Unmasked: A Memoir

by Andrew Lloyd Webber

"You have the luck of Croesus on stilts (as my Auntie Vi would have said) if you’ve had the sort of career, ups and downs, warts and all that I have in that wondrous little corner of show business called musical theatre. "One of the most successful and distinguished artists of our time, Andrew Lloyd Webber has reigned over the musical theatre world for nearly five decades. The winner of numerous awards, including multiple Tonys and an Oscar, Lloyd Webber has enchanted millions worldwide with his music and numerous hit shows, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera—Broadway’s longest running show—and most recently, School of Rock.

In Unmasked, written in his own inimitable, quirky voice, the revered, award-winning composer takes stock of his achievements, the twists of fate and circumstance which brought him both success and disappointment, and the passions that inspire and sustain him. The son of a music professor and a piano teacher, Lloyd Webber reveals his artistic influences, from his idols Rodgers and Hammerstein and the perfection of South Pacific’s “Some Enchanted Evening,” to the pop and rock music of the 1960s and Puccini’s Tosca, to P. G. Wodehouse and T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber recalls his bohemian London youth, reminiscing about the happiest place of his childhood, his homemade Harrington Pavilion—a make-believe world of musical theatre in which he created his earliest entertainments.

A record of several exciting and turbulent decades of British and American musical theatre and the transformation of popular music itself, Unmasked is ultimately a chronicle of artistic creation. Lloyd Webber looks back at the development of some of his most famous works and illuminates his collaborations with luminaries such as Tim Rice, Robert Stigwood, Harold Prince, Cameron Mackintosh, and Trevor Nunn. Taking us behind the scenes of his productions, Lloyd Webber reveals fascinating details about each show, including the rich cast of characters involved with making them, and the creative and logistical challenges and artistic political battles that ensued. Lloyd Webber shares his recollections of the works that have become cultural touchstones for generations of writings songs for a school production that would become his first hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; finding the coterie of performers for his classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar; developing his first megahit, Evita, which would win seven Tonys Awards, including Best Musical; staking his reputation and fortune on the groundbreaking Cats; and making history with the dazzling The Phantom of the Opera.

Reflecting a life that included many passions (from architecture to Turkish Swimming Cats), full of witty and revealing anecdotes, and featuring cameo appearances by numerous celebrities—Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, David Frost, Julie Covington, Judi Dench, Richard Branson, A.R. Rahman, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Richard Rodgers, Norman Jewison, Milos Forman, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Michael Crawford, Gillian Lynne, Betty Buckley, and more—Unmasked at last reveals the true face of the extraordinary man beneath the storied legend.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Music, Memoir, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Autobiography

528 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2018

About the author

Many popularly successful musicals of British composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber include Jesus Christ Superstar (1971), Evita (1976), and The Phantom of the Opera (1986).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_...

Reviews

[Erin Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

So insightful. A joy to read!

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exceedingly verbose and dull. This book is over 500 pages long, yet it still only covers less than 40 years of Lloyd Webber's life and ends with the London opening of Phantom of the Opera. On the one hand, this memoir does track the creation of his biggest hits at the height of his career, so many readers will be satisfied. But we don't get to see SO MUCH of his life, including the more interesting parts. Throughout this book, Lloyd Webber is on top. He skirts over what few failures there were between Joseph... and Phantom, such as the dissolution of his first marriage, but the actual juicy stuff that happened in his life all happened after 1986. I want to read about the neverending drama of Sunset Boulevard, especially the Patti LuPone fight. What about the string of flops that followed Phantom? The disastrous first staging of Whistle Down the Wind? The casting process of the Evita film in the mid-1990s? The Phantom film? His divorce from Sarah Brightman? I want to read about his freaking kitten deleting the ENTIRE SCORE to Love Never Dies and how someone even recovers from that. (Actually, I'd read a whole second memoir just about Love Never Dies.) How did he come to write his first musical success in decades from such unlikely source material as School of Rock?

All of this is more interesting than what Lloyd Webber actually writes about: going to bars, looking at architecture, spending time with his aunt, and flying on the Concorde all the time. The chapters on Superstar, Evita, and Cats are fun, but the rest is really boring and even sometimes confusing. Like I'm still not sure when or how Joseph... went from a 20 minute musical to a full-length production. And I read probably 80 or so pages about it.

