For better or worse, Andrew Lloyd Webber has come to symbolize the expensive, effects-driven Broadway musical of the 1980s and 90s. The scores composed by the hugely successful, multi-award winning Lloyd Webber generally exhibited operatic influences, especially Puccini, and while some critics have complained of a lack of innovation in his scores (usually there are two or three main themes which are repeated), his lushly romantic themes have found popular acceptance.

Lloyd Webber met his first collaborator, lyricist Tim Rice while studying music. The duo wrote popular tunes that were recorded by singer Ross Hanniman before turning their attention to the theater. The pair's first produced efforts were drawn from an unlikely source--the Bible. The first, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (1968), was originally written for children and was later revised and expanded for stage production. The follow-up, "Jesus Christ Superstar" (1971) was a pioneer in the 'concept album'--a full-scale recording of the score which appeared before the piece was produced on stage. The album and subsequent stage production was embroiled in controversy; many religious groups objected to the title and depiction of Christ in a popular entertainment. As is often the case, the protests only spurred the success of the work. The penultimate Rice-Lloyd Webber collaboration, "Evita" (1978) also began as a concept album before Harold Prince brilliantly staged the work in London and New York in 1979. A 'pop opera' based on the life of Eva Peron, wife of Argentine dictator Juan Peron, "Evita" was also the subject of debate for its depiction of the title character as a manipulative schemer, its use of a character "Che" (as in Ernesto 'Che' Guevera) as a chorus and its somewhat simplified presentation of Argentine politics. Nevertheless, it was great theater and brought acclaim, awards and financial success. In the late 1970s, with the desire to pursue other projects, Rice and Lloyd Webber went their separate ways. Lloyd Webber has collaborated with notable theater and film personalities including Alan Ayckbourn (for the flop "Jeeves" 1975) and Oscar-winning lyricist Don Black ("Tell Me on a Sunday" 1979). The composer went on to achieve his greatest successes in the 80s, first with the unlikely musicalization of T.S. Eliot's poems, "Cats" (1982) and then the adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel "The Phantom of the Opera" (1986). (The former became the longest-running Broadway musical in June 1997.) Along with "Starlight Express" (1984), these three shows relied as much on staging techniques and special effects (a tire rising to heaven, a chandelier falling, a laser show and roller skating performers). Audiences were assaulted aurally and challenged visually by the productions and embraced them vigorously, despite critical reservations.

In 1993, Lloyd Webber collaborated with Oscar-winners Don Black and Christopher Hampton on a musicalization of Billy Wilder's film classic "Sunset Boulevard". The lavish production and lush score were overshadowed by casting difficulties. Patti LuPone who gained stardom as "Evita" was chosen to play Norma Desmond in the London production (and contractually the subsequent New York staging), but received mixed critical notices from American reviewers. Glenn Close who headed the Los Angeles production, however, received raves for her near camp, over-the-top interpretation. Close replaced LuPone in the NYC production and cost the composer-producer an undisclosed amount of money. Further complications arose when Faye Dunaway, who had been chosen to replace Close in Los Angeles, was fired days before her opening. Another lawsuit followed, also settled for an undisclosed amount. "Sunset Boulevard" went on to triumph on Broadway in an otherwise lackluster season.

Despite being elevated to the peerage by Queen Elizabeth II, Lloyd Webber faced mounting problems in 1996 and 1997. The Broadway run of "Sunset Boulevard" closed at a loss in March 1997 and the long-awaited new musical, "Whistle Down the Wind" (based on the 1961 Bryan Forbes' feature) closed after an unsuccessful run in Washington, DC. The impresario was forced to curtail his activities and laid off numerous employees in the London and New York offices of his Really Useful Company. Yet, there were high points, particularly the long-aborning film version of "Evita" (1996). Directed in music video style by Alan Parker, it divided critics and audiences alike. Of particular dissention was reaction to leading lady Madonna. Many felt Eva Peron was a role she was born to play while other felt her miscast. Parker's directorial flourishes and the editing style somewhat undercut her performance, nonetheless. Critics were generally kinder to co-stars Antonio Banderas and Jonathan Pryce. Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice had reunited to write one new song for the score, the haunting ballad "You Must Love Me", for which they won both the Golden Globe Award and the Best Song Oscar.