The Reviews Are Coming In on Lloyd Webber’s New Show

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals divide opinion strongly. The public flocks in millions to shows like “Cats,” “Starlight Express” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” while many theater critics and lovers of serious drama wince at the very mention of them. Yet Lloyd Webber’s latest coup--buying 10 playhouses in London’s West End for $145 million--has seemingly united all factions in Britain’s stage community.

Lloyd Webber, 51, who became a member of Britain’s House of Lords in 1997, this week won an international bidding war against some 40 rivals for the 10 theaters owned by the Stoll Moss group, including the London Palladium and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, as well as the golden line of four adjacent theaters on Shaftesbury Avenue.

He already owns two London theaters and has a half-share in a third, giving him control of 13 theaters--about one-third of the West End. He takes over the 10 Stoll Moss venues from Australian Janet Holmes a Court, having fought off a rival bid from Max Weitzenhoffer, an Oklahoma oil billionaire who has invested heavily in Lloyd Webber’s own musicals.

The surprising aspect of the deal is that few creative figures from the entertainment world become such powerful players in the business world. This is precisely what London’s theater people find so gratifying--along with the fact that one-third of the West End, the world’s largest theater district, reverts to British ownership.

“I think the deal has enormous implications for keeping the theater in the hands it should be kept in, and not in the hands of pen-pushers and number-crunchers,” Lloyd Webber said.

Indeed, it is Lloyd Webber’s standing in London’s creative theater community that makes his victory so welcome. Under Lloyd Webber’s influence, it is widely believed, the West End will be more open to productions with an element of edge and commercial risk.

“It’s good that someone with such a passion for theater is in charge” of the 10 venues, said Rupert Rhymes, chief executive of the Society of London Theatre, which represents West End producers.

Veteran director and producer Sir Peter Hall commented: “At least the theaters are owned by someone who is part of the British scene and part of British theater. I was worried lest they go to an American. It’s not that Americans cannot produce theater, but they would treat us as a colony.”

Even Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Lloyd Webber’s musical impresario rival, owner of five West End theaters and another bidder for the 10 venues, said he is “delighted the group has gone back into British ownership and will be owned by someone whose life is the theater, and who has the resources to take care of these theaters and bring them back to their full glory.”

Lloyd Webber hopes, in his own words, to be “a benign influence,” and, indeed, it may be hard to detect radical changes at the 10 theaters. He will retain the existing management team, plans to maintain the Stoll Moss tradition of mixing traditional plays, musicals and adventurous drama--and has no plans to pack his new theaters with productions of his own musicals.

Instead, he intends to take a back seat in determining what will be seen. Still, Lloyd Weber hopes to be a sympathetic and risk-taking owner when necessary, and will champion challenging work by gifted new writers who find it difficult to get their plays produced.

This last point is crucial. Despite a preponderance of crowd-pleasing tourist-friendly musicals, London’s theater scene prides itself on staging risky plays by lesser-known writers, which still become commercially successful by virtue of their quality.

The West End has also seen some of its more intriguing productions transfer to Broadway with some success. Recent transatlantic successes include David Hare’s “The Blue Room,” starring Nicole Kidman, which originally opened at London’s 120-seater Donmar Warehouse; “Closer,” the second play by the young English writer Patrick Marber; and “The Weir,” by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. At the more commercial end of the spectrum, “Saturday Night Fever,” a musical based on the 1977 movie now running at the London Palladium, has also become a current Broadway hit.

The West End is generally healthy, though that does not mean Lloyd Webber has inherited no problems. Many London theaters were built 100 or more years ago, and badly need refurbishment: They have no air-conditioning, seating is cramped, and bar facilities are crowded. It will prove costly to adapt them to 21st century audience expectations.

Yet Lloyd Webber and his Really Useful Group, of which he bought back overall control last year, seem poised to prosper in a new era for theatergoing. It is widely anticipated that the Internet will become a crucial source for purchasing London theater tickets, and Lloyd Webber has indicated a willingness to collaborate with online companies.

He also has the advantage of now owning most of London’s big theater stages, the only venues suitable for producing the lavish, large-scale musicals that reap the greatest profits.

Lloyd Webber will undoubtedly integrate his new properties with his long-held plans to buy up hotels and theaters in Las Vegas, as well as producing film or video versions of his biggest stage musical hits.

His spokesman Daniel Bee said Lloyd Webber was “very proud indeed of this deal. His love for the theater, its history and architecture, is well known. It is a dream come true for him.”

Maybe for London’s theatergoers too.