Lloyd Webber: I’m sorry to say Broadway beats the West End
THE West End is lagging behind America when it comes to making new musicals because it lacks the venues and is not prepared to take risks, Andrew Lloyd Webber has suggested, as he celebrates equalling a Broadway record.
Lord Lloyd-Webber, who this week became the first composer to have four shows on Broadway since 1953, equalling the record set by Rodgers and Hammerstein, said the UK could learn from the success of the US, where new works are developed quietly in small theatres, giving producers the chance to “try out work and get it wrong”.
The composer said the success of his School of Rock was down to an extended public rehearsal period off-Broadway, and argued that this process of development is “in the DNA” of American theatre but not in the UK’s.
Referring to his four shows on Broadway, Lord Lloyd-Webber joked that hit shows appeared to be “like buses”, with four coming along at once.
The composer also spoke of his hopes that La La Land will inspire Hollywood to fall in love with musicals again, having never been a “number one priority” in recent years.
When asked whether the West End could learn anything from Broadway, he said: “The thing we have to think about right now in Britain is that Amer- ica has basically taken the lead again. There are 13 new musicals coming on to Broadway this year and there are only two new musicals in London.
“What’s happened is that in America there are masses and masses of theatres where you can try things out and perfect material before they ever get near to Broadway.
“We don’t have those spaces or places where people can try out work and get it wrong. We don’t have a culture where that happens.”
This month, Lord Lloyd-Webber’s theatre group will open the doors of The Other Palace, a London venue aimed at allowing writers to develop work without the “paraphernalia of sets”.
Asked whether he felt there was any reason audiences were embracing his musicals so enthusiastically now, Lord Lloyd-Webber added: “It doesn’t mean to say there’s a sudden new appetite for musicals. I don’t think anything has fundamentally changed. As far as musicals are concerned, the bigger change is probably La La Land. Musicals have never been the number one thing of Hollywood.
“As well as some musicals have done, they’re not huge by Hollywood standards. La La Land I think is a big change. It woke Hollywood up to the musical again.”
Speaking from New York, Lord Lloyd-Webber said his record was not planned, and was the result of a lastminute decision over Christmas to stage Sunset Boulevard in New York, where it opened on Thursday night with Glenn Close as its star.
The actress signed up for the Broadway version after a well-received run at the London Coliseum last year.
“I think back to when I first came to New York when I was 22,” said Lord Lloyd-Webber. “I met Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein and he was my idol.
“It’s his record I’ve equalled. I can’t really put it into words, it’s most peculiar. I never would have ever dreamt that this would happen.”
On whether he now hoped to set a new record with five shows, he joked: “Maybe I’ll hire a theatre and read poetry? I’ve come to the conclusion looking back over the years that a great story can carry not necessarily a top-drawer score. But a great score struggles to sustain a not-very-good story.
“Right now I’m not going to rush into anything unless I think the story is strong.”
Later this year, Lord Lloyd-Webber will oversee a second American cast for School of Rock, while a production of Love Never Dies goes on tour in the US.
He was this week the guest of honour at a party hosted by American Theatre Wing to celebrate his US success.