Andrew Lloyd Webber says Broadway in ‘dire danger’ as Cats musical announces early closing

The legendary composer warned theaters could soon meet the same fate as Hollywood’s ‘empty soundstages’ Andrew Lloyd Webber has spoken out about the precarious state of Broadway in the wake of the early closing of his revival Cats: The Jellicle Ball. “Broadway is more than a street or a collection of buildings. It is an idea – and one of the greatest cultural ideas America has given us,” the composer wrote in a lengthy X thread on Tuesday morning. “That idea is now in dire danger. I beg everyone with the power to protect it: come together before it is too late.” Yesterday, it was announced that despite receiving three Tony awards this year, Lloyd Webber’s Cats: The Jellicle Ball would close after just five months on Broadway, with its final performance slated for 8 August. The show cost a reported $18m to create, but failed to recoup despite audience popularity and about $1m in weekly grosses due to the high costs of running a musical in New York’s theater district. In a four star review, the Guardian praised the “revolutionary verve” of The Jellicle Ball, adding that it was “a mighty testament to what is possible when producers look past the traditional s