Philadelphia Speaker Series: Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber has composed the scores of some of the world’s most famous and beloved musicals including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, and School of Rock. From Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (1968) to Cinderella (2021), his work has been consistently seen on world stages. Before the pandemic, Lloyd Webber had shows continually running in London’s West End for 48 years and on Broadway for 41.

He is one of the select group of artists with EGOT status, having received an Emmy, four Grammys (including Best Contemporary Classical Composition for Requiem), an Oscar and eight Tony Awards (including the 2018 Special Tony for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre). He has also won seven Oliviers and a Golden Globe – and his honors include a Classic Brit award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, the Praemium Imperiale, the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, a BASCA Fellowship, and the Kennedy Center Honor.

Lloyd Webber owns six London theaters, including the iconic London Palladium and Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which has recently been renovated at a cost of over £60 million – one of the biggest projects ever undertaken by a private theater owner in recent times, with all proceeds going back into the buildings. 

Lloyd Webber is passionate about the importance of musical education and diversity in the arts. The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation provides 30 performing arts scholarships every year for talented students with financial need and supports a range of projects such as the Music in Secondary School Trust and commissioning research into diversity in theater.

Lloyd Webber was knighted in 1992 and created an honorary life peer in 1997. His bestselling autobiography Unmasked was published in March 2018.