There's also a sort-of uncomfortable vibe of straight male privilege running throughout. Lloyd Webber writes of lunches at men's-only clubs. He writes matter-of-factly and flippantly about his affairs, without any kind of emotional connection or remorse, while he was married to his first wife (whom he also calls "Sarah 1" at one point, as if she's not even a person... which is kind of fair, considering her presence seems to only be for an accurate representation of his life, not to add anything to the narrative or his life, besides kids). He also tells stories of the men around him (one of whom was Tim Rice) placing bets on who could have sex with the most actors who played Mary Magdalene at the height of Jesus Christ Superstar's popularity. He brags about his penis size. And he seems obsessed with pointing out the effeminate nature of any gay (or gay presenting) man he meets, using words like "camp" and "fey" to describe them. It's weird.

So all in all, I can't say I recommend this... but I also know that if another volume comes out covering the years from Phantom's Broadway opening to now, I'll read it.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who’s a “theater buff” this is a must read!!! Enjoyed it very much, can’t wait for the next book, continuation of book 1. Audio book is highly recommended for this one.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most of my favourite musicals have the name Webber somewhere in them. So I thought why not try this audiobook.
But this was not quite as interesting as I thought it would be. At some points I actually found it boring. And the parts where he talks about music composition I was totally lost.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the autobiography of Andrew Lloyd Webber. This wasn't quite 4 stars because it was entirely too long with all of the little details that could have been left out. I rounded up though because I liked his humor and I am amazed at his track record in the music field. It was a little bit luck, a little bit love of music, and a little bit of being where he needed to be when he needed to be there. I loved how things seemed to fall into place for him, but ultimately, he made it happen. I was entirely impressed, so I can forgive the length and excessive wordiness and round up.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were parts of this that were interesting, but I was annoyed when I got to the end and discovered it's basically Part One of his autobiography. To my knowledge, he hasn't yet gotten around to writing the rest of his story.

[Chrissy]

You'll know if you're the kind of person who will enjoy a 17 hour memoir on sir ALW. I'm not surprised that I loved this. I am surprised that I wished it was longer.

[Daisy May Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an interesting book this, furiously wordy and weighty and rather deliciously careless in tone. One thing is clear, Andrew Lloyd Webber has learnt to care very little about what other people think and his book is full of a sort of self-deprecating, somewhat fey humour that is undoubtedly appealing. He comes across well, I think, despite a few deliberately blithe moments which skim over the top of complex personal situations and creative tensions.

It could, however, do with some fierce editing. There's too much here to comfortably grasp or take away from the book, unless you're possessed of some in depth theatrical knowledge and have the ability to remember who is who when they're mentioned several hundred pages later. I lost track quite a few times of the finer detail. In a way, I think had much more time for the reflective tone of the earlier chapters concerning his childhood and creative naissance, as opposed to the frantic, though undoubtedly fascinating, detail of the final third of the book.

[James Scheid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in a quirky, British self deprecating manner, Lloyd Webber tells of the highs and lows of his career. Despite his success he always has opening night jitters before a new show hit the stage. He was surprised that CATS became the phenomenon it did. The memoir at times jumps around from show to show but that is because he was working on multiple projects at the same time. He refers to some famous people from the British stage I was not familiar with, but it is a thrill to witness the creation of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, EVITA and of course PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Perhaps the book could've withstood some editing but it was and enjoyable read for a theater buff like me.

[Rae V · Rating 1 out of 5]

I appreciate ALW’s musical contributions, but truly have no idea to why this was contributed to literature.

It seems for one this was written too early in his life as he stopped partway through and did not make it to his current year when writing this?? For example, why did we get 75+ pages about Joseph but still somehow didn’t get the whole process? And then with Phantom it was kind of all over.

Not sure if ALW had someone supervising his work when writing this, but I believe it would have benefited greatly from someone guiding his big picture and give some specific questions to fill as we got a lot of detail about some things, but others nothing. It seemed a random train of thought that ALW just went with and chose when to brag about his physical relationships and success. Ok buddy.

