Andrew Lloyd Webber has responded to the early end of “Cats: Jellicle Ball,” claiming that Broadway musicals are in crisis. In a lengthy social media post on Tuesday, the composer warned that the show’s high production costs make it difficult for creators to make a living and that investors are worried about backing original work.
“Without action,” Lloyd Webber wrote, “Broadway risks becoming comparable to Hollywood’s empty soundstages, increasingly darkened theaters where bold new works once existed.”
“Theatre owners, unions and producers must come together urgently,” he added. “Every part of our industry is involved in finding solutions…Broadway is more than just a collection of streets and buildings. It’s an idea, one of the greatest cultural ideas America has given us. That idea is now in serious jeopardy. We’re asking all of you who have the power to protect it to come together before it’s too late.”
It’s a candid message from Lloyd Webber, one of the most successful composers in theater history, and it comes as others are sounding the alarm about the health of musicals. Six original musicals premiered on Broadway last season, down from 14 or 15 in the previous two seasons.
“Cats: Jellicle Ball” received 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 making between $900,000 and $1 million a week, which is quite a number. However, “Jellicle Ball” lost the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical to “Ragtime,” and sales plummeted.
Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard.” The production was revived on Broadway in 2024 in a stripped-down version directed by Jamie Lloyd, which won a Tony Award for Best Revival and starring Nicole Scherzinger. However, the show failed to recoup its investment.
“The painful truth is that as things stand, it makes little economic sense to bring almost any new show to Broadway,” Lloyd Webber said on social media. “The costs are enormous. Creators, writers and directors are often forced to accept minimal royalties just to get their work staged.”
“Of course, established Broadway hits continue to be profitable,” he added. “But Broadway cannot survive creatively or commercially with three old shows. There must be a future for new, bold productions.”
Despite complaints about Broadway’s financial situation, Lloyd Webber and Lloyd will bring Evita to Broadway next spring with Rachel Zegler. The show premiered in London in 2025 and was a huge hit. However, the composer seems reluctant to commit to other Broadway productions. In an interview with Variety about Evita, Lloyd Webber hinted that his next musical, The Illusionist, might not be staged in New York.
“I’ve been worried about Broadway for a long time because people don’t really get their money back and most of these shows have a limited run,” Lloyd Webber said. “It takes a brave person to bring something to Broadway now.”
