By Charles Passy

The composer of ‘The Phantom of the Opera,’ ‘Cats,’ ‘Evita’ and many others is enjoying a new – and busy – chapter in his decades-long career

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest successes include a Broadway production of his “Sunset Boulevard,” which won the Tony Award this year for best revival of a musical.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is ready for his close-up – again.

Of course, that’s a reference to the line from the classic film “Sunset Boulevard.” And it’s a particularly apt reference, given that Lloyd Webber turned the movie into a Tony Award-winning Broadway show in 1994.

But it’s all about the “again” aspect these days for the 77-year-old British-born composer and showbiz maverick whose net worth reportedly tops $1 billion. He’s riding high off the successful revivals of many of his classic works. In fact, a new Broadway staging of “Sunset Boulevard,” starring Nicole Scherzinger, won the Tony for best revival this year. And a revamped version of “Cats,” dubbed “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” is coming to Broadway in 2026.

Plus, this fall, “The Phantom of the Opera,” which closed on Broadway in 2023 (much to Lloyd Webber’s disappointment), returned to New York. But this time, it’s being presented off-Broadway in a radically reconceived version, dubbed “Masquerade,” that lets audiences get up close and personal with the phantom himself. Think a musical somewhat in the style of “Sleep No More,” the immersive show that ran in New York for more than a decade.

At the same time, Lloyd Webber has rethought his business model. The Really Useful Group, his longtime licensing and production company, has been rebranded as LW Entertainment, and is now headed by James McKnight, who previously worked with J.K. Rowling on the Harry Potter enterprise. The goal, in the words of Variety, is to take it “from a sleepy theater company into an entertainment powerhouse with a hand in everything from gaming to movies to consumer products.”

Lloyd Webber is also partnering with Michael Harrison, a veteran British producer, on new theatrical ventures. So far, the collaboration has included the recent “Sunset Boulevard” production on Broadway and a buzzy revival of “Evita” – another of Lloyd Webber’s classic works – on London’s West End.

Nevertheless, these are challenging times for the theatrical world. Production costs have risen dramatically on Broadway – it often takes more than $20 million to stage a work – and attendance has yet to reach prepandemic levels. That leaves Lloyd Webber and many others questioning if the Broadway musical is an endangered species, even though Lloyd Webber has a new work, “The Illusionist,” in development.

All of which gave us plenty to discuss with the theatrical great when he paid a recent visit to our New York office, right when “Masquerade” was set to open. He talked about his career and the industry, as well as some of his views on money. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

MarketWatch: You are having quite the year. How does it feel to be the hottest name in theater currently?

Lloyd Webber: I just carry on doing what I’m doing. But the exciting thing for me is that I’ve always wanted to break new boundaries. And in a way, this is just continuing with something that I’ve always liked to do – to have new directors looking at work, thinking of different ways of doing it. And of course, I haven’t given up writing, so it’s been a great time.

MarketWatch: You changed your production company’s business model. What inspired that?

Lloyd Webber: I really decided to go back to just being a composer again. It was a decision I took about two years ago, and I think it’s proved to be the right one. We’ve got completely new management, new people. The whole thing is running in a totally different way.

MarketWatch: Talk about “Masquerade.” How did it come about and are you pleased with what you’ve seen?

Lloyd Webber: I’m thrilled with it. It came about because I’d seen “Sleep No More,” and I saw the potential of what one could do [in an immersive way]. And I wondered whether or not it would be possible with a musical. So I spoke to Randy [Weiner], who produced “Sleep,” and I talked to his wife, [the director] Diane Paulus, whom I’ve always wanted to work with. And Diane said, “Well, why don’t we do it?”

I think the really exciting thing about it is that you’re hearing singers singing live to you closer than I am to this cup here [on a nearby table]. It is a completely new experience. The first time I saw it completely through, we were in a tiny little room and there’s a section of the show, which has always been very personal to me, where [the heroine] Christine sings, “Twisted Every Way.” The girl sang it and that was the most extraordinary moment I think I have had in my career.

A scene from “Masquerade,” the immersive version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.

MarketWatch: A lot has been discussed of late about how expensive it is to produce musicals on Broadway, with costs that can easily top $20 million. What do you think the future holds?

Lloyd Webber: I think it’s going to be very difficult for people to really produce major new work on Broadway now. The costs of production are just cripplingly high. I mean, I know I’m a Brit, but for me, Broadway has always been where I’ve wanted to be. I find this all very, very sad.

MarketWatch: What’s the biggest financial risk you’ve ever taken?

Lloyd Webber: The biggest was “Cats” in London because nobody thought that could remotely be a success. I was working with Cameron Mackintosh, who was, at that time, not an established producer. I was working with the poems of T.S. Eliot, who was a dead American poet. I was asking the British, who are not supposed to be able to dance, to be in a dance show dressed as cats. We did have Gillian Lynne, who was a well-known choreographer, but that was about it. [And we were] going into the theater that “Grease,” with Richard Gere as the lead, had failed in. And I had to have a second mortgage on my house to guarantee the show to go into that building. If it had been a disaster, I’d have lost my house.

MarketWatch: What’s the best piece of financial advice you’ve gotten as it relates to theater?

Lloyd Webber: Never really to invest in your own shows. I don’t think one should.

MarketWatch: Why is that? Is it because you need some emotional distance from the work?

Lloyd Webber: It’s because you need somebody to say, “No, that’s wrong.”

MarketWatch: What’s something you like splurging on?

Lloyd Webber: My great love, other than theater, has always been architecture. And so for me, a wonderful, ideal day is going somewhere and just looking at buildings. And I developed a love of a very unfashionable area of art called the Pre-Raphaelites. I suppose the thing that I indulge myself most in is a really good Pre-Raphaelite painting or really good artwork. The biggest thing that I’ve spent my money on is the art collection.

MarketWatch: Conversely, what do you hate spending your money on?

Lloyd Webber: Things that one knows are completely unnecessary. This morning I said no to something with my wife, which was that [we’ve] got a slight stain on a headboard. The estimate for re-covering it is $12,500. It’s that kind of thing where you say, “No, actually, I’m going to go out and buy a stain remover.”

MarketWatch: Do you think you’ll ever retire?

Lloyd Webber: Hopefully not. I’ve got completely new energy. The trouble is that I’m restless. I mean, I’ve already written as much as I can on my new show, “The Illusionist.” So I’m thinking: What am I going to do next? I’m already bored.

MarketWatch: So, what are you going to do next?

Lloyd Webber: I don’t know. Any ideas are gratefully received.

-Charles Passy

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10-13-25 1021ET

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