I still have respect for him as an artistic creator, but WOW I have no respect for his character. The fact that he assumed/believed he would eventually cheat on his first wife “because we married so young” is a bs mindset to have. Of course it’ll happen if you think it will happen! (Also not even giving her the decency to refer to her as Sarah H but as Sarah 1 while Sarah B gets to be Sarah B the whole time? Stop.) Then to go on and be upset when your second cheating wife cheats on you. Gosh! I feel SO bad for you! -_-

Yes it was cool to hear about some behind the scenes wildness of his life, but the tone was just so “oh look at me I’m a straight white man who got to bang a lot of hot women” (YES he literally said with Sarah B before-!!- telling Sarah H about his affair that the s*x was great. STFHU.)

Originally was going to give this 2⭐️ for the sake of my appreciation for his music, but his attitude killed me and this book was far too long of his self bragging to justify anything but 1⭐️. Off to the dungeon you go!

1⭐️ did not enjoy, wish I hadn't read it
Happy reading ♥️📚

[John Behle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrew Lloyd Webber is, of course, an expressive individual. For 528 pages, or 13 CDs (I prefer to listen), this uber gifted rocker tells all.

ALW has whipped out 21 musicals. Want the latest Phantom of the Opera number? This still running globe-girdling smash started on Broadway in 1988--nearly 14,000 performances ago. I've seen it just three times of that figure.

My favorite chapters of this memoir are of his early school days. How he discovered his natural music talent as a child. Even so, he needed lucky breaks to get published. He started writing musicals as a teenager and broke through with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at 19.

He prattles on about money. One will learn some of the brutal facts of how proceeds are split up from the successes and, who pays for the flops. ALW puts the biz (cash) into show-biz.

This does become a spill-all. There are breathless passages of kiss-and-tell.

After all, the title is...Unmasked.

[Koren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy has written some of my most favorite musicals. I could watch Phantom and Joseph over and over. Living in a rural area we mostly get our musicals with summer civic theater. Time and again while reading this book I wondered if he talked the way he wrote and by that I mean going on and on and on. At 500 pages, he only makes it through around 1985 and states there is a possibility there could be a Book 2. I haven't seen all of his work so the long stories about his work I haven't seen mostly got skimmed. He wrote the book in his speaking voice quite often I was left guessing what the English vernacular meant. I would recommend this if you are a die-hard Andrew Lloyd Webber fan, otherwise skip it.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

mmm I mean there are some good anecdotes in here, I think ALW could have written like a couple of good BuzzFeed posts. It's very rambly though and I don't think ALW has a good sense of what a dirtbag he's making himself come across as, esp w/r/t his child bride. And also his pervasive sense of himself as an underdog, rather than like...one of the most commercially successful composers of all time? Who had success from a very young age?

more on the podcat, but in short, only recommended for diehard fans :

http://www.frowl.org/worstbestsellers...

[Brad Linden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this book a few years ago, but hesitated to read it because I feared it might just be a sort of self-congratulatory autobiography. Then I picked it up recently, and the introduction basically says, "I really resisted writing this, because I feared it would just be a sort of self-congratulatory autobiography, and I hate those." So the self-awareness quickly won me over.

"Phantom of the Opera" has meant a lot to me over the years, so I think of myself as an ALW fan, but realistically, I'm familiar with less than half of his musicals. So this book was a good way to get acquainted with the history and inspiration of more of this shows. There's a lot of good backstory about the writing/casting/staging of various shows, while still being very understandable musically (i.e. he doesn't spend paragraphs talking about obscure music theory and why a certain scale symbolizes a character, etc.).

The book is also quite funny! ALW is witty and self-deprecating. He also is a nerd for historical architecture, so you get these funny tangents where he is traveling to such-and-such city for a meeting that will be a turning point for his career, but then he's like, "before lunch, I snuck out to go see [random British estate built in the 1600's] and it was marvelous."

Lastly, there's at least one indecipherable "British-ism" per page, which I found charming.

[Maryann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent balance of personal and professional stories (unlike Tim Rice’s memoir, which seemed to include far too much about his youth and every woman who’s ever flirted with him). Surprisingly (to me), Lloyd Webber comes off as self-deprecating and relatable.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was due back to the library before I had time to finish it. No great loss... it was only mildly interesting. There was a lot of detailed background information that I really didn't care about.

