A MUSICAL TRIBUTE TO LLOYD WEBBER.

Byline: Daryl H. Miller Daily News Theater Critic

The concert-style ``Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night'' does not have an oversize garbage heap, candelabra-lit lake, levitating Sunset Boulevard mansion nor any of the other dazzling scenic devices that characterize the British composer's shows.

We are left to focus, then, on the music. Whether it bears up to that sort of scrutiny depends upon the listener. After all, few composers draw the extreme reactions that Lloyd Webber does. Legions of fans find his sweeping, insistent melodies to be the most thrilling theater music imaginable. Others find them unsophisticated, bombastic and downright annoying - one small step above those advertising jingles that hook themselves in the brain and refuse to be dislodged.

I think both camps would have to agree, however, that the music is dramatic, from the driving rock anthems of ``Jesus Christ Superstar'' to the spooky film noir soundtrack of ``Sunset Boulevard.'' And that drama is the star of this touring show, now at downtown's Ahmanson Theatre and moving on to Long Beach's Terrace Theater.

The show was conceived by David Thompson and staged by Scott Ellis, the pair that brought us the rapturous concert collection of John Kander and Fred Ebb songs, ``The World Goes 'Round,'' as well as ``Sondheim - A Celebration at Carnegie Hall.'' In ``Music of the Night,'' they deliver a careful balance of song-and-dance numbers (most of which place the songs in imaginative new contexts) and stand-and-deliver solos (where the singer stands in place and just belts the song for all it's worth).Most of Lloyd Webber's greatest hits are included, some woven into a collection of songs from a given musical, others presented on their own. A 32-piece on-stage orchestra - consisting of everything from violins to electric guitar - provides lush accompaniment.

Among the chief delights is a whimsical collection of songs from ``Cats'' and ``Starlight Express,'' performed by the energetic and vocally gifted chorus as a sort of ``Grease!''-inspired sock hop. The women move slinkily to the coy rhythms of ``Macavity,'' the men pump their arms to the testosterone-driven melody of ``Pumping Iron'' and they join for a party-down chorus of ``Crazy,'' complete with references to such dances as the swim and the mashed potato.

Choreographers John DeLuca and Kathleen Marshall nearly steal the show from Sir Andrew here, only to nab it outright later in the program with a wry new take on the Hollywood insincerity lampooned in ``Sunset Boulevard's'' ``Let's Have Lunch.'' Members of the chorus sit on a row of chairs, rhythmically crossing and uncrossing their legs, clasping their hands behind their heads and other working-at-a-desk poses, rising to punctuate the title phrase with the jaunty salutes and finger stabs that are so much a part of the body language in hug-hug, kiss-kiss Hollywood.

Headliner Kevin Gray, late of the Ahmanson presentation of ``Miss Saigon,'' sings several powerful solos (though his high baritone voice becomes too nasal and piercing from time to time). He's at his best in his rendition of ``Phantom of the Opera's'' ``Music of the Night,'' which he sings in the same whispered bel canto as the original production's Michael Crawford, as well as mimicking a few of Crawford's undulating, sorcerer-casting-a-spell hand gestures.

As entertaining as ``Music of the Night'' is, though, I have to say: $65 ($60 in Long Beach) for the high-end tickets seems a bit much to pay for a mere concert. For that roll of cash, they deserve a levitating mansion.

THE FACTS The show: ``Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night.''

Where: Ahmanson Theatre, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sundays; through May 5.

Running time: Two hours, 20 minutes; one intermission.

Tickets: $15 to $65, available through Ticketmaster, [phone].

Also: May 7-12 at the Terrace Theater, Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center; $35 to $60, also through Ticketmaster.

Our rating: Three stars

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Photo: ly chorus gives a sock-hop treatment to songs from ` `Cats'' and ``Starlight Express'' in ``Andrew Lloyd Webber - Music of the Night.''