Andrew Lloyd Webber On This New Phase of His Career

Summary

All Of It Podcast Episode Summary

Title: Andrew Lloyd Webber On This New Phase of His Career
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
Release Date: April 25, 2025
Duration: Approximately 27 minutes

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Introduction

Alison Stewart opens the episode by celebrating the enduring legacy of Andrew Lloyd Webber, highlighting his most beloved musicals such as Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Phantom of the Opera. She introduces the current wave of successful revivals and upcoming projects that are rekindling interest in Webber's work among new generations. Notable upcoming productions include:

• Sunset Boulevard: A spare and intense revival featuring Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond.
• Cats: The Jellicle Ball: A ballroom-inspired adaptation that became a hit off-Broadway in 2024.
• Evita Revival: Directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Rachel Zegler as Eva Perrone.
• The Illusionist: A brand-new musical in collaboration with Jamie Lloyd.

“ALL OF IT is a show about culture and the culture.”

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Embracing New Revivals

Timestamp: 02:14

Andrew Lloyd Webber expresses his enthusiasm for the new revivals of his musicals, emphasizing the importance of allowing fresh interpretations to breathe new life into his works. He collaborates with producer Michael Harrison, who is responsible for projects like Sunset Boulevard and the reopening of Starlight Express in London. Webber appreciates innovative takes, such as the Jellicle Ball’s unique perspective on Cats and the forthcoming London production directed by Drew McIntosh.

“I thought it was a really good idea to let the new works breathe, you know.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [02:14]

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Collaboration with Jamie Lloyd on Sunset Boulevard

Timestamp: 05:05

Discussing the Sunset Boulevard revival, Webber commends director Jamie Lloyd for his minimalist approach, which removes traditional sets and period costumes to maintain a seamless narrative flow. He draws parallels between Lloyd and the legendary Harold Prince, highlighting their shared vision of ensuring that visual elements enhance rather than distract from the storytelling.

“Jamie makes the point we don't really need to see that. We don't. We just need to know that that's what's happened.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [05:05]

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Audience Engagement and Evolution

Timestamp: 10:28

Webber shares his mixed feelings about The Phantom of the Opera closing in New York, recognizing its impact on new audiences during its final run. He anticipates the return of the iconic Prince production on tour in America and expresses excitement about new interpretations that continue to attract younger audiences. Additionally, he praises Jamie Lloyd’s reinterpretation of Shakespeare for modern audiences, reinforcing his belief in evolving classic works to remain relevant.

“Love Never Dies has actually been on a, on what it was a two-year tour around America.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [13:49]

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Advice for Aspiring Musicians and Performers

Timestamp: 08:15

Webber offers heartfelt advice to young musicians and performers, stressing the importance of perseverance and the value of making their work heard. He underscores the transformative power of music education, sharing his own initiatives that provide instruments and lessons to underprivileged students in Britain. Webber recounts his early success with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as a testament to the impact of performing and sharing one’s work.

“If you are going to go into anything to do with performance or writing... the most important thing is to perform and get your work heard.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [08:15]

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Future Projects: The Illusionist

Timestamp: 23:07

Webber provides a sneak peek into his upcoming musical, The Illusionist, set in Vienna around 1900. Collaborating once again with Jamie Lloyd, the project aims to deliver a highly theatrical experience based on a loose adaptation of a short story and a movie. Webber expresses confidence in the project’s development and anticipates its London premiere in the late summer or early autumn of the following year.

“It's set in Vienna in 1900. It's very, very vaguely based on the movie that came out that was based on a short story...” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [23:07]

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Nicole Scherzinger’s Role in Sunset Boulevard

Timestamp: 16:34

Alison Stewart highlights Nicole Scherzinger’s acclaimed performance as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Webber praises Scherzinger’s vocal prowess and her seamless transition from pop star to theater actress. He recounts his efforts to encourage her theatrical pursuits, culminating in her remarkable portrayal that has garnered widespread acclaim.

“She has one of the most, if not almost going to say the best voice I've worked with.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [16:34]

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Fan Reactions and Adaptations

Timestamp: 19:42

Addressing fan concerns about new interpretations of his classic works, Webber acknowledges the deep attachment audiences have to original productions like Hal Prince’s Phantom of the Opera. However, he emphasizes the necessity of reimagining and restaging classic musicals to keep them alive and relevant. Webber cites examples of multiple new productions of classics like Guys and Dolls to illustrate the acceptance of evolving interpretations in theater.

