The numbness seems to have gone away. I spent the evening with Heidi. She convinced me to go see—and I’m almost ashamed to admit this—the Richmond SPARC production of Cats. (SPARC is Richmond’s version of the NY School of Performing Arts, and the kids are quite good.)
Heidi and I argued during the intermission about the lack of narrative, repetitiveness, and overall crap factor of a Lloyd Webber production. Okay, I said all those things and she didn’t, but I have to say, overall, that this is probably the first and last Lloyd Webber play for me. I can understand the draw of Cats—it’s an extremely shallow play that does nothing but have people in funny costumes sing and dance about cats—but I couldn’t help but think that if Sondheim had taken Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and turned it into a play, there would have been an actual storyline and songs worth remembering.
Really. Compare the poem “Rhapsody on a Windy Night” and then the lyics of “Memory,” (and yes, that is a harp version of the song) which he based on the poem, and you’ll see why I think L-W is so—pedestrian.
Hell, comapre the lyrics of “Memory” to “Send in the Clowns,” a song by Sondheim from a similar subject, and you’ll see why I think L-W’s reputation is mostly unearned.
Well, and then there’s the fact that he confuses the concepts of reprise and repetition, and I yawn through his songs. Dude, add some new lyrics, don’t just keep repeating the same phrases over and over again, it gets tiresome.
Ah. I feel better now, having blasted Andrew Lloyd Webber. My reputation is secure.
Ah, but this is not the best introduction to Andrew Lloyd Webber: a play based on a book of poems that by definition had no narrative or plot; perhaps not a wise idea.
Before writing him off, and acknowledging that his goal is to sell tickets and he does tend to be flashy, see Evita, Phantom, JC Superstar, or Joseph. These have plots, themes, and more memorable songs [at least in this Broadway fan’s humble opinion].
Ah, Joseph. I love that show.