9 hours ago
Sara Ramirez calls it heartbreaking, Ben Platt says it’s a travesty and Rachel Zegler offered a succinct WTF.
They and different Broadway performers and fans are reacting to nan closing announcement of Cats: The Jellicle Ball, nan critically lauded reinvention of Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s now-and-forever philharmonic that moves nan feline action from nan alley to Harlem’s Ballroom culture.
No one, though, seems angrier aliases sadder than Lloyd Webber himself, who took to Instagram to lament nan closing.
“What is happening successful beforehand of each who attraction astir nan Great White Way breaks my heart,” nan composer wrote aft nan announced closing. “One of nan past things Hal Prince said to maine was that it collapsed his bosom that it was intolerable for caller aliases daring activity to beryllium originated connected Broadway anymore. The truth is that, for immoderate show, it makes practically nary financial consciousness to travel to Broadway pinch things arsenic they are.”
Surmising that moreover nan original West Side Story couldn’t past Broadway’s existent financial climate, Lloyd Webber griped that “creators, writers and board person been forced to return minimal royalties from caller shows, often surviving connected a fixed play interest alternatively than a royalty. It makes it intolerable for young creatives to make a surviving from theatre alone. Investors count themselves fortunate so if they spot a information of their money back.”
He continued, “As personification who is still arsenic successful emotion pinch Broadway arsenic I was erstwhile I was a teenager, I request nan theatre owners, unions and producers to travel together urgently to reside what is simply a situation coming to a head. Broadway is successful dire threat of rivalling Hollywood’s quiet soundstages pinch progressively acheronian theatres.”
The Jellicle closing, announced Tuesday, intends nan show will play its last capacity astatine nan Shubert Organization’s Broadhurst Theatre connected Saturday, August 8, 5 months earlier its antecedently announced hold of January 17, 2027.
News of nan closing caught overmuch of nan Broadway organization off-guard. Although nan accumulation was not nan runaway deed that mightiness person been predicted pursuing an earlier and much-praised Off Broadway tally that, successful its Broadway incarnation, received 9 Tony Award nominations, winning 3 (for Qween Jean’s costume design, nan choreography of Omari Wiles & Arturo Lyons and Best Direction of a Musical for Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.
But, crucially, Jellicle mislaid nan coveted Best Musical Revival Tony Award to Ragtime, and, grosses-wise, it’s virtually been downhill ever since. The musical, which began previews connected March 18 and opened April 7, peaked astatine nan container agency during nan last week of May, grossing $1,033,755. The pursuing week – nan week ending June 7, nan nighttime of nan Tony ceremonial – saw a gross of $1,027,555. It would not break $1 cardinal again.
With immoderate comparatively insignificant fluctuations, nan production’s grosses steadily fell to nan low-$900,000s and upper-$800,000s, sinking to an engagement debased of $691,071. Granted, that nadir was for nan week that included nan July 4 holiday, a traditionally dismal clip for Broadway, but moreover arsenic astir shows rebounded nan pursuing week, Jellicle roseate only to a disappointing $766,808, pinch astir 18% of nan Broadhurst’s seats empty, moreover pinch a humble (by Broadway philharmonic standards) mean summons value astir $100.
While nan $18 cardinal production’s play operating costs person not been disclosed, it’s safe to opportunity they were successful excess of moreover nan $900,000+ grosses nan show seemed initially apt to settee into. Lloyd Webber, while decrying nan wide costs of Broadway, did not disclose figures for Jellicle.
(And this isn’t nan first clip nan composer beefed pinch Broadway complete a closing: When he brought nan revised, recently immersive Phantom of nan Opera musical, titled Masquerade, to New York City past twelvemonth he posted galore societal media messages successful nan guise of nan Phantom, still disgruntled complete being booted from nan Shuberts’ Majestic Theatre successful 2023 pursuing a 35-year run.
While naysayers mightiness constituent to nan nonaccomplishment of Jellicle Ball as immoderate connection connected nan marketability of queer content, beat-heavy location music, philharmonic revisionism aliases each three, nan existent fame of nan LGBTQ+ landmark The Rocky Horror Show and, of course, nan rap-based Hamilton mightiness propose thing other astatine play. As evidenced by Lloyd Webber’s statement, that thing other would beryllium nan indisputably precocious costs of staging untested Broadway musicals successful 2026.
Lloyd Webber’s latest missive drew some praise and brickbats from commenters and Instagram followers. Said 1 commenter, “So person nan audacity to telephone retired out Shubert Organization which has a monopoly connected almost half nan Broadway theaters. Call retired their greed. They want producers to screen nan rent and nan full operating costs. They want to support nan telecharge fees which they own. How is this allowed?”
Emma Blake, a costume unit personnel pinch Broadway and Off Broadway credits, responded to Lloyd Webber: “Leave nan national workers retired of this we merit to beryllium paid reasonably for our work. if you can’t spend to salary america reasonably past you can’t spend to nutrient a show right. very vulnerable to see nan unions successful this to beryllium honest.”
And Neil Haskell, a shape character and dancer whose credits see Hamilton, Tuck Everlasting and Death Becomes Her, and who competed successful 2007 connected So You Think You Can Dance, besides took Lloyd Webber to task.
“Most Broadway actors tin hardly spend to unrecorded successful nan city,” Haskell wrote. “The costs associated pinch continued training (dance class, sound lessons, acting class, gym memberships, aforesaid portion equipment, workplace rentals, assemblage loans etc) connected apical of trying to past successful NYC, drives astir performers retired of nan business.”
He continued, “I’ll dice connected this hill; nan @broadwayleague NEEDS to look inward astatine its ain members and recognize that nan landlords who ain nan broadway theaters are nan problem. The owners of broadway existent property will NEVER constituent retired that they are nan issue. They will blasted nan unions, tourists, and thing different than nan truth that they person a MONOPOLY connected broadway. Until nan @broadwayleague removes theatre owners from its ranks, they will ne'er person nan expertise to bring down nan costs associated pinch producing a broadway show…My plea to nan @broadwayleague, extremity punching down astatine nan group who bring your shows to life 8x a week. Start fighting pinch nan landlords who are holding you hostage.”
As of now, producers person made nary announcements regarding early stagings of Cats: The Jellicle Ball. They did note, however, that nan Broadway accumulation will beryllium filmed by nan Theatre connected Film and Tape Archive astatine The New York Public Library for nan Performing Arts and added to its collection, a reasonably regular improvement that will do small to assuage nan show’s devoted following.
In their connection announcing nan closing, Jellicle Ball producers Michael Harrison and Mike Bosner said, “Three years ago, Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch began nan singular process of reimagining Cats for a caller generation. They assembled a visionary imaginative squad that fused their passions for Ballroom and theatre to create thing thrillingly new. With a genuinely superhuman formed bringing this imagination to life, New York has erstwhile again discovered nan arena that has go Andrew Lloyd Webber’s CATS: The Jellicle Ball. The joyousness that radiates from nan shape each nighttime is dissimilar thing we’ve knowledgeable successful our careers. It has been a existent grant to thief bring Ballroom to Broadway.”
