Andrew Lloyd Webber: Cinderella's opening may have been a costly mistake

The rollercoaster Cinderella story continues – even as the show wraps up its West End run.

Taking to the stage during the final curtain call, director Laurence Connor announced that composer Andrew Lloyd Webber could not be in attendance.

He did, however, provide a letter, read by Connor (and met, to Laurence's surprise by boos from some audience members in attendance).

Connor, after reading the letter (the conclusion of which saw further boos), stated: "It is really easy to find a villain in these things…I will say there are a lot of people who have tirelessly done a lot of great work on this show. The piece is reportedly set to open on Broadway next year, with Lloyd Webber saying he'll work on the show in the meantime.

"I feel that we have created something really special and today, watching this final performance with everybody, that is how I want us to go."

Within the note Lloyd Webber praised the cast, creatives, musicians and everyone working at the Gillian Lynne Theatre. After that he went on: "I keep thinking, if only we had opened three months later we wouldn't have had to postpone our opening twice because of Covid. If only we hadn't had to close for a month over Christmas and New Year, once again thanks to Covid, And if only we had had a crumb of help from the Culture Recovery Fund, I promise you that we would have been here for a very long while to come."

Connor read on: "We kept the government's feet to the flame and led the charge to get the West End open again. It might have been a costly mistake, but I am proud that we did and proud of everyone who supported me."

UPDATE: Lloyd Webber issued a further statement after the original reports regarding the show: " I am devastated to have been reported to have said that my beloved production of Cinderella was a "costly mistake." Nothing could be further from the truth, and I am very sorry if my words have been misunderstood. I adore this production and I am incredibly, incredibly proud of Cinderella and everyone who has been involved in our show.

"We were desperate to support the West End after two years of a devastating pandemic and the mistake we made was trying to open too early, meaning we had to postpone twice. Everything we did was to try and support the West End and get everyone back to work after the worst period in our history. For now, I want to say thank you to everyone involved in Cinderella for all you have done. With love today and always, Andrew."