[Victoria C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I asked Valerie what the words “Pollicle” and “Jellicle” meant. She explained it was Eliot’s private joke about how the British upper class slurred the words “poor little dogs” and “dear little cats.” She also revealed that Eliot intended the “Princess Louise” poem, as we came to call it, to be the preface of a book about dogs and cats, but in the end cats prevailed.

Another recommended read by my mother, who was keen that I would find this interesting. Being someone who is not only a classically trained pianist, but also someone who grew up immersed in both community and musical theatre, she likely had the right thought. My own commentary however can be found below..

The Good

I think CATS is one of the first professional musical theater productions I saw as a young child. I loved the scale of the stage design and the quirkiness of the production, and mostly I just loved CATS. Additionally, I was part of the cast in an production of Jesus Christ Superstar in middle school, and we pushed the production into the new year so we were in rehearsals for this show twice as long as normal. To say that Andrew Lloyd Webbers music had a profound effect on my youth would perhaps be an understatement. Most recently, I had the privilege of seeing Phantom with my mother in Toronto, 1 month before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. It remains one my fondest memories.

While I was heavily involved in musicals when I was younger, it was a competing identity with my many other endeavours (band, 3-4 varsity sport teams per year), and I would not say that I was a "theatre nerd". There is so much I was certainly naive to before reading this book - certainly how these productions truly came to be, and the amount of coordination involved. I certainly learnt so much reading this memoir, and learnt some fun details about one of my favourite musicals as well.

It is evident that ALW is nothing short of a musical genius, and this book allows a glimpse into the mind into one of the greatest composers of the last century.

The Bad

I think ALW should really stick to composing because this was one of the most boring memoirs I have ever read. My eyes were glazing over in many parts with all the unnecessary detail. I can see why he needed writers for his musicals because the plat was lost between all the commentary on this person and that person that I would forget their significance immediately upon seeing the next sentence. Perhaps because I am not British, much of the people, humour and details truly escape me. I don't think there needs to be a part II, especially not written by him.

The Ugly

"I got a few offers to be a pretty boy pianist at Desmond Elliott's publisher friends' Christmas parties, and earned a few quid and the sort of tweak of the bottom that might aggravate Taylor Swift".

This book was written in 2019. Two years after Taylor won her sexual assault suit for having her bum groped at an event. What else could that comment be referencing? People will argue "oh.. that's just British humour blah blah"... I'm sorry but I personally read that passage 3x because I could not believe what I was reading. It's especially weird because he mentions her again in the epilogue as staring 'CATS' the movie. He references at least 3x in the book not being able to included phrases or sayings in his book because they are not politically correct.. so god knows what else he might have slotted in there had he felt liberated to do so .

Honestly I thought it was in incredibly poor taste and could very much have done without.

[Tom Grover · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title of the book is most certainly meant to be a play on Webber's most famous work, the Phantom of the Opera. However, he seems reluctant to actually "unmask" himself as he tells his story. A good memoir allows the reader to experience the life and times of the author as the author experienced it. Yet, Webber seemed unable or unwilling to open up. The memoir is mostly a travelogue account of the creative process and history behind his most famous works. That is interesting, but it really isn't a memoir.

For example, Webber left his first wife and children for Sarah Brightman, who was the original Christine in Phantom. Webber devotes just a few paragraphs to this, and as to his adultery, has a dismissive one line account to the effect of, "and some people disapproved of what I did." Really? That's it? That's hardly candid or self-aware. Perhaps Webber is incapable of opening up and telling that story, but he comes off as very callous.

A person who is intimately familiar with Webber's works will probably love this book. I have a real pedestrian familiarity. I've been to Phantom, listened to Superstar and Evita, and that's about it. Even so, I thought hearing the play-by-play of the creative process was interesting.

[Simon Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because the reviews I read suggested that it was better than one might expect it to be - and that's exactly how I found it. This is the first volume of Andrew Lloyd Webber's memoirs, which covers the early part of his career - up to the opening night of Phantom of the Opera.

