Andrew Lloyd Webber's Major Accomplishments

As one of the most prominent contemporary composers, Andrew Lloyd Webber has been an inspirational figure in the world of theatre. His beautiful music and recent musical theatre takes on older films has captured many people’s love. Many, many people, whether knowingly or unknowingly, have heard a version of one of Andrew’s songs. The following is a quick overview of his active life and compositions.

Youth and First Creations Born in 1948, Webber was raised in South Kensington, London, England by a very musical family. His father was an organist and composer, teaching at England’s Royal Music College. His mother was a well-known piano teacher, while his younger brother Julian would grow up to become a world-renowned professional concert
These included Cats, based on the poetry of T. S. Eliot, which was to become the longest running musical in London, at the time. A strange musical, Cats is about cats, of course, as the name suggests. And in this story, one cat gets to be chosen to travel to Heaviside Layer (Cat Heaven) where he or she will be reborn into another cat life. Webber later wrote the all-famous Phantom of the Opera during this period, beating out the Cats record. As Webber’s best known and highly recognized musical, Phantom has been viewed by over 140 million people, played in 35 countries, performed in 166 cities worldwide, and earned an estimated $6 billion, with box office revenues higher than any film or stage play in history. It has been released in 15 different languages, won over 70 awards, sold over 40 million copies of albums, and was on July 7, 2014, hit its 11,000th show on Broadway.1 One can easily tell that Phantom was big
Before he could set this show on the road, though, he had to find the suitable actress for the main character, Maria. This led to another new Webber idea: using shows to find actors. The search for this actress was documented on BBC’s reality television show “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” Connie Fisher was the winner. Sound of Music is a beautiful story of love and devotion during the hard times of World War II. In 2010, Webber began to search once more for the perfect actress to play Dorothy in his new Wizard of Oz. Of course, what else would he name the BBC show? Over the Rainbow, of course! Danielle Hope became Dorothy, while Webber also found a dog that could play Toto, Dorothy’s little companion. Another one of the worlds most popular musicals based on a film, the Wizard of Oz holds songs treasured by the young and old: “Over the Rainbow”, “If I Were King”, and “Follow the Yellow Brick