Phantom of the Kremlin

Those of us who had wondered about Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s taste in musical theater will find this of interest: The Times of London reports that Putin met for an hour and a half the other day with songmeister Andrew Lloyd Webber. The putative reason for the meeting was the Eurovision Song Contest, the finals of which take place in Moscow in 2009. (The Eastern bloc countries had caused some mischief in previous years by not voting for the British entry.) But as an unabashed fan, Putin couldn’t resist grilling the Broadway legend. “He suggested a Russian Orthodox Church influence on Jesus Christ Superstar—he was correct—and we discussed the relationship between Islam and Christianity,” Webber said.