Andrew Lloyd Webber Revue Unmasked, Directed by John Doyle, Sets World Premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse

New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse has announced an exciting opener to its 2018-2019 season: the world premiere of Unmasked, a revue featuring stories from the creation of some of the best works of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Co-created with filmmaker Richard Curtis (Notting Hill) and directed by Tony winner John Doyle (The Color Purple), the limited run of this brand-new production will start on September 27 and run through October 28.

“I’m so excited to be involved in Unmasked,” said Curtis. “We start from the position of having in the show a huge collection of some of the greatest songs ever written for musical theater—and then learn more about Andrew and his way of working and how the music relates to him and his life. With luck, there’ll be some very fun new stuff, too. I love Andrew and his work—in real life, he has always made me laugh—and in the theater, a lot of his music has made me cry. I’m thrilled to be part of something that I hope will make the audience do both, laugh and cry.”

Doyle said, “I'm thrilled to help create this exciting new theater piece celebrating Andrew's remarkable body of work. An event that explores the art behind his melodies, whilst reflecting his somewhat irreverent, self-deprecating sensibility. It's going to be a lot of fun!”

Mark S. Hoebee, producing artistic director of Paper Mill Playhouse, commented, “Unmasked is another amazing opportunity for our theater to introduce a new title to the musical-theater canon. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a legend and we are fortunate to be working with him, along with Richard and John, on this incredible project.”

Unmasked is described as a portrait drawing from Lloyd Webber’s extensive body of work, with intimate and sometimes unexpected interpretations of his best-loved songs, rediscovered gems and some new material specially written for this production.

Multi-Tony Award winner Lloyd Webber's musicals include Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, Song and Dance, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, School of Rock and Broadway's longest-running musical, The Phantom of the Opera.

In the year Webber releases his memoir (slated for release on March 6), also titled Unmasked, and the personally curated Platinum Collection album (scheduled for release on March 16), the new stage production Unmasked will be an exploration of a man and his music, his creative process and the often surprising manner in which his songs, and the musicals in which they feature, came to be. It will include some of Lloyd Webber’s most recognizable characters interacting with one another for the first time, and new takes on his music, including a cappella versions of his songs and an often wry look at the genre he has, for many, come to define.