The Best Musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber

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Updated July 27, 2023 3.6K votes 953 voters 32.8K views
Over 900 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The Best Musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber
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Vote up the best Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals.

The best Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals can transport audiences to another place and time, as they follow along with the thrilling musical performances. Let’s face it - Andrew Lloyd Webber has made a career out of putting on brilliantly composed musicals and plays for decades. He’s got the musical down pat.

Many on this list of Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals will inspire you to sing along and revel in the show’s gloriousness. What if you had to choose just one of these musicals as your all-time favorite? Could you do it? Sure, some shows would be easier to toss out of the running than others, but what about the behemoths of Cats, Phantom of the Opera, or Evita? Now throw in Sunset Boulevard, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Jesus Christ Superstar – impossible, right?

Rank your top Andrew Lloyd Webber plays and musicals here by up voting your favorites. And - if you really want to have your say - go ahead and rerank your own Andrew Lloyd Webber musical list. Enjoy the videos, sing along as you vote, and wait for his next masterpiece to hit London’s West End or Broadway.  

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  • The Phantom of the Opera
    1
    The Phantom of the Opera is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Charles Hart. Richard Stilgoe and Lloyd Webber wrote the musical's book together. Stilgoe also provided additional lyrics. Based on the French novel of the same name by Gaston Leroux, its central plot revolves around a beautiful soprano, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a mysterious, disfigured musical genius living in the subterranean labyrinth beneath the Paris Opéra House.The musical opened in London's West End at Her Majesty's Theatre in 1986, and on Broadway in 1988. It won the 1986 Olivier Award and the 1988 Tony Award for Best Musical, and Michael Crawford (in the title role) won the Olivier and Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical. It is the longest running show in Broadway history by a wide margin, and celebrated its 10,000th Broadway performance on 11 February 2012, the first production ever to do so. It is the second longest-running West End musical, after Les Misérables, and the third longest-running West End show overall, after The Mousetrap.With total estimated worldwide gross receipts of over $5.6 billion and total Broadway gross of $845 million, Phantom was the most financially successful entertainment event until The Lion King surpassed it in 2014. By 2011, it had been seen by over 130 million people in 145 cities across 27 countries, and continues to play in London and New York.
  • Evita
    2

    Evita

    280 votes
    Evita is a musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It concentrates on the life of Argentine political leader Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine president Juan Perón. The story follows Evita's early life, rise to power, charity work, and eventual death. The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976. Its success led to productions in London's West End in 1978, winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway a year later, where it was the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical. This has been followed by a string of professional tours and worldwide productions and numerous cast albums, as well as a major 1996 film of the musical starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. The musical was revived in London in 2006, and on Broadway in 2012, and toured the UK again in 2013-14 before running for 55 West End performances at the Dominion Theatre in September–October, 2014.
  • Jesus Christ Superstar
    3
    Jesus Christ Superstar is a 1970 rock opera or rock musical, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started as a rock opera concept album before its first staging on Broadway in 1971. The musical is loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the last week of Jesus's life, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion. It highlights political and interpersonal struggles between Judas Iscariot and Jesus that are not in the Bible narratives. The work's depiction offers a free interpretation of the psychology of Jesus and the other characters. A large part of the plot focuses on the character of Judas, who is depicted as a tragic figure dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus steers his disciples. Contemporary attitudes and sensibilities, as well as slang, pervade the lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly feature many intentional anachronisms.
  • Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
    4
    Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a musical or operetta with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly. The show has little spoken dialogue; it is completely sung-through. Its family-friendly storyline, universal themes and catchy music have resulted in numerous productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; according to the Really Useful Group, by 2008 more than 20,000 schools and amateur theatre groups had successfully put on productions.
  • Sunset Boulevard
    5
    Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on Billy Wilder's Academy Award-winning 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the fabled Los Angeles street. When young screenwriter Joe Gillis accidentally crosses her path, she sees in him an opportunity to make her return to the big screen. Romance and tragedy follow. Opening first in London in 1993, the musical has had several long runs internationally and also enjoyed extensive tours. However, it has been the subject of several legal battles and ultimately lost money due to its extraordinary running costs.
  • Cats
    6

    Cats

    296 votes
    Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh. The musical tells the story of a tribe of cats called the Jellicles and the night they make what is known as "the Jellicle choice" and decide which cat will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. Cats introduced the song standard "Memory". Directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Gillian Lynne, Cats first opened in the West End in 1981 and then with the same creative team on Broadway in 1982. It won numerous awards, including Best Musical at both the Laurence Olivier Awards and the Tony Awards. The London production ran for twenty-one years and the Broadway production ran for eighteen years, both setting new records. Actresses Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley became particularly associated with the musical. One actress, Marlene Danielle, performed in the Broadway production for its entire run. As of 2014, Cats is the third longest-running show in Broadway history, and was the longest running Broadway show in history from 1987–2006, surpassed by The Phantom of the Opera.