“I think people do accept that works have to be restaged, rethought.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [19:42]

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Musical Composition Insights

Timestamp: 21:02

When asked about the emotional impact of his music, Webber explains that his composition process is inherently story-driven. He focuses on creating music that serves the narrative rather than adhering to specific chord progressions or technical formulas. Webber mentions his affinity for unconventional time signatures, such as seven-eight time, which adds a unique rhythmic complexity to his compositions.

“I'm very story driven... I try and compose what's right for the actual story itself rather than having anything, any kind of prearranged thoughts.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [21:02]

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Closing Remarks and Future Prospects

Timestamp: 26:45

In the final moments of the episode, Webber confirms that Cats: The Jellicle Ball will return to New York City, likely opening on Broadway early next year once a suitable theater becomes available. He humorously teases mysterious plans from the Phantom character, hinting at future productions and immersive experiences that remain under wraps.

“It'll open at the beginning of next year on Broadway.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [26:45]

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Conclusion

Alison Stewart wraps up the conversation by expressing gratitude to Andrew Lloyd Webber for sharing insights into his creative process, upcoming projects, and perspectives on evolving his classic works. The episode offers a comprehensive look into Webber’s ongoing influence in the theater world and his commitment to fostering new talent and innovative productions.

“Andrew Lloyd Webber, thank you so much.” – Alison Stewart [27:35]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• “I thought it was a really good idea to let the new works breathe, you know.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [02:14]
• “Jamie makes the point we don't really need to see that. We don't. We just need to know that that's what's happened.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [05:05]
• “If you are going to go into anything to do with performance or writing... the most important thing is to perform and get your work heard.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [08:15]
• “It's set in Vienna in 1900. It's very, very vaguely based on the movie that came out that was based on a short story...” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [23:07]
• “I think people do accept that works have to be restaged, rethought.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [19:42]
• “I'm very story driven... I try and compose what's right for the actual story itself rather than having anything, any kind of prearranged thoughts.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [21:02]
• “It'll open at the beginning of next year on Broadway.” – Andrew Lloyd Webber [26:45]

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Key Takeaways

• Renewed Interest: Webber’s musicals are experiencing a resurgence through innovative revivals and new projects, attracting new audiences.
• Collaborations: Ongoing partnership with producer Michael Harrison and director Jamie Lloyd is pivotal in reimagining classic works.
• Creative Evolution: Webber supports fresh interpretations that stay true to the essence of his original compositions while allowing artistic freedom.
• Educational Commitment: Emphasis on music education and providing resources to underprivileged youth to foster future talent.
• Upcoming Projects: The Illusionist promises to be a theatrical spectacle set in early 20th-century Vienna, slated for a London premiere next year.
• Fan Engagement: While honoring original productions, Webber is open to evolving his works to maintain their relevance and appeal.

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This summary encapsulates the comprehensive discussion between Alison Stewart and Andrew Lloyd Webber, highlighting his reflections on past successes, current projects, and future aspirations within the cultural landscape of theater.

Transcript

[David Fuerst]

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[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Listener Supported WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

Composer Andrew Lloyd Weber's musicals are some of the most loved productions in theater history, from Evita to Jesus Christ Superstar to Phantom of the Opera. And now, thanks to a series of successful revivals and a few more projects underway, new generations are falling in love with Weber's work in a brand new way. There's Sunset Boulevard, the spare and intense revival starring Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond. There's Cats, the Jellicle Ball, a ballroom inspired adaptation of Cats that brought the party off Broadway in 2024. And now a new revival of Evita has been announced. The production will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, who also staged Sunset Boulevard and will star Rachel Zegler as Eva Perrone. And Weber's collaboration with Jamie Lloyd has also led to a brand new musical, the Illusionist, which we'll learn more about in this conversation because here to join us to discuss all of these exciting projects is composer Andrew Lloyd Weber. Welcome to all of it.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Thank you very much.