It would be interesting in any case to have some insight into the creative process of a man who has had musical successes writing everything from Elvis Presley songs to stage musicals to a requiem mass. But - perhaps surprisingly - this book is also very funny, packed with amusing anecdotes.

There are bits that are a little cringe-worthy - female professionals always get '-ess' versions of their titles; there's a bit where he makes a joke about the large size of his penis; there's more than a little bit of score-settling - but he strikes the right note far more often than the wrong one.

[Brian Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most autobiographies are entirely self serving and relatively dull. Who really wants to air any legitimate dirty laundry or mull over failures? While detractors of ALW will have lots to pick over here, it is inimitably his own voice (certainly not ghost written) and it is at times surprisingly revealing. He does gloss a little over personal failings although admitting them, and at certain times crossing lines into "men talk" about those times, but it is definitely mind opening if you are looking at the musical theatre scene in the 70s and 80s. The book ends with Phantom's premiere but it does cover those initial years in detail including the inspirations and changes to scores in detail as well. Essential if a fan, important if a fan of a few of those musicals, though certainly not going to convert detractors.

[Breanne T · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, I really did. But oh man, it is so dull. Also - did he even realize how he comes off in these pages? Chauvinistic male pig, really. I ended up skimming most of it, just looking for interesting snippets. The very end got better as he was talking about Phantom of the Opera, but it was too little too late for this one.

[Laurie Ather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading about the history and backstory of some of my favorite musicals.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed more Phantom and less Auntie Vi.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab your tea and get comfy - you’re going to the wonderful little world of Andrew Lloyd Webber. I happened to stumble upon this novel in the bargain section of Books-A-Million. I had always been a fan of Webber’s music, so I was thrilled to discover that he had written a memoir. “Unmasked”, Webber’s novel, is a fantastic piece that transports you to his world and shows you life through his eyes. Webber takes you from the moment he was born to the days of his smash-hit musicals, with remarkable adventures in between. This novel is INCREDIBLY detailed, complete with allusions, euphemisms, and plenty of irony. For example, early in the novel, Webber describes his church-going experience as “Apart from the occasional blood and thunder sermon or rousing free-church hymn, the ray of sunshine in the colourless services that Julian and I were now dragged to every Sunday was the moment Dad goosed up proceedings with one of his organ improvisations. Of course Methodists are teetotallers so I hoped nobody examined the mineral water bottle Dad had beside him in his organ console” (Webber 17). The illustration created here is beyond incredible! Just a bit further into the book, Webber excites his readers by transforming London into Swinging London. Continuously alluding to “Swinging London”, he tells of how he experienced England during the time of The Beatles. Throughout the book there is no lack of apostrophes and analogies, one of the earliest examples being of Webber’s toy theater, Harrington Pavillion. Another review has described this book as too wordy and hard to understand. However, I think the use of words only adds to Webber’s charm. This book has so much detail that you could read it four or five times and find something new every time. This book is definitely worth owning. Bargain price or not, “Unmasked” has enough content to keep you busy for quite a long while. If you’ve always wanted to go to London but can’t afford a ticket, just pick up this book and travel for free.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of interesting tidbits that I learned from reading Lloyd Webber’s book. You understand somewhat the chronology of the music and the productions he has been involved in. I say “somewhat” because the author seems to have always been working on multiple projects at the same time, and each project had its own life, sometimes changing along the way (think “Evita”, with multiple production timelines around the world, movie considerations, prototype album, and changes in music as time goes on). The changes in a production over time were one of those things I never much thought of, but there are a lot of things going on. Lloyd Webber comes across as quite detail oriented when it came to his music, and I found it interesting to read what he found important in creating his work. I also found this book interesting in documenting the author as a young man, starting with many privileges based on his family and at times focusing on art, at times focusing on business, and at times focusing on his lovelife and his family life. He comes across as being even handed, telling good and bad in these areas of his life. At times, though, this feels forced, like the story is being changed. With many autobiographies that I’ve read, and I have read a large number of them, I feel I get a good opinion of the author, and can understand the subject and feel that he is familiar. I don’t feel that way after reading this. Lloyd Webber feels quite foreign. I can’t determine if it is the English upbringing he describes, his lucrative artistic career (isn’t that an oxymoron?), or his wives with the same name that felt exotic to me – probably everything. Mix in a healthy dollop of Thomas the Tank Engine and historic church architecture and you get this book. Note that it even ends strangely. On audio, Lloyd Webber himself introduces the book but lets a professional narrator read the text. Lloyd Webber comes back right at the end and warns the listener that he’s realized that he’s got more to tell, so he’ll continue in another, as-yet-unwritten book. It's kind of like going to a one hour talk about some fellow’s vacation and having him tell you after 2 hours that he’s only half way done. Overall, I feel I learned something, and was mildly entertained, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

