Lloyd Webber Signs Deal with William Morris Agency

By Andrew Gans
July 20, 2007

Andrew Lloyd Webber has signed a deal with the William Morris Agency (WMA), his first Hollywood agent in his lengthy career.

The composer, Variety reports, hopes to secure a network deal to create a television reality show that would cast a Broadway production of one of the musicals in his catalogue. Lloyd Webber was involved with two successful U.K. TV reality series: "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?," which found a Maria von Trapp for the Lloyd Webber-produced London revival of The Sound of Music, and "Any Dream Will Do," which cast a Joseph for the recently opened London revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The industry paper says Lloyd Webber has spoken with former collaborator, lyricist Tim Rice, about casting a possible U.S. revival of Joseph via American television. The composer will speak with network executives in early fall to try to persuade them that his reality show will be better executed than NBC's recent "Grease: You're the One That I Want," which cast the leads in the forthcoming Broadway revival of Grease.

"I went to William Morris so I wouldn't be stymied by that abysmal 'Grease' program, which was a complete rip-off of my idea," Lloyd Webber told Variety.

Speaking about his U.K. reality shows, Lloyd Webber added, "Frankly, it made theatre cool and that's something I'd love to do in America. The end game can be bigger than 'American Idol.' Here, we'll be creating a production of a show that will have enormous legs, whether it goes to Broadway or stadium tours, which is the way I originally did Jesus Christ Superstar."

WMA will also be involved in possible lecture tours given by the composer of Evita, Cats and The Phantom of the Opera. They may also be involved in helping some of his stage shows, including Sunset Boulevard, make their way to the silver screen.

However, Lloyd Webber wants to focus on television before film. He is also currently penning a stage sequel to Phantom.