This writer will probably be stoned to death for saying this, but the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber are not really that spectacular when you take away the elaborate stage sets and drama.
However, that the man has composed 11 musicals - and most of them long-running hits - by the age of 48 is certainly an amazing achievement, and reason enough for a tour of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
That Anthony Warlow and Lloyd Webber's ex-wife, Sarah Brightman, who both found fame in different versions of The Phantom of the Opera, should do the honours by performing is a rightful tribute as well.
Hong Kong's evenings with The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber started with a rather unspectacular overture from Jesus Christ Superstar from the 35-piece orchestra, although they warmed up very quickly after that, helped along by an energetic repertoire by the vocal ensemble of eight.
With the starting segment performed by the largely unknown ensemble, it was no wonder that there were signs of a little impatience as to when the stars of the night would show. They finally made sporadic appearances for a duet and some Song & Dance renditions, before Brightman graced the audience with an operatic Chanson d'Enfance from Webber's lesser-known Aspects of Love.
By the end of act one, with Warlow giving an excellent performance of Gethsemane from Jesus Christ Superstar, the man next to me was using my shoulder for a pillow.
Act two, however, more than made up for its slower predecessor, starting with a nostalgic overture from Sunset Boulevard followed by numbers from the musical about actress Norma Desmond.
