Show Business: Magician of The Musical

Lloyd Webber scores again with Phantom

All right, gentlemen, we all agree there is nothing wrong with the Broadway musical that a few hits wouldn't cure. But what we need is some new ideas.

O.K., how about this: long-haired hippie from working-class family in ancient Palestine (salt of the earth dad, saintly mom) falls in with tough crowd of longshoremen, starts proletarian pacifist movement and gets offed by protofascist pigs from Rome.

Never work: too depressing, and it lacks an upbeat ending. No love interest either. Next?

Spunky Argentine firecracker from wrong side of tracks rides casting couch to boffo b.o. in Buenos Aires, weds political top...

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