[Alison Stewart]

Good afternoon and listeners. Andrew has agreed to take phone calls. What questions do you have for Andrew Lloyd Webber about his composing process or perhaps about the new revivals? What do you love about his work? Give us a call, 212-433-9692. That is 212-433-WNYC. And first of all, welcome. What are your thoughts on all of these new revivals? What do you think about these new takes on your work?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, I'm very, very happy about them. Some time ago I decided that it was a very good idea to allow for new productions, particularly new first class productions as opposed to sort of obviously the stock and amateur ones that have happened. But I thought it was a really good idea to let the new works breathe, you know. So I got a collaboration now with the producer Michael Harrison and he and I now are going to work together. He's going to be producing all my new projects and also producing and has produced, for example, Sunset Boulevard. He's producing Starlight Express, which has reopened with a new production in London. And it's very exciting. And I mean I for example, the Jellicor Ball here is a totally new take on Cats and there's also going to be a totally new take on Cats in London next year because Drew McConaughey, who's a very, very up and coming and, well, top choreographer in Britain, is doing it in the Open Air Theatre in Regent's park. And that'll be a very different production. Yes, it's time now to let them go. I mean, and I'm very, very happy with Jamie Lloyd Sunset Boulevard. I think that's a wonderful thing. And we had a great collabor that I took the music quite a bit further. I did a lot of work on the orchestrations and we did quite a lot of new underscoring and extended passages of music for this production. And that's because, you know, he's a very exciting young new director.

[Alison Stewart]

You mentioned letting some of these things go, but, you know, to what extent. What are some of the first questions you have when someone approaches you about wanting to revive one of your musicals?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, obviously, I mean that I. I careful about who it would be, but I mean, so it would need to be somebody who has a. A reputation. But for example, with the Jellicle Ball here, I was very happy with the idea of the concept and thought that, fine, I'll stand back from that. Let them do what they want, providing that the music is looked after. I mean, the one thing that I don't want to have happen is, is for the music to obviously get changed or alter too much and that. And. And if at all, then I'd want to be involved with that. But, for example, with the Jellicoe Ball, my music team did a lot of work with the production on that, but I myself just said, you get on with it creatively, providing the music's looked after. I'm happy.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, Jamie Lloyd is staging Sunset Boulevard right now, and the staging is very bare bones, right? There's no traditional set, there are no period costumes in this production of Sunset Boulevard. Why do you think this approach works so well? It's a stunning production.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, I think. Well, it is a stunning production. I think it goes right back, you know, to the mantra of somebody like Harold Prince, who I had the great joy of working with on Evita and then obviously on Phantom of the Opera. But we were talking about this as a group last night, actually about new work. And actually I was with Jamie and we were saying how Hal, in his day, when he did shows like Cabaret, as a director, he was breaking new ground and doing things in a way that now we accept as being quite normal, but he at the time was making musicals seamless. And that's what Jamie has done in his way with Sunset Boulevard, he's taken out all of the material that he would regard as extraneous. So we lost the song, for example, about Norma Desmond taking Joe Gillis, the young man who she's keeping, and buying him new clothes. Because Jamie makes the point we don't really need to see that. We don't. We just need to know that that's what's happened. And therefore, he's one of these directors who really wants to keep the story moving, keep the pace moving. And we were able to do quite a lot of that with just maybe just a little bit of a new bit of writing for a scene change where new writing, particularly from me, and it's all that sort of thing. I think Jamie's very exciting because I think he is the new Howe Prince. Hal Prince's mantra was, you can't listen to something if you can't look at it. By which he meant that if there was a hideous design on stage or didn't marry the material, then you know, the whole evening was going to be lost because an audience would be sort of thinking of why they're not quite enjoying the show, but perhaps not realizing it's because it visually wasn't right. And, of course, Hal was an incredible visual animal, and Jamie is the same.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, it's an incredible production, and I learned yesterday that my sister has seen it four times this. This new production, which is. Which is incredible. If you would like to join this conversation, we're going to take your calls right now. 212-433-WNYC. If you have a question for Andrew Lloyd Webber. 212-433-9692. And let's hear from Andrew in Syracuse, New York. Welcome to all of it.

[David Fuerst]

Hi, how are you today?

[Alison Stewart]

Great.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Hello.

[David Fuerst]

