Andrew Lloyd Webber

Webber's first major hit was the (then) highly-controversial Jesus Christ: Superstar. It is based on the last week of Jesus' life, from His arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday until The Crucifixion. The Resurrection was left ambiguous. Unlike all previous stories about Christ, Superstar was told from Judas' perspective, portraying him as morally conflicted rather than greedy. Since the show replaces the traditional orchestra with guitars, keyboards, and drum sets, it if commonly referred to as a "rock opera" rather than a musical.
Written at the height of the counter-culture movement, many modern aspects were incorporated into the show: the Apostles were portrayed as hippies, King Herod looked like Bob Pinciotti, and the Roman soldiers were dressed as American GIs. Oh, and Judas was black.
But what pissed off the religious-right the most was Mary Magadalene. Despite what those smug kids who hang out at Barnes & Noble all day would have you believe, Mary was a prostitute. But rather than simply being grateful to JC for saving her life, here she was depicted as actually liking Jesus. Like... more than a friend.
Over the next 30 years, various Church groups began to relax their previous boycotts, and today it is even performed by youth groups along with Godspell.

His next major project was Evita, which was released in 1976. It was based on the life Eva Peron, who was the wife of Argentinian facist Juan Peron. Eva was like the Princess Diana of South America, in that she came from a lower class family and used her new found affluence to help those less fortunate. Also like Princess Di, she was also a notorious tramp. Act I features a song where Peron's soldiers sing about what a slut they think she is.
For some reason, Che Guevara is the narrarator, and was played in the original Broadway production by Inigo Montoya.

You sold out our people's interests to British commercialism. Prepare to die.

The 80s may have given us the best music, the best movies, and the best video games, but it was probably the most cheesetastic decade for theatre. In a move that many cherish and many more loathe, Webber decided to write a musical based on a book of poetry by T.S. Elliot. That book was Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats.

You knew this was coming.

For all it's faults (and there are many, such as the absence of an actual plot), it still doesn't change the fact that it is probably the most popular play (musical or otherwise) in history, performing eight shows a week for 18 years.

Webber followed this up with Starlight Express. It was probably his least-critically-acclaimed, but never-the-less popular work to date. It features actors on rollerskates portraying the antrhopomorphic segments of a magical train.
Yup...
In case you were curious, the only country that still performs it is Germany.

Webber finished off the 80s with the show that would eventually claim the title of Longest Running Show on Broadway, The Phantom of the Opera. In case you weren't familiar with the 1911 book or the literally hundreds of movies based on it, Phantom tells the story of a horribly disfigured recluse who has made his home in the catacombs of the Paris Opera. He soon begins to obsess over a talented young understudy, and begins sabotaging the professional singers as a way of showing affection. Of course, as many other guys who have gone through the trouble of sabotage & manslaughter to prove our love can understand, she already has a boyfriend. Some swordfights, some kidnapping, and some more swordfights later, and we have a classic on our hands.

"Stalking" is such an ugly word.

Webber's last big hit was Sunset Blvd., which of course is based on the classic film of the same name. It won him his 6^th & 7^th Tony Awards.

In 1996, a film version was made of Evita. Now in real life, Eva Peron was a tv actresses, though not a very good one. For authenticities sake, they decided to cast a very bad actress: Madonna.

Totally Latina

Then again, we do have the song about what a tramp she is, so maybe it wasn't such a bad call after all.

Eight years later, Webber's version of Phantom of the Opera was finally produced for the big screen. As if there wasn't enough reason to think that muscials were gay, this was directed by openly & flamboyantly gay Joel Schumacher, the same man who put nipples on the Batsuit, and placed a poster of a semi-nude Rob Lowe in the bedroom of a 13-year-old boy.
Now with all these overwhelming Cons working against it, surely there must be a Pro in there somewhere? Well, yes, in-fact, there is. In the form of the Phantom being played by King Leo-fucking-nidas!!

This! Is! PARIS!

Webber recently announced that he is working on a sequel entitled The Phantom of Manhattan.

Criticism

Webber's shows have often been criticized for being more style than substance. More work being put into catchy songs, elaborate dance routines, and over-the-top special effects than there is on story and character development. In short, he's theatres answer to Michael Bay.

You also might've noticed the words "Based On" used quite often up there. Webber's critics (and like Michael Bay, there are an ass-load of them) like to point that nothing he's ever done has been an original work, they've always been based on a previous existing work. Webber politely tells them (as the English are wont to do) to go fuck themselves. hat's probably because..

He is insanely wealthy.

Because his shows always tend to make an ungodly ammount of money in spite of their faults (again, the Michael Bay comparisons), Webber is estimated to be worth at the very least $750 million. He and J. K. Rowling probably play chess on giant boards using actual human beings.

Webber, seen here relaxing at home.

Oh and by the way, you know how it said earlier that he was knighted, making him "Sir Andrew"? A few years after that, Queen Elizabeth II felt that it simply wasn't enough, and bestowed upon the title of "Baron."

Baron Lloyd Webber. With a name like that, and the fact that he's an evil genius with enough money to buy a Third-World country, it's only a matter of time before he becomes Doctor Doom.