{"id":4191,"date":"2026-07-14T18:37:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4191"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:37:17","slug":"after-cats-the-jellicle-ball-closes-andrew-lloyd-webber-warns-musicals-are-in-crisis-broadway-risks-rivaling-hollywoods-empty-soundstages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4191","title":{"rendered":"After \u2018Cats: The Jellicle Ball\u2019 Closes, Andrew Lloyd Webber Warns Musicals Are in Crisis: \u2018Broadway Risks Rivaling Hollywood\u2019s Empty Soundstages\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nAndrew Lloyd Webber responded to the early closure of \u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball\u201d by arguing that Broadway musicals are in crisis. In a lengthy social media post on 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.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cWithout action, Broadway risks rivaling Hollywood\u2019s empty soundstages: increasingly dark theatres where bold new work once lived,\u201d Lloyd Webber wrote.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cTheatre owners, unions and producers must come together urgently,\u201d he added. \u201cEvery part of the industry has a stake in finding a solution\u2026Broadway is more than a street or a collection of buildings. It is an idea \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cCats: The Jellicle Ball\u201d had some of the best reviews of the year, with critics praising the decision to restage Lloyd Webber\u2019s \u201cCats\u201d 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 \u201cThe Jellicle Ball\u201d lost the best revival of a musical Tony Award to \u201cRagtime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tLloyd Webber\u2019s \u201cSunset Blvd.\u201d 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\u2019s lead performance. However, the show failed to recoup its investment.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\u201cThe painful truth is that, with things as they are, bringing almost any new show to Broadway makes little financial sense,\u201d Lloyd Webber wrote on social media. \u201cThe costs are immense. Creators, writers and directors are often forced to accept minimal royalties simply to get work staged.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOf course, Broadway\u2019s established hits remain profitable,\u201d he added. \u201cBut Broadway cannot survive creatively or commercially on three old shows. New and daring work must have a future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite his frustration with the economics of Broadway, Lloyd Webber and Lloyd are bringing \u201cEvita\u201d 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<\/em> tied to \u201cEvita,\u201d Lloyd Webber suggested that he might not mount his next musical, \u201cThe Illusionist,\u201d in New York.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve 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,\u201d Lloyd Webber said. \u201cIt\u2019s a brave person who brings something to Broadway now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ closes early, Andrew Lloyd Webber says Broadway is broken and new musicals are in crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3405,3351],"class_list":["post-4191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-andrew-lloyd-webber","tag-cats-the-jellicle-ball-2"],"yoast_head":"\nAfter \u2018Cats: The Jellicle Ball\u2019 Closes, Andrew Lloyd Webber Warns Musicals Are in Crisis: \u2018Broadway Risks Rivaling Hollywood\u2019s Empty Soundstages\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=4191\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"After \u2018Cats: The Jellicle Ball\u2019 Closes, Andrew Lloyd Webber Warns Musicals Are in Crisis: \u2018Broadway Risks Rivaling Hollywood\u2019s Empty Soundstages\u2019 - 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