BWW Reviews: Lloyd Webber Music Soars in LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING at Pittsburgh CLO

Calling all Andrew Lloyd Webber fans! Pittsburgh CLO's LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING: THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER, a musical revue composed of Mr. Lloyd Webber's greatest hits - and then some - runs now through July 14 at the Benedum Center.

On the surface, LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING is more of a concert than a story-driven musical, the nearly two-and-a-half hour evening broken up into short groupings of song and dance from Lloyd Webber's most noteworthy shows. However, though the show is, indeed, a production (and a production that pulls out all the stops, at that), don't expect to get any semblance of story in these neatly pre-packaged segments: as a collective whole, the performed songs seem almost to have been simply chosen from a hat, with no true consistency from one vignette to another.

But the show's four lead singers, as well as a talented ensemble of eight, manage to carry the show splendidly. Most unique about this motley cast is that each of the four leads' voices has a timbre distinct and different from the three others, giving each actor the chance to sing his or her own host of stylized Lloyd Webber numbers throughout the evening.

Kevin Kern's shining moment comes at the end of act one when the entire cast brings down the house with "Superstar" (from, of course, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR), and Laurie Gayle Stevenson, whose voice has soared with backing from groups like The National Symphony and The Royal Philharmonic, quite literally stops the show for a brief period after a dazzling operatic feat at the end of the title number from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Frank D'Ambrosio, who spent six years playing the Phantom of Broadway, joins her for this number, as well as an impressing rendition of "The Music of the Night." Additionally, Liz Callaway presents an - aptly - memorable take on CATS's infamous ballad "Memory" as well as SUNSET BOULEVARD's "As If We Never Said Goodbye."

The costumes, provided by Troika Entertainment, deserve a special mention all their own: with costume changes for nearly every song, seeing what sparkly get-up the actors will decide to don next in is practically half the fun.

The show's biggest issue appears to be that it tries to pack the greatest punch by throwing as many Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals into the mix as it possibly can, including a handful of Mr. Lloyd Webber's lesser-known compositions. Though admirable, one would surely be hard-pressed to find an audience member who can hum along to "Seeing is Believing" from ASPECTS OF LOVE or "I Believe" from THE WOMAN IN WHITE - at least not compared to hits from shows like CATS, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, and THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, only to name a few. Songs from these shows are visibly the biggest crowd-pleasers.

LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING performs through Thursday, July 14th, at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Tickets start at $27 and are available online at pittsburghCLO.org, by calling 412-456-6666 or at the Box Office at Theater Square. Special discounts and packages are available for groups. Groups of 10 or more may call 412-325-1582.

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