Andrew Lloyd Webber checks out ‘Unmasked’ at Paper Mill Playhouse (SEE PHOTOS)

by JAY LUSTIG
Andrew Lloyd Webber Paper Mill

PHOTOS BY JERRY DALIA

Glenn Close, center, and Andrew Lloyd Webber, standing next to her, met cast members and others backstage at “Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, Feb. 22.

Andrew Lloyd Webber will be making virtual appearances at the Paper Mill Playhouse through March 1, narrating, through taped video segments, the new musical, “Unmasked: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber,” in which actors sing his songs and he talks about his work and his life.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, left, with Paper Mill Playhouse producing artistic director Mark S. Hoebee and Glenn Close, backstage at the theater, Feb. 22.

But on Feb. 22, he was at the Millburn theater in the flesh, watching the show with his friend, the actress Glenn Close, and then meeting cast members and others, backstage, after it was over.

“Unmasked,” which is making its world premiere in Millburn, features songs from throughout Webber’s career, including show-stoppers such as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” (from “Jesus Christ Superstar”), “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” (from “Evita”), “Memory” (from “Cats”), “The Music of the Night” (from “The Phantom of the Opera”) and the “Love Never Dies” title song, as well as some novelty numbers written for the production.

Click here for my review.

In 1994 and 1995, Close played the lead role of actress Norma Desmond in the Broadway production of “Sunset Boulevard,” for which Webber wrote the music. Close won a Tony for her performance. In 2017, she reprised the role in a four-month Broadway run.

For more on “Unmasked,” or to order tickets, visit papermill.org.

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