Hello. So, Mr. Weber, I would just like to ask you. I am a mental health counselor in a high school here with some young people, and as college is approaching for some of them, they're a bit conflicted on what it is that they could see themselves doing. And because I know that a few of them are instrument players and they play in ensembles that the school organizes, I've encouraged them to pursue music. And I just wanted to know if you had any advice or encouraging words for young people out there that are trying to, in some ways oppose the typical framework of what capitalism is, while at the same time trying to afford themselves a good life, you know, as they continue on with their passions such as music and playing an instrument.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, I think the importance of music in particularly schools is something that, well, it's very dear to my heart. I have 30,000 school children at the moment getting a free musical instrument every when they arrive at the school, and then a free music lesson every week. And these are in schools in deprived areas in Britain. And the way that it's turned around the schools, it's not necessarily about making the people or the children musicians, but it just makes them much more rounded people. And one of the schools has got, for example, 64 different languages, and I mean 64 too, in there. And music is the common denominator and therefore it's something I feel very passionately about. I mean, the only advice I can give is that keep on playing. If any of them are writers or anything like that. I think back to the fact that my first, the first time my music got noticed at all was when I was 19 and I wrote Joseph in the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Tim Rice. And that was performed at a school. And it was written specifically for a school and written specifically for school children. And because it got performed, it got heard. And cutting a long story short, one of the performances, a critic heard it and actually liked it enough to write about. And that review, as it were, started our career, which proves that if you are going to go into anything to do with performance or writing or anything for, say, theatre or in any field connected with music, the most important thing is to perform and get your work heard. Because particularly now with the, you know, the opportunity to share things on social media, it will get noticed, if it's any good.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, I have to mention my kids perform the Phantom Medley with the New Jersey Youth Symphony every year in their annual Playathon concert. Andrew on trumpet, Jonathan on violin. It's now been 10 years of my kids playing that music every year. What is exciting to you about new generations playing your music and discovering your work through all of these revival productions?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, actually, it's wonderful to see. I mean, one of the things that slightly annoys me in a way is that the Phantom of the Opera closed in New York at just the time when the production was really being discovered by a completely new audience. And I think it, frankly, I don't think it needed to close because it really was really was finding that new audience and a new audience, you know, who had never seen anything like it. Because that Hal Prince production was extraordinary. The. The like of it, you know, probably won't be seen again like that, which is why now, of course, in London in it, it's now doing its. It's. It's now playing even better than it did when it opened all those years ago. It's extraordinary. And around the world, actually, luckily enough, the Hal Prince production is coming back on tour around America at the end of this year, so it will be able to be seen again. But, but, you know, I, I, I'm, I'm with you. I mean that it's great to have young people come and enjoy and see and see things reinterpreted. I mean, Jamie Lloyd has just done a Shakespeare season in the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, and he's just with his Much Ado About Nothing, which played for eight weeks. And the Theatre Royal is a big theatre. It's nearly 2,000 seats, not one ticket to be had because he'd reinterpreted Shakespeare for a young audience. And I find that thrilling.

[Alison Stewart]

We have a lot of calls coming through right now. 212-433-9692. We're going to take your calls at this moment. 2124. I'm David Fuerst in for Alison Stewart. This is all of IT on wnyc. We're here with Andrew Lloyd Weber. Let's hear from Rosemary. Welcome to all of it.

[David Fuerst]

Hi. Thanks for having me. Huge fan, Andrew. And you answered part of my hi. You answered my question. I was going to ask about what's next for Phantom because I thought I heard rumor that there might be some sort of like, immersive experience coming to New York.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, let me put it this way. I received a note from the Phantom last November saying that he was mightily displeased that it had been removed from his address on Broadway and extremely unhappy about it that I was to watch out for further notes. And I got a note, another missive from the Phantom, advising me to take it very seriously lest a disaster beyond my imagination occurred to me. And he was suggesting that he's found, as he puts it, a more salubrious address in a better part of town at which he will be presenting something of his which he has personally supervised. And it will be beginning this summer. More I don't know. I'm waiting for more notes from the Phantom, but as you can probably guess, I'm quite frightened and I will actually obey all his commands. And if he needs me at all, I shall be there.

[Alison Stewart]

It's wonderful to hear about these very mysterious notes from the Phantom. It's a great way to find information out piecemeal as this evolves. We have also, I think, a Phantom related question from Maricela from Brooklyn. Welcome to all of it.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Thank you.

[D]

Yes, I am also a huge fan and I'm calling specifically to ask about Love Never Dies and whether there are any plans of bringing that either to Broadway or to the US in general.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, Love Never Dies has actually been on a, on what it was a two year tour around America. There are no plans at the moment to bring it to Broadway. What is though on the cards is a production of Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies with a new director thinking of new ideas, which I think is likely to premiere fun enough in Australia. Love Never Dies has been done in concert quite a lot now and was done in London just recently. And there's been a lot of interest in trying to see whether we could pair other two. There are a lot of logistical things about that, of course, but it would be, it would be a great dream for me to see them back to back one day and I'm, I'm very pleased. Now Love Demodise has had a lot of work done to it and the last production of it I saw I was very pleased with. So it would be wonderful. But there are no plans to bring it to Broadway at the moment. I think, you see, it's possible. But I, I would like to see what happens in Australia with this double bill.

