A week ago, I was lucky to experience The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. To be honest the feeling is quite the same like the first time I saw CATS last year. I was expecting that this show will really blow my mind. So does the show really delivers what people are craving over this show? Well it is kinda a little bit of both.

Let's start with the positives. First you will enter the theater and you will see a very simple set wit fancy shaped backdrops. This is supposed to be projection screens where some clips will be shown during the show. At first you can't really imagine how good it will look like and when the show started, it is such a stunning work of art. The show started with an overture from CATS' "Jellicle Ball" which is I think a very good jumpstart to set the mood of the show: triumphant and alive.


Technically speaking, the show is indeed first class. Everything is presented in style and the performers did gave us the performance we all craved for. But despite all the glitter and spectacles, the Show fails on something that did cause some major draw backs.

Based on the title alone we know that this is an anthology of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical genius. And when we say music, that is only the thing you will ever have on the show. Well there are I guess 2 commentary videos that will be played during the show but other than that, the performers will just perform all song numbers without actually verbally communicating with the audience. Well this kind of of format will only work to "hardcore" Andrew Lloyd Webber fans, for they don't really need introductions for every set of songs. On this show, the screens on the backdrop is the only means of audience to know what musical does the current song comes from. But what if the audience missed it.  They are now left guessing and thinking about the song instead of them just sitting there and enjoying the show.  The souvenir program could be really helpful but for people like me who have limited budget that night, most audience didn't have the privilege to get a hold of that programme to guide them on the repertoire.  This leads to some audience getting bored during songs that they don't know.  I for instance only saw Phantom of the Opera and CATS and I just know some other songs because they are quite popular not only on the world of theater but also on global pop culture.


In short, instead of being something that will educate people about Andrew Lloyd Webber Music, I guess the show is not quite effective on that part.


To sum it up, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber is an extravaganza all Andrew Lloyd Webber fans should never miss. For those who have limited knowledge about Andrew Lloyd Webber, might as well think twice before deciding to see this show. Consider the things that I mentioned above before you buy your tickets. The show will be having their final 4 shows today and tomorrow at 3pm and 8pm. Buy your tickets now, call Ticketworld at 8919999 or visit their official website.