Andrew Lloyd Webber Writes for Daily Mail About Prostate Cancer, 'Love Never Dies', 'Wizard of Oz' & More

In an honest and uninhibited account in the Daily Mail, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber writes about his recent diagnosis with prostate cancer, and the effect it's had on his personal life and his unrelenting work schedule.

Webber pointedly addresses the aversion that many people hold onto in acknowledging, and making public, certain health problems. He points to men who often view health problems as tell-tale signs of weakness. Webber sought to make the fact that he had prostate cancer public, despite directives from his PR team suggesting he avoid the dreaded 'C' word. "I suspect men are deeply embarrassed about any problem that suggests it affects their libido or masculinity. Yet prostate cancer kills a man every 13 minutes. A man is diagnosed every 2.6 minutes. It is the most common form of tumour in men. But prostate cancer, if caught early enough, can be completely eradicated. My specialist is certain that lives are lost because the symptoms can be the kind of stuff that the average macho male is embarrassed by," Webber says.

Webber is a strong advocate for regular testing, "One of the problems in diagnosing prostate cancer is that sometimes there are no symptoms. This shows how important it is for men to have regular blood tests. It was a blood test that alerted me to my problem. I hope that my saga will be of reassurance to the surprisingly large number of men who find themselves in my situation."

Webber was fortunate: the cancer was caught in time. Doctors suggested a prostatectomy be performed to remove the whole gland. Webber's first concern was that it would interfere with a grueling work schedule, "As I had completed my immediate work on Love Never Dies I had nothing in my remaining 2009 diary that was immovable. But 2010 was chock-a-block. My Love Never Dies rehearsals start this month. My television series to find Dorothy (and Toto) for The Wizard Of Oz also starts filming this month and transmitting in the spring. Plus I have the Broadway opening of Love Never Dies in November. 2010 was not the year in which to exit a prostate. 2011 maybe. But I decided it was silly to wait. My prostatectomy was fixed for November 3."

To read the rest of the feature in the Daily Mail, please click here.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me on a Sunday combined as Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of The Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down The Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White. He composed The film scores of Gumshoe and The Odessa File, and Requiem, a setting of The Latin Requiem Mass, for which he won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition. He has also produced in The West End and on Broadway, not only his own work, but The Olivier Award-winning plays La Bête and Daisy Pulls It Off. In 2004 he produced The film version of The Phantom of The Opera. In 2006 he oversaw a new London production of Evita, Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular and pioneered television casting for musical Theater with The hit BBC series "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" which won an International Emmy. He followed this with The equally successful series "Any Dream Will Do." His awards include seven Tonys®, three Grammys, six Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an International Emmy, The Praemium Imperiale and The Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. He was knighted in 1992 and created an honorary life peer in 1997. He's a 2006 Kennedy Center Honoree.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's long awaited new show Love Never Dies will have its World Premiere in London at the Adelphi Theatre on Tuesday 9 March 2010, followed by New York on Thursday 11 November and Australia in 2011.

Love Never Dies continues the story of ‘The Phantom', who has moved from his lair in the Paris Opera House to haunt the fairgrounds of Coney Island, far across the Atlantic. Set ten years after the mysterious disappearance of ‘The Phantom' from Paris, this show is a rollercoaster ride of obsession and intrigue...in which music and memory can play cruel tricks...and ‘The Phantom' sets out to prove that, indeed, "LOVE NEVER DIES".

"The Phantom of the Opera", based on the French novel by Gaston Leroux, has proved a huge success the world over and has been seen by over 100 million people, making it the single most successful entertainment entity in history. The show has been translated into 15 languages and has played in over 25 different countries, including China, Brazil, Poland and Korea. "The Phantom of the Opera" opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on 9 October 1986 starring Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford and celebrated its 23rd London birthday on 9 October 2009. "The Phantom of the Opera" has won a staggering 50 awards worldwide, whilst global album sales currently stand at over 40 million copies.

Performances in London at the Adelphi Theatre will be Mondays - Saturdays at 7.30pm, with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets, priced from £25.00 - £67.50 (to include 75p theatre restoration levy and inclusive of booking fees), are available from the Adelphi Theatre Box Office on 0844 412 4651 or online from www.loveneverdies.com.

 

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