[Alison Stewart]

We are speaking with Andrew Lloyd Webber. We're going to take a very quick break here on all of it as we're taking your calls. We'll hear from more of you in just a moment. 212-433-9692. That's 212433, WNYC. This is all of It. This is all of it on wn. I'm David Fuerst and we are here speaking with composer Andrew Lloyd Weber and taking your calls. We'll get to more of your calls in just a moment. But let's hear a little bit of music. We haven't heard any music. And let's hear something from Sunset Boulevard. This is Nicole Scherzinger who is getting rave reviews for her performance as Norma Desmond. Let's hear a bit of her performing as if we never said goodbye. This is from the Late show with Steve with Stephen Colbert. Nicole Scherzinger, I mean, what do you say? What makes her so right for this part?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

There's a very good idea of Jamie Lloyd to cast her in it. In fact, she wanted to play it. I've known Nicole for a very long time and I've known she has one of the most, if not almost going to say the best voice I've worked with. I Mean. And she did an incredible version of Don't Cry for Me, Argentina on a British television show about. Must have been over 15 years ago now. And I remember so many people calling me about this and saying, who is this girl? And nobody really knew her in the theater because everybody, I suppose if anybody knew her in the theater, they certainly didn't think that she was part of the Pussycat Dolls. But anyway, she had this, this marvelous voice. And I asked her if she would play Grizabella in Cats in London, which she did. And we were hoping that she would repeat that on Broadway. But she had a lot of television commitments. She was doing all these shows like the Masked Singer, and she was doing a lot of shows with Simon Cowell and reality shows. And I kept saying to her, look, Nicole, you know, you're wasting this wonderful, wonderful voice talent you had just doing reality shows. Come on, you know, must do something in the theater. And then Jamie Lloyd came to me and said, I believe Nicole Scherzinger really wants to do Sunset Boulevard. And I said, well, fantastic idea. I mean, what a, what a wonderful. If you, if you can persuade her, I am more than, more than delighted. And then, then, then she did. I mean, she did it in London and I mean, nobody could really, really believe her performance. And she's repeated it here. She's an incredible singer. Incredible. And I cannot say, you know, how that I'm more delighted that to hear a work of mine as well sung as that is just something. But the whole production is so good that it's been a complete joy for me.

[Alison Stewart]

Her range and the different styles of great singing in this production, just stunning. It's incredible. I mean, she's stunning.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

And I'm just, you know, what she could go on to do now, now that theater, she's, you know, really proving herself to this degree. I mean, the sky's the limit for her.

[Alison Stewart]

If you would like to join this conversation, 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Let's hear from Elliot in Roosevelt Island. Welcome.

[D]

Thank you very much. I love that this is the only radio show where somebody can go and hear a member of the House of Lords talk about the Pussycat Dolls. I just love that. Lord, Lord Webber. I did a very non New Yorker thing 10 years ago and I approached street and greeted you and you were extraordinarily gracious. Thank you. I'm curious to know when there are new productions of your iconic works and they have the different staging, as you've discussed, what kind of response do you get from your longtime fans? Are people receptive to the new takes on things?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Oh, I think so. I mean, I do think that people obviously have a great attachment to Hal Prince's production of the Phantom, and I'm very much part of that. I mean, I think in the theater, his production is almost. I mean, in fact, it is unbeatable. I mean, it could be equaled, I suppose, in a different way, but I've yet to really see that. It's one of those things. I think people do accept that works have to be, you know, restaged, rethought. I mean, that's, that's what's happened over the years. I mean, how many new productions have there been say of Guys and Dolls? I must have seen six or seven of those at least. And you know, classic musicals will get like any old work, like a play, like anything. They will, they will be performed and reinterpreted.

[Alison Stewart]

