[.ca] Andrew Lloyd Webber: Masterpiece [with CD] (Widescreen) ...

From Amazon.com:
Elaine Paige headlines the international cast of Masterpiece: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, a September 2001 concert in Beijing. Paige sings songs from her roles in Lloyd Webber's musicals Evita, Cats, and Sunset Boulevard, while Kris Phillips, Sandy Lam, Tony Vincent, and others provide solid but rarely thrilling renditions of tunes from such shows as Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of the Opera. There are also orchestral numbers and some dances, but not much staging or costumes--whether performing "Macavity" or "Masquerade," the dance team members look like refugees from Sweet Charity. The obvious comparison is with Andrew Lloyd Webber: A Royal Albert Hall Celebration. Filmed three years later, Celebration includes more from The Beautiful Game and it's a technically superior DVD with DTS sound and an anamorphic widescreen picture. Royal Albert Hall, however, has bigger stars and better performances overall. But both run over two hours and have plenty of variety, so Lloyd Webber fans don't necessarily need to pick one over the other. --David Horiuchi

Additional Features:
Surprisingly, the concert doesn't name who's singing what, though you should be able to identify the singers once you watch the DVD's substantial (46 minutes) making-of documentary. Better yet, the companion CD included with this DVD (also available separately) offers a performer list for its 13 songs (54 minutes), which you can then apply to the rest of the concert. --David Horiuchi

kris phillips is a star!:
the performances of the ensemble cast were great no doubt, but it was kris phillips (fei xiang) who really shined. he has an incredible voice and stage presence.

Liked it a lot at the beginning:
The first time I watched the DVD, it was truly amazing. I really enjoyed watching all the numbers. There were tracks that I hadn't seen anywhere else (eg. Masquarade from Phantom); The other ALW classics were all very captivating and stirring. I was going to watch it over and over again. A funny thing though - the more I watched, the less I liked it. Being recorded live, there were lots of things that went wrong... missed notes, croaking voices, those awful costumes, etc. These mistakes actually started to annoy me. I also have Les Miserables and the ALW concert in Britain - and those performances were flawless. My advice - if you're going to buy this DVD, sit back and simply enjoy the performance... it really is very well done if you want to be entertained. But if you're a critic and looking for perfection - you'll probably tire of the show after watching 2 or 3 times.

Kris Phillips Shone!:
Kris Phillips took passion into his roles, showing a nice bit of acting to create a splash of interest. His duet in the Phantom of the Opera is truly worth seeing; both performers gave it their best and it really showed. It's worth purchasing for a quiet evening spent enjoying the musical arts.

Great!:
Being chinese in heritage, it was great to be able to view such use of the building in Beijing. It was also amazing to be able to see such beautiful works performed by such an excellent cast and orchestra. Kris Phillips was awesome, and he had such presence on the stage.

Alright ... Not One of the Best ... Could Have Been Better:
The first time I watched this show on PBS, I thought to myself, "This is alright." Alright, yes; meaning that it could have been better. Don't get me wrong: the entire concert is well concieved and all. But I feel the thing as kind of a "rush rush" job just to put more cash in ALW's already hefty pockets and nothing else. Unlike most other Broadway programs, which seem to contain and evoke more passion. Nevertheless, MASTERPIECE does contain some awesome highlights; and by this regard, is at least worth a look. Elaine Page is, as always, very good here; her voice just seems to shine. Kris Phillips, on the other hand, while an alright singer, didn't impress me at all in this show. Music of the Night, for example: he literally seems to strain and tense up through the entire song; exhibiting neither emotion nor depth. He has a good voice. It's just obvious here that Broadway is not his forte. It is up to you to buy Masterpiece or not. For me, it's not worth it; there is so much better stuff out there: Hey! Mr. Producer, the Lloyd Webber 50th birthday show, Michael Ball at Royal Albert Hall, the Les Mis concert, etc. Perhaps I have higher standards than some when it comes to musical theater. But to me, MASTERPIECE isn't that great of a concert.