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Andrew Lloyd Webber responded to the early closure of “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” by arguing that Broadway musicals are in crisis. In a lengthy social media poston Tuesday, the composer warned that the high costs of mounting
shows makes it hard for creators to earn a living and has investors worried about supporting original works.
“Without action, Broadway risks rivaling Hollywood’s empty soundstages: increasingly dark theatres where bold new work once lived,” Lloyd Webber wrote.
“Theatre owners, unions and producers must come together urgently,” he added. “Every part of the industry has a stake in finding a solution…Broadway is more than a street or a collection of buildings. It is an idea — and one of the greatest cultural ideas America has given us. That idea is now in dire danger. I beg everyone with the power to protect it: come together before it is too late.”
It’s a blunt message from Lloyd Webber, one of the most successful composers in theater history, and it comes as others have sounded the alarm about the health of musicals. Last season, six original musicals debuted on Broadway, a steep drop from the 14 or 15 that opened in the previous two seasons.
“Cats: The Jellicle Ball” had some of the best reviews of the year, with critics praising the decision to restage Lloyd Webber’s “Cats” as a ballroom competition pitting drag performers against each other on the runway. Initially, the show was earning between $900,000 to $1 million a week, a respectable figure. However, sales fell sharply after “The Jellicle Ball” lost the best revival of a musical Tony Award to “Ragtime.”
Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Blvd.” was remounted in 2024 on Broadway by director Jamie Lloyd in a stripped-down version that won a Tony for best revival as well as for Nicole Scherzinger’s lead performance. However, the show failed to recoup its investment.
“The painful truth is that, with things as they are, bringing almost any new show to Broadway makes little financial sense,” Lloyd Webber wrote on social media. “The costs are immense. Creators, writers and directors are often forced to accept minimal royalties simply to get work staged.”
“Of course, Broadway’s established hits remain profitable,” he added. “But Broadway cannot survive creatively or commercially on three old shows. New and daring work must have a future.”
Despite his frustration with the economics of Broadway, Lloyd Webber and Lloyd are bringing “Evita” to Broadway next spring with Rachel Zegler. A 2025 production of the show was a smash hit when it debuted in London. But the composer seems reticent to commit to other Broadway productions. In an interview with Variety tied to “Evita,” Lloyd Webber suggested that he might not mount his next musical, “The Illusionist,” in New York.
“I’ve been worried about Broadway for a very long time, because people are not really able to get their money back and most of these shows have limited runs,” Lloyd Webber said. “It’s a brave person who brings something to Broadway now.”
