(May 11, 2023)

June 4th, 2023, not only marks the closing date of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BAD CINDERALLA on Broadway — it also marks the end of an unparalleled 43-year streak of his shows on the Great White Way. 

Let that sink in:  for an uninterrupted four decades, Lloyd Webber’s productions have been entertaining Broadway audiences, including the longest running show on Broadway, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which recently closed after 35 years and 13,981 performances.

The prolific artist’s first Broadway show was JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR back in 1971, which ran for 3 years and 771 performances in its initial run.

In 1979, EVITA came to Broadway with its stars Patti Lupone and Mandy Patinkin, where it won 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical and ran for 1,567 performances.

In January 1982, JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT came to the Royale Theatre (now the Bernard Jacobs Theatre) for 747 performances.  Despite numerous Tony nominations, it won none and closed in September of 1983. 

While JOSEPH ran on West 45th Street, the Winter Garden Theatre at Broadway and 50th Street would become home to Lloyd Webber’s then-longest running show, CATS.  The production.  The show surpassed CHORUS LINE for the title and ran for 18 years and 7,485 performances.  (*Note:  God bless Marlene Danielle, who performed in the Broadway production for its entire 18-year run!!) The show had a 563-performance revival starting in 2016 and introduced an up-and-coming new chroeographer, Andy Blankenbuehler (IN THE HEIGHTS, HAMILTON).

1985 brought the sung-thru musical SONG AND DANCE to the Royale Theatre where it ran for 15 months.  Its star, Bernadette Peters, won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical (her 2nd of seven Tonys), and saw Betty Buckley take over the role after Peters left the production 13 months in.

The fantastical, roller-skating musical STARLIGHT EXPRESS hit Broadway on February 24th, 1987, where — as it had been during its 7-year London run — it was critically panned but commercially successful.  It ran for 761 performances over nearly 2 years followed by two national tours.

Then came PHANTOM which would surpass Lloyd Webber’s own longevity record with CATS.  Opening on the 9th of January, 1988, the show would sweep the Tony Awards that year winning the awards for Best Musical, Best Actor for Michael Crawford, Best Supporting Actress for Judy Kaye, Best Direction for Hal Prince, as well as Best Book of Musical and Best Score, and the awards for Scenic Design, Costume Design and Lighting.

Over the years, PHANTOM roles would be played but the creme-de-la-creme of Broadway stars, including Norm Lewis, Sierra Bogess, David Gaines, Rebecca Luker, Howard McGillin, Jordan Donica, Ben Crawford, and many many more.

While PHANTOM continued to break records and lure audiences from around the world, ASPECTS OF LOVE became one of Broadway’s most expensive “flops” in 1990.  Despite a successful 3-year run in London’s West End, it played less than a year in New York and was critically panned, losing a reported $8M — at the time, one of the most expensive loses in theatre history.

But in 1994, Lloyd Webber was back on Broadway with another massive hit:  SUNSET BOULEVARD.  After a pre-Broadway run in Los Angeles starring Glenn Close, George Hearn and Judy Kuhn*, the show opened in New York on the 17th of November, 1994.  (*Alice Ripley replaced Kuhn in the Broadway production in the role of “Betty Schaefer.) Once again, the Lloyd Webber production became the darling of the Tony Awards, winning another 7 overall, including Best Musical, Score, Book of a Musical, Actress, Featured Actor, Scenic Design and Lighting Design.

In 2001, Lloyd Webber imported BY JEEVES from London which had a short 73 performance run at the Helen Hayes Theatre.  THE WOMAN IN WHITE followed in 2005 which received a mixed critical response, and played only 109 performances.

But in 2015, Lloyd Webber was back with another smash hit with the musical SCHOOL OF ROCK. Once again finding a home in the Winter Garden theatre, the show ran for four tears and over 1,300 performances, and starred Alex Brightman and Sierra Boggess. The show also sparked a 67 city US national tour.

Earlier this year, on March 23rd, 2023, BAD CINDERELLA has its Opening Night on Broadway after a transfer (and name change) from its London run.  While reviews were mixed, the box office slumped and a closure after only 85 performances was announced.