Lloyd Webber Warns Broadway in 'Dire Danger' as Cats Revival Closes
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- Cats: The Jellicle Ball will close on August 8 after just five months on Broadway despite winning three Tony Awards this year and pulling in roughly $1m in weekly grosses, which the source says was insufficient against the show's $18m production cost.
- Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote in a Tuesday X thread that 'bringing almost any new show to Broadway makes little financial sense,' urging theater owners, unions, and producers to 'come together urgently' or risk 'Hollywood's empty soundstages.'
- Lloyd Webber said creators, writers, and directors are 'often forced to accept minimal royalties simply to get work staged,' and that many now survive on a fixed weekly fee rather than sharing in a show's success.
- Broadway's economics were illustrated by a New York Times-cited figure: 46 musicals have opened since the Covid-19 pandemic at a combined cost of roughly $800m, with Tammy Faye, Boop!, and Smash all cancelled within four months of opening.
- Broadway as a whole grossed a record $1.91bn in ticket sales during the 2025-2026 season, led by productions like Every Brilliant Thing starring Daniel Radcliffe — a figure the source presents as evidence that established hits thrive even as new work struggles.
- Lloyd Webber's Evita revival, starring Rachel Zegler after a successful London West End run, is set to open at Broadway's Winter Garden theatre in spring 2027.
Why it matters: Lloyd Webber is simultaneously sounding a crisis alarm and personally betting on Broadway — his Evita revival with Rachel Zegler is set for spring 2027 — which sharpens his critique: producers, investors, and creators all lose under current cost structures, with 46 post-pandemic musicals burning through roughly $800m and three high-profile flops closing within four months, even as overall Broadway grosses hit a record $1.91bn.
