Andrew Lloyd Webber (review)

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the second installment in the Yale Broadway Masters series, whose aim is to introduce both general readers and students to major Broadway figures. Snelson's book is a meticulously detailed scholarly investigation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical language, dramatic representations, and professional career. With full cooperation from Lloyd Webber through his company, the Really Useful Group, Snelson succeeds in establishing Lloyd Webber as a Broadway master.

The book is organized into seven chapters, beginning with Lloyd Webber's personal history and professional collaborations. In chapter 1, "Aspects of Life," Snelson divides Lloyd Webber's life and work into three periods. The first, from 1948 to 1979, includes his collaboration with lyricist Tim Rice, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita. The second period, the 1980s, establishes Lloyd Webber's growing "personality" (12) with his frequent change of lyricists (Don Black, Charles Hart, and T. S. Eliot), the successes of Cats and Phantom of the Opera, and the public offering of his Really Useful Company. The third period, from 1990 to the present, includes Lloyd Webber's increasing commercial success, his elevation to the House of Lords, and his subsequent adoption of the traditional book musical format.

The next four chapters investigate the many influences on and changes of direction found in Lloyd Webber's work. In chapter 2, "Telling Tales: A Survey of the Shows," Snelson unravels the myriad elements of Lloyd Webber's complex musical eclecticism: rock, pop, film, opera, and religion. With detailed descriptions, Snelson's critical approach covers a range of topics for each show, grouped by theme (e.g., Revisiting the Revue; Screen and Stage) rather than chronologically. Snelson highlights through his discussion an underlying paradox in the life and work of Lloyd Webber: "the unexpected and innovative as part of a gradual reassertion of the conventional" (20). He argues that this plays out both in Lloyd Webber's life (the pop/rock rebel who became a British Lord) and in the progression of his work from collaborating on nonbook musicals in the beginning of his career (e.g., Cats; Starlight Express) to writing book musicals later (e.g., Sunset Boulevard). In addition, Snelson identifies Lloyd Webber's strong aural rather than visual motivation early in his career, a result of the advance publicity release of a concept album prior to the stage production.

Although the Yale Masters Series is intended to be written in a nontechnical manner, the next two chapters are difficult reading for anyone unfamiliar with Lloyd Webber's work or without a strong musical background. However, the chapters include important conclusions and insights and are therefore worth the extra effort required to wade through Snelson's sharply tuned musical lens. The chapter "Pop, Rock, and Classical" explores the influences of these three genres on Lloyd Webber's developing style. "'Who Are You, Strange Angel?': Multiple Personalities in The Phantom of the Opera" is an in-depth critical investigation of a pivotal work in Lloyd Webber's career in which the internal life of the characters matters. Snelson expertly demonstrates the interconnectedness of the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul and their emotional states of mind as expertly crafted by Lloyd Webber into the music. An excellent example, as Snelson explains, is Lloyd Webber's development of the Phantom character as moving from a familiar horror-film caricature sound at the beginning of the musical to a more rounded portrayal of antihero at the end. Also of note is Snelson's discussion of the common vocal features of the Phantom and Raoul, rivals for Christine's affection.

Chapter 5, "'I'm Ready for My Close-Up': Lloyd Webber on Screen," is divided into three sections: the translation from film to stage musical; the filming of concept albums; and the filming of stage musicals. With excellent character analyses of Che Guevara and Eva Perón vis-à-vis their musical and dramatic functions, and a critique of the successes and failures...