No Spectacle, Just Lloyd Webber Songs

Don’t bother looking up--the chandelier won’t fall.

Still, seeing “Andrew Lloyd Webber--The Music of the Night” at the Ahmanson Theatre (it later goes to Long Beach Terrace Theater) must be like a reunion for those who saw “The Phantom of the Opera” at the Ahmanson umpteen times. No, it isn’t the same experience, but just think of the memories.

Cue up “Memory” from “Cats.” It’s here, as are 32 other songs from the Lloyd Webber songbook. They’re performed by a 32-piece onstage orchestra and a cast of 15 singers and dancers, who manage a surprising amount of movement, considering how narrow the lip of the stage appears to be. Nevertheless, the music itself is the priority. There is no patter between songs, and the scenic splendors that often accompany Lloyd Webber shows are represented only by occasional iconic images on the backdrop.

Conceived by David Thompson and directed by Scott Ellis, the show actually includes more song titles (six each) from “Evita” and “Sunset Boulevard” than from “Phantom” (five). So those who saw “Evita” in its American premiere at the Music Center (the class of ‘79) may be as interested in this reunion as the “Phantom” crowd. The many who caught Lloyd Webber’s latest, “Sunset Boulevard,” on the Westside before he suddenly yanked it away from L.A. might not know how to get to the Ahmanson; just remember that the Ahmanson is close to where the actual Sunset BOOL-e-vard (to use the pronunciation in the show’s title song) begins.

Best surprise: The selections from “Cats”--my least favorite Lloyd Webber show--are more accessible and lighter on their feet than they are under all those cat costumes in the original. While many of us have seen “Memory” sans cat garb, not many have seen “The Old Gumbie Cat” performed as a jazzy, romantic dance-only duo for young homo sapiens--in this case, Andy Blankenbuehler and Nancy Lemenager, who make it the highlight of the show’s dance (the choreography is credited to John DeLuca and Kathleen Marshall). Likewise, the chorus steps smartly through “Jellicle Cats,” notably assisted by Paul Gallo’s lighting design.

Worst choice: Making “Gethsemane” from “Jesus Christ Superstar” the first act finale (as it was in the previous concert-format show, “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber”). Torn from the context of the larger musical and over-amplified to a painful point, this conversation between a doubting Jesus Christ and God becomes the epitome of tasteless glitz. Kevin Gray, the show’s top-billed performer (the Engineer in “Miss Saigon” last year), had a noticeable pitch problem on his final wail on opening night.

Gray is better as he begins the sung part of the show (following a laughably patched-together overture) with “Surrender” from “Sunset Boulevard.” He unveils a lovely, delicate tenor--a stark contrast to the hard-edged sounds he created in “Miss Saigon” and later uses here as Che in the “Evita” selections.

Evita’s played by Kelli James Chase, a gifted belter. She also handles “Tell Me on a Sunday” well until overamplification muddies a few words, and she capably divides the Norma and Christine assignments with Laurie Williamson.

It’s Williamson whose range stands out. She starts the show in her lower range, leads a pop-flavored “You Made Me Think You Were in Love,” then shifts her vocal gears for the coloratura sounds of “Pie Jesu” from Lloyd Webber’s “Requiem” and the flowery passages from “Phantom.”

The show’s only attempt to weave together songs from different shows is a love trio: Gray on “Love Changes Everything” from “Aspects of Love,” Chase on “Unexpected Song” from “Song and Dance” and Williamson on “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Though the connections finally fizzle, at least it’s an attempt to turn the show’s inherent “greatest hits” feeling into something creative and new.

William Ivey Long dressed the leads in elegant formal wear, while the chorus occasionally dons snappy casual clothes.

* “Andrew Lloyd Webber--Music of the Night,” Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, through May 5, $15-$65. Terrace Theater, 300 E. Ocean Ave., Long Beach, May 7-12, $35-$60. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, 2 p.m. (213) 365-3500, (714) 740-2000, (310) 436-3661. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

A Livent (U.S.). Inc. production. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lyrics by Don Black, Christopher Hampton, Tim Rice, Richard Maltby Jr., T.S. Eliot, Richard Stilgoe, Charles Hart, Trevor Nunn. Conceived by David Thompson. Directed by Scott Ellis. Choreographed by John DeLuca and Kathleen Marshall. Sets by Tony Walton. Costumes by William Ivey Long. Lights by Paul Gallo. Sound by Martin Levan. Orchestrations by William David Brohn and David Cullen. Musical supervision and direction by Phil Reno. Vocal arrangements by David Loud. Dance arrangements by David Krane.