Musical Theater Review: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber

Imagine it’s been a long week - not too difficult, right? So you walk outside across a freshly manicured back lawn, hop into a comfy hammock, and relax to the sound of your favorite tunes wafting through the air (perhaps it’s something like WRR 101.1’s “A Night on the Town”). With your toe tapping and head swaying, you sing along in your mind as the music saturates your soul.

That’s what Dallas Summer Musicals’ currently running production of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is like.

With a live onstage orchestra and a cast of vocal all-stars, the show features over 30 songs by the famous, award-winning composer of musicals like Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sunset Boulevard, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat..You don’t have to know his music to enjoy this show; but if you do, then all the better.

Spitfire Shoshana Bean, who played Elphaba in Wicked and headlined in the Las Vegas burlesque Peepshow, served up spunky attitude and showed much more than (as the lyrics state) “just a little touch of star quality” in songs like “Buenos Aires” from Evita and “One Rock ‘n’ Roll Too Many” from Starlight Express.

And if you missed The Phantom of the Opera while it was here or would just like another dose, you’ll appreciate the finale performance which included songs like “The Phantom of the Opera”, “The Music of the Night”, and “All I Ask of You”.Howard McGillin, who has played The Phantom over 2500 times on Broadway, had a voice so full and powerful that we wondered whether we even needed to be inside the Music Hall at Fair Park to hear it.Opposite him was Laurie Gayle Stephenson who starred on Broadway for over two years as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera and whose voice was indeed angelic.

Even as performance-packed as the show was, it never felt rushed at all.On the contrary, we were kept entertained by the ebb and flow of the orchestra which at times stayed soft and melodic and at other times aroused a feeling of action, suspense, and drama.And kudos to lighting designer Brian Nason, whose creative rainbow display of gently rocking spotlights we could’ve watch for the entire two hours even if no one had been on stage.

With tickets starting as low as $15.00, you absolutely cannot go wrong with seating. Music is the focus of this show, and props and action are minimal, so you would definitely be able to enjoy the show in seating at the back of the theater just as much as those with seats closer to the stage.