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Just How Intelligent Is the British Theater?
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12176 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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2 / 1987 |
2,086 Words |
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Herb Greer
Herb Greer is an American writer and playwright who lives in
Britain and on the Continent. |
The biggest and richest tenant of British theatrical premises today must be Albion's answer to Antonio Salieri - Andrew Lloyd-Webber, whose nondairy-product ice cream spectacles are as popular as ever. After all these years, Cats is still pulling them in at the New London on Drury Lane, and out near Victoria Station at the Apollo, Starlight Express shows no sign of flagging, though its best asset - a wonderful black singer called Lon Satton - has deserted London for the Broadway version, which opened this month.
Mixed Feelings
Even in the provinces, Lloyd-Webber, as they say here, "rules OK." Recently, I spent a delightful evening at the Manchester production of Evita, quietly playing "Name That Tune," reminiscing over the Latin American hits of the 1940s and after that crop up, slightly altered, in the score. My chagrin deepened at being shut out of the latest Lloyd-Webber opus, The Phantom of the Opera, now playing at Her Majesty's in Hay-market. This opened to tepid notices but is still booking months ahead; seats are not to be had now for money, for love, nor for the foreign press, either. I regret this, for unlike some professional theatergoers, I can relax and enjoy the bland experience of a Lloyd-Webber show, though not for the reasons he intends. Bless him, he is the only composer I know of who can send you out of the theater whistling someone else's tunes. This may not be the best of all musical or theatrical worlds, but it is surely one of the higher forms of charity, worthy at least of moral admiration.
Leaving good works for the promise of a genuine play, one faces away from Lloyd-Webber's Phantom (no pun intended) and
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