When Tim Rice (b. 1944) met Andrew Lloyd Webber (b. 1948) in 1965, he was considering a legal career. Rice contributed lyrics to Lloyd Webber’s music when he was still a student, and they began collaborating when Lloyd Webber was still a student. The Likes of Us, their first collaboration, was the least well-known: it wasn’t even performed until 2005. The musical tells the story of an ambitious man whose life is turned upside down after a chance encounter with two homeless children.
The first public performance of a Lloyd Webber and Rice production was a 20-minute pop oratorio, which was commissioned by the head of the music department at Colet Court School in London and premiered in 1968. It was later lengthened to 30 minutes and sung at Westminster Central Hall before being performed at St. Paul’s Cathedral in November of the same year. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat did not reach its final form until the 1970s, when it had evolved into a full musical theatre production.
There are a few different ways to gauge the popularity of this Lloyd Webber and Rice collaboration. For two weeks in 1991, it was the number one album in the United Kingdom. It has been staged by more than 20,000 amateur theater groups and schools. Those interested in the Bible story on which the show is based, as well as those who enjoy the wide range of musical styles and the twentieth-century take on themes of coming of age and forgiveness, will enjoy the show.
Between the long development of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and the creation of their third production, Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera that began as a concept album in 1970 and became a film in 1973, Lloyd Webber and Rice created their third production, Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera that began as a concept album in 1970 and became a film in 1973. It was one of the longest-running British musical theater productions on stage. Through songs such as “Everything’s Alright,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “Superstar,” the work tells a fictionalized version of Christ’s life. Both Christians and Jews expressed their displeasure and condemnation.
In 1971, Jesus Christ Superstar premiered on Broadway and ran for 18 months. It spawned a slew of other international adaptations and was adapted into a film in 1973 and again in 2000. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation and won a BAFTA award for Best Soundtrack in 1973. The film was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Performing Arts in 2000.
Evita is a musical biography of Eva Perón, wife of Argentinian President Juan Perón. It is the last Lloyd Webber and Rice musical. It began as a concept album, similar to Jesus Christ Superstar. It has been adapted into musical theater productions on Broadway and the West End, as well as a film. In 1978, it won seven Tony Awards and the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. The 1996 film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song – Motion Picture.
Apart from reuniting in 1986 to produce Cricket, Lloyd Webber and Rice each went on to work with others after Evita. Since then, Lloyd Webber has worked on shows like Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. Rice has worked on several Disney productions, including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aida, with Alan Menken and Elton John.