Andrew Lloyd Webber Confirms Profumo Musical Will Focus on STEPHEN WARD; Show Nearly Ready

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is nearly finished with his work on a musical based on the events surrounding the 1963 Profumo Affair, and we revealed back in December that the project will reunite him with lyricist Don Black and playwright Christopher Hampton - the team behind SUNSET BOULEVARD, which debuted in the West End in 1993 and later won seven 1995 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Now Lloyd Webber tells Express, "The show is far more about the fate of the scapegoat of the scandal, Stephen Ward, than Profumo." This matches with Lloyd Webber's confirmation earlier this week of the show's Working Title, "Stephen Ward," who was the pimp that brought showgirl Christine Keeler and John Profumo together. In fact, Lloyd Webber previously stated that the relationship between Keeler and Profumo will make up only about seven minutes of the narrative.

The Profumo Affair was a 1963 British political scandal. John Profumo, Secretary of State for War, became involved with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy; he then lied in the House of Commons when he was questioned about it, forcing the resignation of Profumo and damaging the reputation of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's government.

Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre, and has been referred to as "the most commercially successful composer in history." Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass. He has also gained a number of honours, including a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage from the British Government for services to Music, seven Tony Awards, three Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, fourteen Ivor Novello Awards, seven Olivier Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2006.

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski