Andrew Lloyd Webber dedicated the final Broadway performance of “Phantom of the Opera” to his late son Nicholas.
Andrew Lloyd Webber paid tribute to his late son at Phantom’s final show
The 75-year-old composer’s eldest child died of gastric cancer last month aged 43 and on Sunday (16.04.23) the theater boss honored the musician as his beloved production was taking his final call after 38 years on the New York stage.
Amid a standing ovation, he said, “I hope you don’t mind if I dedicate this performance to my son, Nick.”
Turning to the musical’s original star, his ex-wife Sarah Brightman, he continued: “When Nick was a little boy, he heard some of this music.”
Sarah agreed: “Yes, he did. When Andrew was writing it, he was right there. So his soul is with us. Nick, we love you so much.
During the performance, the soprano – who was married to Andrew from 1984 to 1990 – joined the current cast, previous cast and crew for a rendition of “The Music of the Night”, the song the most famous of the production.
After the show, Andrew teased that it was possible the music would return to Broadway one day in the future, especially after its recent box office boom.
He said: “Thank you to absolutely everyone who made this amazing race possible… It’s truly amazing what’s happened, and over the past few months I don’t think any of us have thought that ‘Phantom’ would quite come out with the kick it has.
“So it can come back, you never know.
“What I would say is if he was going to come out with a bang, he couldn’t have come out with a better performance.”
Andrew announced his son’s passing via a statement posted on social media last month, after revealing weeks earlier that he was battling cancer.
The award-winning songwriter wrote on Twitter: “I am heartbroken to announce that my beloved eldest son Nick passed away a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital. His whole family is reunited and we are all totally bereft. – ALW (sic)”