Unmasked audiobook

Anyone who’s a “theater buff” this is a must read!!! Enjoyed it very much, can’t wait for the next book, continuation of book 1. Audio book is highly recommended for this one.

Written in a quirky, British self deprecating manner, Lloyd Webber tells of the highs and lows of his career. Despite his success he always has opening night jitters before a new show hit the stage. He was surprised that CATS became the phenomenon it did. The memoir at times jumps around from show to show but that is because he was working on multiple projects at the same time. He refers to some famous people from the British stage I was not familiar with, but it is a thrill to witness the creation of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, EVITA and of course PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Perhaps the book could've withstood some editing but it was and enjoyable read for a theater buff like me.

I heard about this book a few years ago, but hesitated to read it because I feared it might just be a sort of self-congratulatory autobiography. Then I picked it up recently, and the introduction basically says, "I really resisted writing this, because I feared it would just be a sort of self-congratulatory autobiography, and I hate those." So the self-awareness quickly won me over. "Phantom of the Opera" has meant a lot to me over the years, so I think of myself as an ALW fan, but realistically, I'm familiar with less than half of his musicals. So this book was a good way to get acquainted with the history and inspiration of more of this shows. There's a lot of good backstory about the writing/casting/staging of various shows, while still being very understandable musically (i.e. he doesn't spend paragraphs talking about obscure music theory and why a certain scale symbolizes a character, etc.). The book is also quite funny! ALW is witty and self-deprecating. He also is a nerd for historical architecture, so you get these funny tangents where he is traveling to such-and-such city for a meeting that will be a turning point for his career, but then he's like, "before lunch, I snuck out to go see [random British estate built in the 1600's] and it was marvelous."Lastly, there's at least one indecipherable "British-ism" per page, which I found charming.

I picked this up because the reviews I read suggested that it was better than one might expect it to be - and that's exactly how I found it. This is the first volume of Andrew Lloyd Webber's memoirs, which covers the early part of his career - up to the opening night of Phantom of the Opera. It would be interesting in any case to have some insight into the creative process of a man who has had musical successes writing everything from Elvis Presley songs to stage musicals to a requiem mass. But - perhaps surprisingly - this book is also very funny, packed with amusing anecdotes.There are bits that are a little cringe-worthy - female professionals always get '-ess' versions of their titles; there's a bit where he makes a joke about the large size of his penis; there's more than a little bit of score-settling - but he strikes the right note far more often than the wrong one.

Most autobiographies are entirely self serving and relatively dull. Who really wants to air any legitimate dirty laundry or mull over failures? While detractors of ALW will have lots to pick over here, it is inimitably his own voice (certainly not ghost written) and it is at times surprisingly revealing. He does gloss a little over personal failings although admitting them, and at certain times crossing lines into "men talk" about those times, but it is definitely mind opening if you are looking at the musical theatre scene in the 70s and 80s. The book ends with Phantom's premiere but it does cover those initial years in detail including the inspirations and changes to scores in detail as well. Essential if a fan, important if a fan of a few of those musicals, though certainly not going to convert detractors.

Grab your tea and get comfy - you’re going to the wonderful little world of Andrew Lloyd Webber. I happened to stumble upon this novel in the bargain section of Books-A-Million. I had always been a fan of Webber’s music, so I was thrilled to discover that he had written a memoir. “Unmasked”, Webber’s novel, is a fantastic piece that transports you to his world and shows you life through his eyes. Webber takes you from the moment he was born to the days of his smash-hit musicals, with remarkable adventures in between. This novel is INCREDIBLY detailed, complete with allusions, euphemisms, and plenty of irony. For example, early in the novel, Webber describes his church-going experience as “Apart from the occasional blood and thunder sermon or rousing free-church hymn, the ray of sunshine in the colourless services that Julian and I were now dragged to every Sunday was the moment Dad goosed up proceedings with one of his organ improvisations. Of course Methodists are teetotallers so I hoped nobody examined the mineral water bottle Dad had beside him in his organ console” (Webber 17). The illustration created here is beyond incredible! Just a bit further into the book, Webber excites his readers by transforming London into Swinging London. Continuously alluding to “Swinging London”, he tells of how he experienced England during the time of The Beatles. Throughout the book there is no lack of apostrophes and analogies, one of the earliest examples being of Webber’s toy theater, Harrington Pavillion. Another review has described this book as too wordy and hard to understand. However, I think the use of words only adds to Webber’s charm. This book has so much detail that you could read it four or five times and find something new every time. This book is definitely worth owning. Bargain price or not, “Unmasked” has enough content to keep you busy for quite a long while. If you’ve always wanted to go to London but can’t afford a ticket, just pick up this book and travel for free.

I don't know where to start. I adored it. The only thing I have an issue with is that it ended with Phantom... especially after Sir Lloyd Webber alluded to some interesting things happening around the making and premiering of Sunset Boulevard... I need the inside scoop!!!I loved the tone this memoir was written in. I mean, it was so British... such a playful style of British humour and choice of words... which I just looooooooove. But at the same time, he is just so well read and well-spoken!The writing was so engaging. I think Lloyd Webber is just a master of structure, not only in his music / musicals, but in writing as well. At first, his writing might seem a little bit "hopping around"-y (but even then it is done in a charming and organic way, so it's not annoying)... but then you realize that he is just hinting things that would become more important 1-2 chapters later... just like variations of a song in a musical that would foreshadow a scene. Just awesome.I really enjoyed reading about the process of his shows being made. I am educated in theatre, and I am semi-well informed about West End and Broadway, but I learnt a lot of things! I loved how it showed that success does not come without hardships and hard work, even if you have proven beforehand.With that being said, some people who are just mildly interested in him and not huge theatre geeks like me might find some of the descriptions of scenes of performances or how / based on what logic songs are following each other in his musicals a bit boring... not me, though, I love reading about theatre productions in detail!I also liked how genuine and sincere he was without putting this "I am going to tell it all soooo hard"-facade on.

I loved this autobiography of Andrew Lloyd Webber that ended with the opening of Phantom of the Opera. I actually listened to this book while on a 12 hour road trip to St. Louis and I found myself turning off the book for a few minutes to warble some of the most famous songs from the shows he was describing. My specialty, apparently, is the soundtrack from Cats. I'm eagerly looking forward to the next installment.

This got off to a slow start, with too many facts and not enough story, but it soon turned around. It was fascinating to read how the musicals came together and how many revisions they went through. What surprised me the most was that the music came first, and then a lyricist put words to it. I’d always assumed the opposite. This was a good read! Thanks to my thoughtful daughter for this gift. ❤️

This is an entertaining and gossipy read, but certainly from a very specific point of view. I'm mostly feeling like I should read everyone else's memoir to get a Rashoman-like version of the development of Cats (which is the most interesting section, I think.)

Fairly interesting deconstruction of Lloyd Webber's musicals.

Just superb. I usually have a non-fiction book going all the time that I pick up and put down by time/chapters. This one pretty much demanded to have more attention paid to it and I did! Am writing a review for Madison Public Library's book blog MadReads and will add the link once it is posted. Here is the link to the full review. https://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/...Free e-book from the library.

This extraordinarily talented man has had such an amazing life. I loved the back stage look at his ups and downs and angst of putting together a musical. He appears to be surprising candid about both his professional and personal life, although it is obvious that he can be harder on himself than anyone else. I loved this memoir and look forward to its sequel!

This gave me exactly what I want from a showbiz memoir: a decent sense of what he’s like, insight into his work and creative process, and just enough dish without being salacious or mean. Looking forward to volume two.