Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice released Jesus Christ Superstar first as a “concept album,” a studio recording meant to test audience interest before staging. The album’s popularity helped prove that a rock-influenced, through-sung musical could find a large mainstream audience, paving the way for major theatre productions.
The first official staged Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York. Its Broadway success confirmed Lloyd Webber’s emergence as a major musical-theatre composer and showed that “rock opera” could work in large commercial venues.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat expanded from earlier school and festival versions into a professional West End production at the Albery Theatre. This step demonstrated how Lloyd Webber and Rice could develop a short work into a full commercial run.
Lloyd Webber and Rice again used the concept-album approach with Evita, recording and releasing the score before the stage premiere. The album created public familiarity with the music and story, helping build momentum for a major theatre launch.
Evita opened at the Prince Edward Theatre, telling the story of Eva Perón with a large-scale, pop-driven score. The hit confirmed Lloyd Webber as a leading West End composer and strengthened his long-running partnership with director Harold Prince on major productions.
After US tryouts, Evita opened at the Broadway Theatre in New York. Winning major awards and sustaining a multi-year run, it showed Lloyd Webber’s work could travel successfully across the Atlantic with largely the same creative approach and still connect with American audiences.
Cats opened at the New London Theatre, using dance, design, and an ensemble structure rather than a traditional plot-driven book. Its long run and distinctive style helped define a new era of highly visual, music-forward “mega-musicals.”
A production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat transferred to Broadway, opening at the Royale Theatre. The Broadway run signaled that Lloyd Webber’s earlier work—originally written for a school performance—could be repackaged for large commercial audiences.
Cats opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre, becoming one of the defining long-running shows in modern Broadway history. Its commercial success strengthened Lloyd Webber’s influence over international musical-theatre production, especially for large, spectacle-based shows.
Starlight Express opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre with performers on roller skates racing on tracks built into the auditorium. The production emphasized engineering and staging innovation, continuing Lloyd Webber’s move toward technically ambitious, event-style theatre.
The premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem at St. Thomas Church marked a notable shift into sacred concert music. Written in memory of his father, it showed his interest in composing beyond musical theatre while still using his recognizable melodic style.
Song and Dance opened at the Royale Theatre, pairing a sung narrative in the first act with a dance-focused second act. The Broadway run reflected Lloyd Webber’s experimentation with form, combining pop-influenced storytelling with ballet and contemporary dance staging.
The Phantom of the Opera opened at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, blending romance, thriller elements, and large-scale stage effects. The show became a central example of the “mega-musical” model: a strong central melody line, lavish design, and long-running commercial appeal.
The Phantom of the Opera opened at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway after beginning previews earlier in January. Its Broadway success cemented Lloyd Webber’s status as a dominant international figure in musical theatre and set a new benchmark for long-running spectacle productions.
Aspects of Love opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre, focusing on a love triangle and time-spanning relationships rather than a high-concept spectacle. It showed Lloyd Webber applying his pop-classical style to a more intimate, character-centered story.
Sunset Boulevard opened at the Adelphi Theatre, adapting the 1950 film about silent-movie star Norma Desmond. The production signaled Lloyd Webber’s continued interest in major film adaptations and in stories about fame, aging, and power within entertainment industries.
Sunset Boulevard opened at the Minskoff Theatre in New York, following earlier US staging. The Broadway opening and awards success reinforced Lloyd Webber’s ability to mount large, expensive productions internationally—even as costs and scale became a bigger part of the story around his shows.
The Woman in White opened at the Palace Theatre, adapting Wilkie Collins’s Victorian mystery novel with a new creative team (including lyricist David Zippel). The premiere marked Lloyd Webber’s move into a new adaptation and a different storytelling tone—more suspense-driven than his biggest 1980s hits.
The Broadway production of The Woman in White opened at the Marquis Theatre after previews, bringing the show’s distinctive projection-based staging concept to New York. Its short run compared with earlier Lloyd Webber blockbusters highlighted how Broadway tastes and economics had shifted since the peak mega-musical era.
Andrew Lloyd Webber major premieres and West End/Broadway runs (1971–2011)