Matt Trueman 

Andrew Lloyd Webber to star in Nintendo Wii game

Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing and Dance will let gamers perform his songs and compete in Superstar-style sing-offs
  
  

Could Wii start again, please? … Andrew Lloyd Webber is set to make a conquest of another format.
Could Wii start again, please? … Andrew Lloyd Webber is set to make a conquest of another format Photograph: PR

Lara Croft he is not, but composer and theatre impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber will be the star of a new game due out this September.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing and Dance will give players the chance to perform some of the composer's most famous songs.

The game, exclusive to Nintendo Wii, features singing and dancing modes, as well as a career mode that combines both disciplines as players compete to progress to the top of the musical theatre profession. Up to four people can play at any one time, allowing them to compete in the Superstar-style sing-offs that feature in Lloyd Webber's television casting productions.

Thirty-two of Lloyd Webber's songs will feature in the game, drawn from 13 different musicals including Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar, both of which are due for major London revivals in the next 12 months. Others featured include Don't Cry for Me Argentina from Evita, Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Phantom of the Opera.

Six original musicals will not feature, though it is not yet known which. It would be a surprise were the game to include songs from Jeeves, his collaboration with Alan Acykbourn that lasted only 38 performances in 1975, or his 2010 flop Love Never Dies, famously christened Paint Never Dries by theatre bloggers the West End Whingers.

Players will also have the opportunity to "duet" with world-renowned musical theatre stars, many of whom originated roles created by Lloyd Webber. Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford, the original Phantom of the Opera, have all provided in-game performances, as have Boyzone, David Essex and former Joseph Donny Osmond.

Announcing the game's launch, Paul Nicholls of distributors Koch Media said: "Andrew Lloyd Webber and his creations are a British institution that have been enjoyed by generations across the world. The chance to bring this product to market for the Nintendo Wii is both an honour and hugely exciting."

Lloyd Webber has won seven Tony awards and six Olivier awards, as well as a handful of film and music prizes, in a 45-year career which has spawned some of the most successful musicals of all time.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals: Sing and Dance is due for release on 14 September.

 

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