So this is really just a discussion about degree then?
If ALW is widely lauded then there has to be a fair amount of basis of credibility for it.
He has a knack, a talent, that he has got off his ass and developed. Skills and talents are pyramidal in my humble estimation, for every great performer there are a raft of lesser talents below and so on.
He is near the top of the pyramid in his field. Which is writing and producing musicals and creating a swathe of public support in his work. He's an entertainer, I don't suppose even he would claim to be exceptionally gifted.
But his work is very pleasant on the ear.
To dismiss him as not being a heavyweight is beside the point.
He's done it, what talent he has had, he has used it.
Which most people don't do, they hide their light under a bushel and then criticise those that have the balls to go out and achieve something.

But that is not the same as Lloyd Webber not being credible as a songwriter. Whatever you think of his ratio of good to bad songs, or of how he compares to Rogers and Hammerstein (and others), to say that the man responsible for 'Music Of The Night', 'Don't Cry For Me Argentina' and 'Love Changes Everything' is not a credible songwriter is either snobbery or stupidity. As we cannot level accusations of stupidity at you, that only leaves one option...

Will anyone come to the rescue of a damsel in distress?

Anyway ...
Isn't the art of winning this miserable contest to put the song out in advance?
That German winning thing that won two years or so ago being a example.
It shouldn't be allowed.
God that German song was miserable!
Miserable is my word for today.

Fair comment, can't really argue with that.

Not often, I'd say.

Les Miserables is hardly a 'big' production, is it? There are hardly any props, and apart from the barricades there's hardly any scenery. All the visuals are achieved by damn good acting and clever use of a revolving stage.