Andrew Lloyd Webber, the legendary composer, recently dedicated the final performance of his 35-year run on Broadway’s “The Phantom of the Opera” to his son, Nicholas Lloyd Webber, who passed away following a battle with stomach cancer in March (HuffPost). In an opinion piece on The New York Times, Andrew reveals that he was quoting P.G. Wodehouse with his eldest son, Nick, who was in hospice care when he uttered, “An apple a day, if well aimed, keeps the doctor away” (The New York Times).
The Phantom of the Opera is not the only well-known musical from Lloyd Webber. He spoke to Jimmy Fallon about his other well-known musicals, such as Evita and Cats, and even teased a possible return of The Phantom (Broadway World Video). However, Lloyd Webber shared that he had to make some cuts to the original version of the Phantom. For example, the musical originally had live pigeons, but they were eventually cut because they made too much mess (Playbill).
Now that The Phantom of the Opera has ended its Broadway run, Lloyd Webber worries about the math of Broadway (Newser). The pandemic has caused many changes in the theatre industry, which has had an impact on the economics of Broadway productions.
Despite this, Lloyd Webber plans to persist with his new musical, “Bad Cinderella,” which he revealed during his talk with Fallon (Playbill). He also appeared on Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber Talks Phantom of the Opera and Performs Some Broadway Hits where he discussed the closing of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and the idea behind his Broadway musical (Yahoo).
Andrew Lloyd Webber has had a successful run in the world of musical theatre. His loss of Nick combined with the latest closing of his iconic show has left many wondering what the future holds for Lloyd Webber’s creations (NBC News). One thing is clear, however: his impact on Broadway will not be forgotten.
