Andrew Lloyd Webber (And Lin-Manuel Miranda) Singing for Us on Twitter Brings Me Joy

One silver lining of the global pandemic (if there can be such a thing) is the many and varied ways that people have found to reach out and connect with others through social media. From Instagram livechats and concerts, to virtual tours and lessons, to singalong on Facebook, people across the world have found a way to keep their fellow humans entertained and bring a little joy into their lives.

The crew of entertainers on social media includes among its number a few Tony-winning composers. Andrew Lloyd Webber has started a daily series of concerts from his home at his piano, playing requests from Twitter, and it honestly brings me such joy. Maybe that’s because Lord Andrew started things off with one of my favorite shows, and his most popular by far, Phantom of the Opera.

Of course, when one legendary broadway composer does something, it can start a trend, and in this case, known fan of musicals Lin-Manuel Miranda enjoyed the show and … maybe was up for a challenge?

I don’t think I can fully express the happiness it brings me to see one of my favorite composers singing the work of another, especially with a phantom mask on his piano.

This is a perfect choice in song too from Miranda, given that Jesus Christ Superstar was Hamilton before Hamilton. Lloyd Webber’s rock opera was a massively successful show that took a staid topic and set it with a modern musical language in a way that was hugely successful, and controversial. Lloyd Webber of course built on that and took up the story of another modern political figure for another show with Evita.

And since Lin honored Lloyd Webber so appropriately, it was only right for Lord Andrew to sing the song of British nobility right back.

Love it.

Our latest performance was from Lloyd Webber’s first show, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, which as he reminds us in this video, he started work on when he was nineteen (way to make us feel like underachievers).

Between these and the digital release of Cats this month, Lloyd Webber had brought audiences around the world some pretty good bits of entertainment through quarantine, and that makes him, in my book, a Superstar.

(images and video via: OffcialALW on Twitter)

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Jessica Mason

Jessica Mason (she/her) is a writer based in Portland, Oregon with a focus on fandom, queer representation, and amazing women in film and television. She's a trained lawyer and opera singer as well as a mom and author.

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