Andrew Lloyd Webber Announces Cinderella West End Opening Canceled

“Freedom day has become a day of closure,” Andrew Lloyd Webber said on Twitter, announcing the closure of his new musical Cinderella due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The show ceased performances on July 17 due to a positive case of COVID-19 and was scheduled to resume on July 19.

A spokesperson for the show said: “It’s hard to see a way forward under the current rules, but we’ll do everything we can to get back.” The previews of the highly anticipated London premiere began on June 25 at the Gillian Lynne Theater at 50% capacity. An opening night was scheduled for July 20.

“Today, on ‘Freedom Day’, I was forced to make the heartbreaking decision not to open my Cinderella. … The impossible conditions created by the blunt instrument of government isolation orientation mean we cannot go on, ”Lloyd Webber wrote. “We have been forced to make a devastating decision that will affect the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of people and disappoint the thousands of people who have booked to see the show. Cinderella was ready to go. My sadness for our cast and crew, our loyal following and the industry I fight for is impossible to express. The day of freedom has become a day of closure. ”

Cinderella features an updated story and book by Oscar-winning screenwriter Emerald Fennell, with music by Lloyd Webber and lyrics by David Zippel. Also attached to the project are: director Laurence Connor, choreographer JoAnn Hunter, set designer and costume designer Gabriela Tylesova, sound designer Gareth Owen, light designer Bruno Poet and musical co-supervisor John Rigby.

The contemporary version of the fairy tale starred Carrie Hope Fletcher in the title role. She was joined by Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as stepmother, Ivano Turco as Prince Sebastian, Rebecca Trehearn as Queen, Georgina Castle and Laura Baldwin as Cinderella’s half-sisters and Gloria Onitiri as godmother. .

READ: How the pandemic inspired JoAnn M. Hunter to create a new waltz for Cinderella

The news follows a number of reports from the West End. Several productions, including Wonderville and Hair spray, were forced to either delay the start of performances or suspend production for several days due to COVID-19 cases behind the scenes, while The mousetrap and Joseph and the incredible Technicolor dream coat (another Lloyd Webber production) will start playing at 100% capacity on July 20, according to their websites. The prince of Egypt announced that it will allow sold-out theaters from July 23.

Read Andrew Lloyd Webber’s full statement below.

“Today on ‘Freedom Day’ I was forced to make the heartbreaking decision not to open my Cinderella. At Cinderella, from the start, we used a rigorous testing system for all actors. and the backstage crew before they start work. On Saturday, as part of that process, we identified a positive case in a member of our cast who has a cameo role on the show. As a precautionary measure , we canceled two shows on Saturday while we performed further tests on everyone behind the scenes, which were negative. Anyone who was identified as close contact of the positive case received additional PCR testing. These tests were also negative. This morning we did additional tests on those who were due to perform this evening. They were negative.

“Despite this, the impossible conditions created by the blunt instrument of the government’s isolation directive mean that we cannot continue. We have been forced to make a devastating decision that will affect the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of people and will disappoint the thousands of people who have booked to see the show.

“Cinderella was ready to go. My sadness for our cast and crew, our loyal audience and the industry I fight for is impossible to express. Freedom Day has become closing day.”