Musicals: Andrew Lloyd Superstar? How webber is rediscovered

For a long time it seemed very popular not to find Andrew Lloyd Webber well. The works of the composer – and differences were often ignored – were dismissed as a trivial music theater. But past the time. Now webber – now 77 years old – is back in fashion. His musicals are celebrated stylish: from Los Angeles to New York to London and now also in Berlin (comic opera from Friday).

“I think the piece has never been carried out on this large scale,” says director Andreas Homoki in a teaser of the Komische Oper Berlin. He stages “Jesus Christ Superstar” with hundreds of participants in a hangar of the disused airport Tempelhof (premiere: September 19).

That will be huge, says the 65-year-old, who heard the rock opera up and down as a teenager. “It is the story of Christ, the history of Passion – modern, more as a political parable, less religious. Jesus than human, but all the more exciting.”

Superstar Cynthia Erivo played superstar jesus

At the beginning of August, “Jesus Christ Superstar” was celebrated in Los Angeles – with “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo as Jesus and Adam Lambert as Judas. The line-up with Erivo, a queer black woman, led to blasphemy allegations. “You can’t please everyone,” said Erivo. Her appearances in the Hollywood Bowl open -air stage became a triumph.

Similar to its namesake, the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” from 1971 has an eventful story. There were at least four Broadway productions as well as numerous re-recordings, tours and adaptations of the Biblical Rock Musical by Webber and Tim Rice.

London also experienced a resumption in early July. It fell in time together with a spectacular “Evita” new production by Jamie Lloyd, who is known for avant-garde and less naturalistic performances with minimalist backdrops.

The 44-year-old Lloyd had just won the “Best Revival of a Musical” price for his version of Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” (boulevard of dusk) for his version of Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard”. The British version had hiked from the Westend London to Broadway.

Leading actress Nicole Scherzinger, once a front woman of the Pussycat Dolls, was awarded the Tony in June for her role as Norma Desmond as the best actress in a musical.

Webber works wonders and is again considered contemporary

The “Guardian” said about the “Super Musicals of the 70s” in London: “Evita” and “Jesus Christ Superstar” both would have an amazingly current context in times of political and religious populism. They are “remarkably similar” in their structure.

That means: “A tortured narrator – once Judas in 33 AD; once the young Argentinian Che in the middle of the 20th century – provoked and blamed a protagonist who is attributed to holiness and who threatens the political class with a revolution.”

The London “Evita” production (was in the schedule until September 7th) primarily caused a sensation because one of the most important scenes could not be seen live in the theater hall.

Leading actress Rachel Zegler as Argentinian First Lady Eva Perón sang “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” on an outer balcony of the London Palladium theater – and maintained passers -by on the street.

The famous song was only streamed by video for the many pounds in the hall. Webber indicated that this staging idea liked it because real people come into play. The free appearance had of course got around quickly.

“Starlight Express”, “Cats” and “Phantom” are popular anyway

Speaking of crowds: For large parts of the population in Germany, which is considered a little musical affin, webber was never really out.

The roller-skate musical “Starlight Express” has been running in Bochum for 37 years and has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful musical in a single location: more than 19 million visitors, around 14,000 performances.

In Austria’s capital Vienna, a new production by Webbers Musical “The Phantom of Opera” has been seen since March 2024. The staging of the British theater producer Cameron Mackintosh previously ran in Sydney. Due to high demand, the romantic show show was extended in the Raimund Theater and remains until June 2026.

“Cats” also took place again in the German -speaking world in 2025 – in a refreshed version of the London Westend in the English original. The performances of the musical in Düsseldorf, Munich, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin were well attended. Zurich is still pending (until September 21).

After the embarrassing “Cats” film it could only go uphill

It was the junkyard musical “Cats” -albeit without direct fault of Webber -that once led to a low point.

Tom Hoopers failed “Cats” adaptation in 2019 despite stars like James Corden, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson and Taylor Swift. But that seems forgotten.

In New York, a “Cats” new interpretation recently celebrated great success in an off-theater. The musical is celebrated as a queer ballroom revue – cat costume -free. The HIT should now be personally to Broadway at the instigation of Webber in 2026. Webber is just uncool until it is cool again.