Entertainment
Andrew Lloyd Webber booed at Cinderella closing night after he calls staging West End show ‘costly mistake’-Tori Brazier-Entertainment – Metro
Show bosses were previously criticised for how its unexpected closure was announced.
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Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s comments were booed by the audience as a letter written by the composer was read out during the final bow of his West End musical, Cinderella.
The stage show, starring Carrie Hope Fletcher in the lead role, closed for good on Sunday night at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, more than a month earlier than initially planned.
Its closure also stopped an in-the-works cast change due to take over in July on a year’s contract, which included Strictly Come Dancing finalist John Whaite in his theatrical debut.
Reports at the time claimed that some staff read the news on social media before being told themselves, which sparked a protest outside the theatre by performing arts union Equity, who condemned producers for ‘effectively sacking by press release’.
The musical theatre impresario was not in attendance for closing night but passed on a letter that was read out by the production’s director, Laurence O’Connor.
Clips from the speech were uploaded to social media, which showed audience reaction to Lord Webber’s words, and in particular laughs and surprised murmurs when, after thanking the cast and creative team, he referred to staging the production as ‘a costly mistake’.
Lord Webber couldn’t attend Cinderella’s closing night in person, but wrote a letter to be read out (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Director Laurence O’Connor was met with audible reactions from the audience as he read out the composer’s words (Picture: adam_james2204/Twitter)
There was also a loud chorus of boos when O’Connor let the audience know that Lord Webber had asked him to read out a letter, prompting him to try and placate the audience with a ‘be nice’ as the cast behind him raised their eyebrows and reacted to the crowd before he began reading.
‘I am hugely sorry not to be able to be with you today. But I want to thank everyone, our fabulous cast, crew and musicians, the superb creative team – Laurence, JoAnn, Emerald, David, Gabriella, Gareth and Bruno – everyone who works in Really Useful and the Gillie for bringing Belleville beautifully to life,’ O’Connor read out.
‘I once wrote a song with the late great Jim Steinman called If Only. I keep thinking, if only we had opened three months later we wouldn’t have had to postpone our opening twice because of Covid. If only we hadn’t had to close for a month over Christmas and New Year, once again thanks to Covid. And if only we had had a crumb of help from the Recovery Fund, I promise you we would have been here for a very long time to come,’ he continued.
The production had been hit with Covid-related disruption since first being workshopped in 2019, before previewing in June 2021 with a reduced audience due to pandemic restrictions.
Equity and Bectu unions protested outside the show after it was abruptly announced its upcoming closure, with little notice for those involved (Picture: PA)
The letter added: ‘Anyway, my huge thanks to everyone. We kept the government’s feet to the flame and lead the charge to the West End opening again.
‘It might have been a costly mistake, but I am proud that we did and proud of everyone who supported me. Cinderella got some of the best reviews of my career.’
‘I am immensely proud of it and it’s hugely due to you. All my love, Andrew,’ O’Connor concluded the letter.
Lord Webber with stars Carrie Hope Fletcher and Ivano Turco on Cinderella’s press night in August 2021 (Picture: Getty)
As well as confused rection to ‘costly mistake’, the audience then booed as well as cheered in reaction to the end of the composer’s letter.
When contacted for comment, a spokesperson from Lord Webber’s Really Useful Group told Metro.co.uk: ‘The reference to a ‘costly mistake’ was never – and would never be – about the production. It related to the early opening of the show and the myriad challenges faced because of the Covid-19 pandemic, which the full text makes clear.
‘As Andrew said in the letter, he is immensely proud of the show and that is hugely due to everyone involved.’
The Really Useful Group denied that Lord Webber’s comment was about the show, rather the challenges of Covid and its impact on the production (Picture: PA)
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The show is still set for Broadway next March in a new production with production company No Guarantees.
However, it’s been reported that ‘every aspect of production’ will be ‘revamped before it heads there’.
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