‘Witty musical exploring the career of Andrew Lloyd Webber’
One Man Musical, created by Flo & Joan, is a musical comedy about Andrew Lloyd Webber at a later stage of his life. The young female musical theatre duo take the British musical theatre king’s career as their material, turning his rise, relationships and eventual decline into a one-man musical.
The show starts with Andrew, played by Edward Easton, describing the show as being about him. He then dives into his childhood and love of musicals, while immediately reminding us to ignore his prestigious upbringing. After skipping his teenage years, he briefly takes us through his successes in musical theatre and his collaboration with Tim Rice, from The Likes of Us to Evita. During this journey, Easton uses a bag of rice to replace Tim, claiming it is due to budget reasons, while weaving together Andrew’s romantic relationships with women named Sarah. Before moving on to his biggest hit, The Phantom of the Opera, we also get a kinky song about “bussy” referring to Cats, and a song about his power within the industry that gets Starlight Express produced. However, soon after Phantom, Andrew seems to lose his ability to produce hits and begins a downfall in which he attempts to get back on his feet by producing another hit, Thatcher the Musical.
The show is full of witty jokes about musical theatre for musical theatre fans, not limited to Andrew and his collaborators or how they fell out. Stephen Sondheim and Lin-Manuel Miranda are also mentioned, highlighting Andrew’s hunger for success and critical acclaim. Within those jokes, the industry’s power hierarchy and its misogynistic nature are also hinted at, particularly through Andrew singing silly songs about his lovers.
Flo and Joan both play instruments in support of Easton, whose improvised performance is impressive, especially when he breaks the fourth wall to complain about audience members leaving or talks directly to the duo. The duo, apart from playing as the band, also occasionally deliver deadpan jokes that add to the comedic nature of the show.
One Man Musical is a funny show that will please musical theatre fans, yet one might also want to hear more about some of the darker aspects of Andrew Lloyd Webber, who famously did not inform some of the cast and crew of Bad Cinderella before publicly announcing the show’s closure.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard – Beyond
Dates: 5th–30th August
Time: 16:50
Ticket prices: £24 / concessions £23
Fringe box office: 0131 226 0000 / www.edfringe.com