ABSTRACT
During the first two-thirds of the twentieth century, United States had exported so many blockbuster hits that audiences were beginning to think that musical theater was a uniquely American phenomenon. In England, however, things were about to change, first because of a triumph by Lionel Bart and then from an onslaught of ever-increasing successes by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Like many budding theater composers, Lloyd Webber wrote school shows, none of which excited much attention. One positive note, though, was a 1965 letter from a discontented law student named Tim Rice, who had heard that Lloyd Webber was looking for a "with-it" lyricist. England saw several versions of Joseph over the years, but Broadway production did not open until 1982—long after Lloyd Webber's later show, Jesus Christ Superstar, had made its debut. Jesus Christ Superstar was not the first show to be produced on stage after having been released as a concept album, but it was first to attract Broadway attention.