[Dorottya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know where to start. I adored it. The only thing I have an issue with is that it ended with Phantom... especially after Sir Lloyd Webber alluded to some interesting things happening around the making and premiering of Sunset Boulevard... I need the inside scoop!!!

I loved the tone this memoir was written in. I mean, it was so British... such a playful style of British humour and choice of words... which I just looooooooove. But at the same time, he is just so well read and well-spoken!
The writing was so engaging. I think Lloyd Webber is just a master of structure, not only in his music / musicals, but in writing as well. At first, his writing might seem a little bit "hopping around"-y (but even then it is done in a charming and organic way, so it's not annoying)... but then you realize that he is just hinting things that would become more important 1-2 chapters later... just like variations of a song in a musical that would foreshadow a scene. Just awesome.

I really enjoyed reading about the process of his shows being made. I am educated in theatre, and I am semi-well informed about West End and Broadway, but I learnt a lot of things! I loved how it showed that success does not come without hardships and hard work, even if you have proven beforehand.
With that being said, some people who are just mildly interested in him and not huge theatre geeks like me might find some of the descriptions of scenes of performances or how / based on what logic songs are following each other in his musicals a bit boring... not me, though, I love reading about theatre productions in detail!

I also liked how genuine and sincere he was without putting this "I am going to tell it all soooo hard"-facade on.

[Rossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This door-stop of a memoir is quite something...

How did he manage to talk so much about so little?!

I knew going into this that ALW stopped his memoir at the point of Phantom opening in 1986, so I was at least prepared to be deprived of the juicy Patti LuPone/Sunset Boulevard drama.

First off, I’m a huge lover of ALW musicals. Cats was the first musical I ever saw back in 2000, and still my favourite to this day (yes I absolutely did fly to Rotterdam to see it last year) and this memoir is *chef’s kiss* at describing the creation and drama of his arguably biggest hit.

But as for everything else - Joseph? Starlight Express? Phantom? They hardly get a look in at all.

This memoir is essentially a discussion on Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats and Andrew’s affairs/arguments with various people. Juicy, but when you have a musical where everyone is on ROLLER-SKATES, I think we all know what we’d prefer to know more about (of which I definitely am flying all the way to Germany to see this year).

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

ALW has had a pretty amazing career and I can respect that, but I'm going to say it... I don't think he and I would be friends in real life. I don't know if it's his British self deprecating manner in which he writes, but I got an "ick" feeling with some of his descriptions about women, his adultery, etc. This memoir (part one only- it ends with POTO just opening) is wordy and at times, a bit dull. The memoir is mostly an itinerary of his works and I've found he doesn't open up about details in his life and when he does, it's a bit inappropriate and callous. I listened to the audiobook and I just don't understand why he didn't read it himself. I feel like he got persuaded into writing this book and he could have had a better editor to tighten it up.

[Kate Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to this on audible and surprised to see that Andrew Lloyd Webber only narrates the opening and closing chapters- so less than 10 mins in total. Disappointing!

I’m a huge theatre fan, and therefore a big fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber. I was brought up with his shows. I found the majority of this book really interesting and a great backstage insight into the making of a show. But there was also quite a lot of ‘waffling’ going on too. Lots of bits that I found completely irrelevant. Bu luckily the bits about creating the shows outweighed the faff!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this autobiography of Andrew Lloyd Webber that ended with the opening of Phantom of the Opera. I actually listened to this book while on a 12 hour road trip to St. Louis and I found myself turning off the book for a few minutes to warble some of the most famous songs from the shows he was describing. My specialty, apparently, is the soundtrack from Cats. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next installment.