The musical mastermind behind twenty-one musicals, several of them being on Broadway, and the person dubbed “the most commercially successful composer in history,” Andrew Lloyd Webber, has taken a stand to aid in the reopening of live theatres. The University of Oxford has been one of the front runners for their Coronavirus vaccine development and Webber has signed up to get injected with the experimental vaccine at 72 years of age. Of course, there are many steps to follow these experimental vaccine injections before they can be mass-produced and distributed, but Webber wants to do anything in his power to bring back his passion.
Many have taken to Twitter to express their appreciation for his efforts and to commend him for how he is being proactive about what he believes in order to create change. Webber, as well as one of his longtime theatre colleagues producer Cameron Mackintosh, have been disappointed with the UK’s weak support of the theater industry during this time.
Recently, Webber has been attempting to generate a method to open live theater venues safely in order to end the standstill of live performances while also keeping the performers and audience members safe. He hosted a trial-type of performance with thirty percent capacity and strict rules about spreading audience members while arriving, during the show, and after the show. Now, since the financial assistance from the government has ended, without any way to put on a show, not only will theater owners be forced to sell their theaters, but those who work at the theaters will be left jobless.
After 34 years, The Phantom of the Opera, an Andrew Lloyd Webber production, was taken off of Broadway due to COVID-19. It was the longest-running show in Broadway history and both Webber and his producer Mackintosh were devastated. It has won dozens of awards for its amazing songs and plot and that is why the geniuses behind this show will not quit in their attempts to bring back the joys of live theater.
