Monday, September 24, 2018

Book Review - Unmasked by Andrew Lloyd Weber


Unmasked by Andrew Lloyd Weber is part one of his memoir.  Oh it’s a bit much. The man goes into far too much detail of his childhood, and he does blather a bit. BUT, this book is immensely skim worthy. He’s chatty in the humorous British way – he can be snarky and you, the reader, do feel like you are at tea or perhaps a bar and he’s regaling you with stories. So, it’s a fun book if you are interested in all things Weber and theater.

His behind the scenes look at the London stage and Broadway is fascinating. The amount of work involved in putting on a show is amazing. And certainly , his successes are not to be sneered at, nor does he shy away from the failures in his book. He dishes on various people and his collaborations with deep talent – Tim Rice, Robert Stigwood, Harold Prince, Cameron McIntosh, and Trevor Nunn. There are plenty of details on his first hit – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, the fabulous Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, the groundbreaking Cats, and he ends this book with the history dazzling Phantom of the Opera.

He’s obviously a brilliantly talented man with interests in architecture and music. His witty anecdotes of numerous celebrities  - Sarah Brightman, Judi Dench, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Michael Crawford, Betty Buckley, and more will keep you turning pages. There’s a lot to be learned and shared in Unmasked.  If you like theater, this is a book for you. If you’ve seen Phantom more than once…this book is for you. If you are a T.S Elliott Cats fan….well, read for the Memory….like I said, you can skim and hum and chuckle along.

17 comments:

  1. With all the skimming, sounds like a quick book to read.

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    1. easy to put down and pick up. His anecdotes are amusing

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  2. Yes Joanne Andrew does take a long time to get to the point but he has written some wonderful musicals. His book does sound like fun and worth a read.

    Enjoy your week.
    Yvonne.

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  3. Thanks Joanne - I'm sure it's 'interesting' - and I hope others enjoy it ... at some stage I'm sure I'll pick it up. The Lloyd-Webbers are extraordinarily musically talented - that I'd find interesting. Cheers Hilary

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    1. it's rather daunting, but easy to skim. And he's got a great sense of humor. Can make fun of himself too.

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  4. I bet the book is interesting...I am certainly familiar with his work but I don't like a single thing he's ever done. lol

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    1. I've enjoyed Phantom, Jesus Christ Superstar, and even Cats. Clever stuff and there are catchy tunes.

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  5. A lot of work sure is involved. Great that all from win to failure was touched upon too.

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    1. oh, he had a lot of messes before big hits. But he's hung on for a long time

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  6. I am rubbish at skimming - always sink into the book or else abandon it after a couple of chapters...

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    1. this might not be the one for you. You can take my word for it, or just go see Phantom live...

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  7. Sounds like it might be entertaining. I have some theater fans who would enjoy this book. I'll have to tell them about it. When was it published?

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    1. this year....it can be a bit overdone at times, and yet amusing for a bunch. You have to skim a bit at times. But for the theater shows you like, it's really interesting. Maybe hit the library?

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  8. Whether or not this book's for me, I'm attached to your phrase "skim worthy." I might be borrowing that one, again and again.

    Cheers, Joanne.

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    1. sometimes you have to skim to find the gems. There were some laugh out loud moments for me. He's got that Brit snark that can be awesome

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  9. Sounds like a fun behind-the-scenes look for anyone with an interest in theater. I think it would be an entertaining book.

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