Webber Cats

Jennifer Hudson was driving when she found out that she’d be playing Grizabella in director Tom Hooper’s film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic stage musical Cats, which premiered on Broadway in 1982. “I had to pull over in a parking lot when I got the call,” she tells Apple Music. “And I was like, yes! But then I said, ‘Oh my god. That means I have to sing “Memory.”’” Hudson, of course, rises to the occasion: Her stunning vocal range breathes new life into the tousled Jellicle cat on the show’s best-known song. She joins an all-star cast of performers vying to ascend to the Heaviside layer through song and dance.

Jennifer Hudson was driving when she found out that she’d be playing Grizabella in director Tom Hooper’s film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic stage musical Cats, which premiered on Broadway in 1982. “I had to pull over in a parking lot when I got the call,” she tells Apple Music. “And I was like, yes! But then I said, ‘Oh my god. That means I have to sing “Memory.”’”

Unmasked: The Platinum Collection is the all-time greatest hits from the works of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the most successful composers of our era. The 4CD set featuring 8 new recordings including tracks by Lana Del Rey, Gregory Porter, Nicole Scherzinger and an exclusive performance by Beyonce. Plus a 40 page booklet including track-by-track, an introduction by Andrew Lloyd Webber and new testimonies from artists including Barbra Streisand, Glenn Close, Michael Crawford and Tim Rice.

This 5-CD showstopper not only brings you the best-loved songs from Webber's decades of Broadway blockbusters, but also many superstar interpretations and a CD of rare and unreleased material. You'll hear songs from Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Song and Dance, Starlight Express, Requiem, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, By Jeeves, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle down the Wind and The Beautiful Game. Then, you'll hear wonderful Webber performances by Barbra Streisand (As If We Never Said Goodbye), Betty Buckley (Memory), Madonna (You Must Love Me), Boy George (Try Not to Be Afraid), Tom Jones (The Vaults of Heaven), Kiri Te Kanawa (The Heart Is Slow to Learn), Petula Clark (With One Look) and more including, just weeks before his death, Elvis Presley (It's Easy for You)!

Highlights from the U.K. cast. This famous original recording features a stirring performance by musical theater legend Elaine Paige as Grizzabella and the hilarious character actor Brian Blessed. A must-have recording for collectors and musical theater aficionados.

Highlights from the U.K. cast. This famous original recording features a stirring performance by musical theater legend Elaine Paige as Grizzabella and the hilarious character actor Brian Blessed. A must-have recording for collectors and musical theater aficionados.

A tribute to Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber for his 50th birthday. Features selections from his most popular plays, such as CATS, Phantom of the Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Sunset Boulevard. It also has an appearence by his brother a world famous cellist playing a piece composed by LLoyd Webber.

Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. It is loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the last week of Jesus's life, beginning with the preparation for the arrival of Jesus and his disciples in Jerusalem and ending with the crucifixion.
The work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters. Much of the plot centers on Judas, who is dissatisfied with the direction in which Jesus is steering his disciples. Contemporary attitudes, sensibilities and slang pervade the rock opera's lyrics, and ironic allusions to modern life are scattered throughout the depiction of political events. Stage and film productions accordingly contain many intentional anachronisms.
Initially unable to get backing for a stage production, the composers released it as a rock opera album musical. The success of the album led to the show's Broadway on-stage debut in 1971. By 1980, the musical had grossed more than $237 million worldwide. Running for over eight years in London between 1972 and 1980 it held the record for longest-running West End musical before it was overtaken by Cats in 1989.