Review: Flo & Joan’s ‘One Man Musical’ – Andrew Lloyd Webber Gets His Show

“Is this show a legal minefield? Yes it is. But on we go.” That’s the bold opening of Flo & Joan’s One Man Musical. This show, presented at the fringes of the Edinburgh festival, places Andrew Lloyd Webber at the center of an autobiographical narrative. Far from being a sign of desperation, Lloyd Webber considers this “show about me!” another feather in his cap, akin to his other works such as Evita, Joseph, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

But is it truly a show about him? The issue of authorship adds a layer of meta-theatrical trickery to One Man Musical. Lloyd Webber, portrayed by George Fouracres, insists he is the author, yet the two women playing the keyboard and drumkit behind him raise questions. This combination turns the famous West End figure into a character traversing his wild days and mad existence, leading to a contemporary stage where Lin-Manuel Miranda reigns supreme, making Lloyd Webber’s once celebrated style seem a bit outdated.

If Fouracres’ vocal talents initially seem unsteady, they soon reveal a performance strong enough to silence skeptics. He portrays Lloyd Webber as a haughty but resilient squire, with a lifelong attachment to his childhood cat Perseus. Fouracres depicts Andrew as “the best there ever was”: a commercial genius, an idea machine, and a romantic lead, though his romantic ideal—à la The Phantom of the Opera—is increasingly out of step with modern sensibilities.

Despite this, the play is far from a hatchet job. Flo & Joan weave Lloyd Webber-like motifs into their score, acknowledging both the snobbery often directed at his music and his struggles with cultural shifts. The show is filled with delightfully irreverent jokes, most at Lloyd Webber’s expense, which audiences are expected to thoroughly enjoy—even if it raises some eyebrows among the legal crowd.

• At Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh, until August 25

Source: The Guardian, Particle News