And let's hear from Joshua in Queens. Welcome to all of it. You have a question for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Thank you. Do you have a certain combination of chords or discords that makes your music so evocative and so emotional on a musical level?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Yes, but not the. But not that I really consciously know. I very story driven. I'm sorry to say that again, I'm very story driven and I very, very much write to the beats of a story and I try and compose what's right for the actual story itself rather than having anything, any kind of prearranged thoughts. I mean, I guess when you been writing as long as I have, there are certain things that maybe I'm not even conscious of that I do. But my main concern always is that the music or the material that I compose is right for the story and drives the story along. That's very important. And that's why I, in a way, always prefer to write a musical where there isn't a conventional book and it's through sung. Sometimes, you know, you want to be involved with a musical. I mean, I rarely have, but where there is, there is a lot of book. But I like to be really in charge of the evening. And that means that I need to control it through time signatures, key signatures, all of these sort of things. I suppose I've got one or two things that I do like using, particularly in. In time signatures. I'm. I don't want to get too technical, but I. I love seven, eight time because you can ur along there and, you know, and things like that. And so there are, there are traits that I have that, you know, maybe other composers don't have, and that might be one of them, I suppose. But on the whole, I don't think of it. Gosh, do I have this particular chord progression. And that chord progression works it doesn't it? I don't compose like that.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, as we're hearing about how you compose, you are working right now on a new musical, the Illusionist, which will also be directed by Jamie Lloyd. What can you tell us about this new project and where are you in this process?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, I can tell you that our plan is to open it in London next year, probably the late summer next year, early autumn. I don't want to open it any earlier than that because we've got a lot of. I've got a lot of other things going on. And so Jamie is really able to give us his full attention at the beginning of next year. And what can I say? It's set in Vienna in 1900. It's very, very vaguely based on the movie that came out that was based on a short story, but it's. We. I've taken it quite a long way away from that. It's not a version of the movie on stage at all. What I. I find exciting about it is, is that it's got a great, great premise, which is really an illusion that is done for love. And more than that, I can't really explain, but I think it'll be very, very, very theatrical. That's all I could. All I can think of. I mean, I've been talking with Jamie a lot about it, and it's, you know, it. I'm quite pleased with the way the score is developing. A lot of work to do on it yet, but, you know, I'm pretty confident that we'll be. Well, I. I know that we'll be opening, shall we say, early fall at the latest next year.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay. Well, I saw Sunset Boulevard recently, and I keep thinking about that lyric about giving us new things to dream about, and that will be something right there.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, hopefully. You never know.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's hear. Let's see if we can get one more phone call. This Joe from Chatham, New Jersey, my hometown. Joe, welcome to all of it.

[E]

Oh, thank you, David. Hi, I'm Lord Weber. I just want to pay a compliment, and I always wanted this opportunity. Every year at Holy Week, I play the concept album of Jesus Christ Superstar, and I'm always amazed at how young you and Tim Rice were at that time and such a great musical achievement. That's the album with Ian Gillan as Jesus And Mary Head as Judas. Yeah, yeah. I'm just. I've always enjoyed the music. It's. The lyrics are just so clever as well. So thank you for putting that out there.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Well, thank you. I mean, what happened with that was that it wasn't really a concept album. It was. What it was was that nobody wanted to produce it in the theater and that a record company, which was the old MCA Records in those days, the head of the company believed in the piece there had been a single that had come out, which had been a sort of hit in various places. Tiny, tiny tickle of a hit here in America. But not, not more. But he believed in the. And he put up the money for us to be able to record it, which was pretty extraordinary, bearing in mind that we were, you know, unknown kids at the time and we were able to assemble the artists that we did, which was also a bit remarkable because I'm not sure that record companies would actually loan out their artists like they did to us today. I'm not, not convinced at all. But anyway, we. We were given the money to record it. I mean, and we recorded it like a musical radio play because we had to make it work for people listening at home with nothing visual to accompany it. And that was how it really came about. It came about almost by accident.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, in about the 30 seconds that we have left, can you just quickly let us know? The revival, the Jellicle Ball, was such a hit off Broadway. Do you know? Is that going to find a new home in New York City? Is that going to come back?

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Yes, it definitely will. I don't know the theater yet, but the theatre owners all want it. And it's just a question of what theatre becomes available and when. But my guess is that it'll open at the beginning of next year on Broadway.

[Alison Stewart]

Very good. Okay, I like that we're getting the updates directly from you and also some sneaky updates from the Phantom. We'll have to stay tuned to find out how all of this evolves. Thank you so much for being a part of this conversation today.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Not at all. Thank you very, very much indeed. Thanks.

[Alison Stewart]

Andrew Lloyd Webber. Sunset Boulevard is running now at the St. James Theater, and hopefully we will soon be able to catch the Jellicle Ball back here sometime somewhere in New York City. Andrew Lloyd Webber, thank you so much.

[Andrew Lloyd Webber]

Thank you. Thank you very much indeed.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm Ira Plato, host of Science Friday. For over 30 years, our team has been reporting high quality news about science, technology and medicine. News you won't get anywhere else. And now that political news is 24 7, our audience is turning to us to know about the really important stuff in their lives. Cancer, climate change, genetic engineering, childhood diseases. Our sponsors know the value of science and health news. For more sponsorship information, visit sponsorship.wnyc.org.