Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of musical theatre's most successful composers, has issued a stark warning about the state of Broadway after a celebrated production announced it would close far earlier than planned.
"Cats: The Jellicle Ball," a bold reimagining of Lloyd Webber's musical, said it would end its run on August 8, only months after opening at the Broadhurst Theatre and just weeks after winning three Tony Awards. Responding to the news, Lloyd Webber said Broadway was "in dire danger of rivalling Hollywood's empty soundstages with increasingly dark theatres," according to Variety.
A hit that could not hold on
The production had been widely praised. Rather than dressing performers as cats, it relocated the show to the world of New York's ballroom scene, the queer subculture of vogue and runway competition, and won Tonys for its direction, choreography and costume design. Yet despite the acclaim, ticket sales fell sharply after the awards, dropping to well under $1 million a week, and the show could not find a path to recouping its reported budget of around $18 million.
Its closure, months ahead of schedule, became a flashpoint for a wider anxiety about whether even successful new musicals can survive on Broadway.
'Impossible for young creatives'
Lloyd Webber placed the blame on the economics of staging a show. "For any show, it makes practically no financial sense to come to Broadway with things as they are," he said, as reported by BroadwayWorld. He argued that writers, directors and other creators are increasingly asked to accept minimal royalties and fixed fees, making it "impossible for young creatives to make a living from theatre alone."
The composer called on theatre owners, unions and producers to come together urgently to address what he described as a crisis coming to a head, and said the show's early end "breaks my heart."
A thinning slate
His warning echoes broader concerns about how few new musicals now reach Broadway. The number of original musicals opening in a season has fallen sharply from recent years, as rising costs push producers toward safer, more familiar titles. Supporters of the industry note that Broadway has weathered predictions of decline before, and the filmed version of "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" is to be preserved at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. But for Lloyd Webber, the loss of an acclaimed, award-winning production so soon after opening is evidence that the model itself is under strain.
