015 and on the West End in 2016, and The New York Times said, “it charmingly walks the line between the cute and the precious, the sentimental and the saccharine.”

BAD CINDERELLA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by David Zippel, and book by Emerald Fennell. This new adaptation of Cinderella opened on the West End in 2021 and on Broadway in 2023, where it was renamed Bad Cinderella. The Guardian called it, “not so much a ball as a blast: terrifically OTT and silly but warm and inclusive, with relatable, down-to-earth heroes and pertinent points about our quest for perfection and our expectations of each other and ourselves.”

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR: ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST ALBUM features the original Broadway cast including Jeff Fenholt, Ben Vareen, and Yvonne Elliman. Songs include: “Heaven on Their Minds,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “Could We Start Again Please,” and “Superstar.”

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING features the original London cast including Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, and Steve Barton. Songs include: “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” and “All I Ask of You.”

EVITA: ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 1981 and features Patti LuPone, Mandy Patinkin, and Bob Gunton. Songs include: “On This Night of a Thousand Stars,” “Buenos Aires,” and “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.”

SUNSET BOULEVARD: AMERICAN PREMIERE RECORDING features Glenn Close, Alan Campbell, George Hearn, and Judy Kuhn. Songs include: “Sunset Boulevard,” “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” and “New Year’s Eve.”

UNMASKED: THE PLATINUM COLLECTION is a compilation album that includes Andrew Lloyd Webber’s greatest hits. Songs include “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina,” “Memory,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” and “Mr. Mistoffelees.”

UNMASKED: A MEMOIR: In Unmasked, written in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s own inimitable, quirky voice, the revered, award-winning composer takes stock of his achievements, the twists of fate and circumstance which brought him both success and disappointment, and the passions that inspire and sustain him. Lloyd Webber shares his recollections of the works that have become cultural touchstones for generations of fans: writings songs for a school production that would become his first hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; finding the coterie of performers for his classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar; developing his first megahit, Evita, which would win seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical; staking his reputation and fortune on the groundbreaking Cats; and making history with the dazzling The Phantom of the Opera. Reflecting a life that included many passions (from architecture to Turkish Swimming Cats), full of witty and revealing anecdotes, and featuring cameo appearances by numerous celebrities—Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, David Frost, Julie Covington, Judi Dench, Richard Branson, A.R. Rahman, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Richard Rodgers, Norman Jewison, Milos Forman, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Michael Crawford, Gillian Lynne, Betty Buckley, and more—Unmasked at last reveals the true face of the extraordinary man beneath the storied legend.