To Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, with love

David Renzi

Monday, Sept. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

To hear Melissa Manchester gush about him is to understand why Andrew Lloyd Webber's name appears in his show titles.

"Pop music is not culled from theater music the way it was in the '60s," said Manchester, who is starring in "Andrew Lloyd Webber -- Music of the Night." "The fact that his music is popular means that people are going back to the theater to see his productions."

And, she adds, without the benefit of radio play to entice them. In other words, Andrew Lloyd Webber -- sorry, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber -- must be a genius.

Pop-star Manchester began her affiliation with the British composer in 1987, during a national tour of his "Song and Dance." Musical theater allows her to expand the breadth of her interpretation in a way "Midnight Blue" or "Don't Cry Out Loud" can't.

"The scope of theater music is actually very wide and rangy, and it allows me to sing differently because I'm losing myself in a character. It's been very interesting," she said from a tour stop in Seattle.

For "Andrew Lloyd Webber -- Music of the Night," Manchester is joined on stage by "10 fabulous singers and dancers and a traveling orchestra of 32, thank you very much."

It is less a theatrical presentation than a concert of Webber's songs from a variety of shows, including "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Sunset Boulevard," "Evita," "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera."

"One of the things I'm really enjoying is seeing how successful this form of a revue is," Manchester said. "That's what it is. It's a real American revue, where you're getting highlights of all the musicals ... without having to go through the book (of each production)."

The extent of Manchester's character transformation in "Music of the Night" is a blond wig, which she dons for "Evita."

This spring, Manchester's first musical, "I Sent a Letter to My Love," will premiere at the new Wisdom Bridge Theater in Chicago. It focuses on a brother and sister who live in the Northeast in the 1950s, and the trials and tribulations each face as they reach middle age, after years of the sister caring for her polio-stricken sibling.

"It's my introduction to writing for theater, and it's very hard work," she said. "But I really love it. I would like to do more of it. Next time I would like to write something big. This is just five characters."

Manchester said a college friend, now a playwright, encouraged her for years to write musical theater.

"He came to me with this project and I fell in love with it," she said. Manchester, who won the 1982 Grammy for Best Female Vocalist, explained that the difference between writing for theater and writing pop songs is the intention.

"When you're writing a pop song, you're just writing the song -- the best song you can. When you're writing music for the theater, the purpose of the song is to help move the story forward. So there you are, in this world of purpose. It's just knowing where you're going all the time. You're following a map. You've either accomplished your task or not.

"And I love the theater. I think it's a vital part of our society, and I'd like to be more a part of it."

Manchester is also composing the score for "Lady and the Tramp, Part II," Disney's new animated feature, and she continues to act in the TV sitcom "Blossom."

The show, Manchester said, "has introduced me to a whole generation of teens who don't know that I sing at all. They know me as Blossom's crazy mother."