Andrew Lloyd Webber Son Critically Ill; Composer Will Miss ‘Bad Cinderella’ Broadway Opening

Andrew Lloyd Webber Son Critically Ill; Composer Will Miss ‘Bad Cinderella’ Broadway Opening

Nicholas Lloyd Webber, the eldest son of Andrew Lloyd Webber, is critically ill with gastric cancer, the Phantom of the Opera composer has announced. Nicholas’ hospitalization will necessitate Sir Andrew’s absence from this week’s Broadway opening of the composer’s Bad Cinderella.

“I am absolutely devastated to say that my eldest son Nick is critically ill,” Andrew Lloyd Webber said in a statement released tonight. “As my friends and family know, he has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is now hospitalised.”

The composer went on to say, “I therefore have not been able to attend the recent previews of Bad Cinderella and as things stand, I will not be able to cheer on its wonderful cast, crew and orchestra on Opening Night this Thursday.

“We are all praying that Nick will turn the corner,” he continued. “He is bravely fighting with his indomitable humour, but at the moment my place is with him and the family.”

Andrew Lloyd Webber had also been scheduled to attend a Bad Cinderella New York press event this Wednesday, coinciding with the composer’s 75th birthday. Bad Cinderella opens Thursday, March 23, at the Imperial Theatre.

The 43-year-old Nicholas is a Grammy nominated composer and record producer, known for scoring the BBC 1 drama Love, Lies and Records and the 2021 film The Last Bus, among other projects. He co-produced and mixed the 2021 original London cast album Cinderella (the previous name of Bad Cinderella).

Bad Cinderella is the latest musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose The Phantom of the Opera, set to close next month, is Broadway’s longest-running production ever.