"I had to go and sing with the musical director of the film, Simon Lee, who is just incredible, and it went great. I sang with him about five things, things we'd worked on. And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber"
About this Quote
The name-drops do the heavy lifting, but not as vanity. Simon Lee is positioned as the safe room: "just incredible" signals trust, a collaborator who can help an actor cross a border into musicianship. Then comes the pivot: "And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber". The phrase lands like a cliff edge. Butler doesn't describe Lloyd Webber; he doesn't have to. In musical theater culture, that name is less a person than an institution, a gatekeeper with taste, power, and a long memory. The subtext is anxiety disguised as momentum: if you keep moving, you don't have to linger on the fear.
Context matters. Butler was not primarily known as a singer, and the Phantom of the Opera casting discourse was always about legitimacy: can a film star carry the vocal demands, or is this Hollywood glitz in opera clothing? This quote reads like a preemptive defense delivered in a friendly tone. He's not claiming genius; he's emphasizing preparation, coaching, steps taken. It works because it frames artistry as labor and stakes as real, turning what could be a tabloid anecdote into a small story about earning a seat at someone else's table.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Butler, Gerard. (2026, January 17). I had to go and sing with the musical director of the film, Simon Lee, who is just incredible, and it went great. I sang with him about five things, things we'd worked on. And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-to-go-and-sing-with-the-musical-director-of-48488/
Chicago Style
Butler, Gerard. "I had to go and sing with the musical director of the film, Simon Lee, who is just incredible, and it went great. I sang with him about five things, things we'd worked on. And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-to-go-and-sing-with-the-musical-director-of-48488/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I had to go and sing with the musical director of the film, Simon Lee, who is just incredible, and it went great. I sang with him about five things, things we'd worked on. And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-had-to-go-and-sing-with-the-musical-director-of-48488/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.



