Andrew Lloyd Webber's Impact On The Theatre World

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Andrew Lloyd Webber has become a household name throughout the entire world. Not only do people flock to see his shows, but the pure fact that people outside of the theatre world know the composer of certain musicals is an accomplishment in itself. He has changed the musical theatre world. Some call him a “Broadway master” because his musical Phantom of the Opera surpassed his own record for the musical Cats to now hold the record for the longest running musical on Broadway as well as London’s West End ( Snelson 1). Cats has been translated into eleven languages and has grossed over a total of two billion dollars. What is even more impressive is the fact that ever since Evita opened in 1979, there has always been an Andrew Lloyd Webber show …show more content…

Personally, Phantom of the Opera was the first musical I had ever seen. I remember being in middle school and my dad suggesting that I watch it and me shaking my head because I did not even like opera. Begrudgingly, I agreed to watch it and after seeing the whole thing it shocked me. I was so surprised with how much I enjoyed seeing every second of it. That show really got me interested in the theatre world. The fact that people could actually sing like that and all of the different special effects and scene changes were happening right in front of my eyes got me hooked. I am sure that is a similar story to many other peoples. Andrew Lloyd Webber changed the way the general public responded to live theatre. He had the world hooked on the beautiful melodies as well as the intriguing story lines. I think he is the reason many people began theatre in the first place. The fact that he has consistently had at least on show running on Broadway since 1979 is an incredible feat in itself. Many composers are lucky to have just one or two shows run. We do not know what is yet to come from the brilliant Andrew Lloyd Webber, but if it is anything like his past productions, I do not think we will be