Andrew Lloyd Webber admits feeling ‘sad’ to see The Phantom Of The Opera end its record Broadway run

Andrew Lloyd Webber admitted he was “sad” to see The Phantom Of The Opera end its run on Broadway after entertaining theatergoers for 35 years.

The 75-year-old English composer was asked during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday if he would be at the Majestic Theater for the musical’s final Broadway performance on Sunday.

“Well, it was kind of strange actually, because you know, one of the funny things that’s happened with Phantom is that over the last few years… well, a few months actually, a young audience has found it. And it’s, I don’t know, it was sad last night because I just felt it could go on. But please,” Webber told 48-year-old Fallon.

The musical theater impresario said it was “very unusual” for everything to come together for a musical.

“Like the production, it’s all right, it’s just one of those moments. I mean, it happened with The Lion King, it happened with Hamilton, it happened with me with Phantom. It doesn’t happen often,” Webber said.

Broadway Show: The Phantom Of The Opera Cast To Be Screened Sunday At The Curtain Call After Final Broadway Performance At The Majestic Theater In New York City

Fallon shared some statistics about the play, including that it holds the record for the longest-running show in Broadway history with 13,981 performances.

He also noted that The Phantom of the Opera has been the largest source of income and jobs in Broadway and US theater history.

Fallon then asked Webber about his long-running Broadway show Cats, and he hilariously took the opportunity to ridicule the 2019 box-office bomb Cats, based on his 1981 stage musical.

“How do you come up with an idea like Cats and are you a cat person?” Fallon said.

“Well, I’m a cat person. Well, I was a real cat person until I saw the Cats movie,” Webber joked.

Fallon and the studio audience burst into laughter when he mocked the box office bomb that starred English comedian James Corden, 44.

“But what happened in the Cats movie was shot, so to speak, over the course of the movie, which I hoped the whole movie… would have been,” Webber added for even more laughs. “I bought this little puppy. And his name is Mojito and he’s a Havanese dog. He’s from Cuba.’

Webber then shared that he tried to bring Mojito on the plane as his “little therapy dog.”

Cats play: Fallon then asked Webber about his long-running Broadway show Cats and he hilariously took the opportunity to ridicule the 2019 box-office bomb Cats, based on his 1981 musical

And they said, ‘You need a doctor’s note. And so I just said, ‘I saw the Cats movie and bought a puppy. And they said, “No doctor’s note required,” Webber shared.

Webber also promoted his new Broadway play Bad Cinderella, which premiered in March after a month of previews.

He said he liked the idea of ​​an “alternate Cinderella” and thought it would make a fun story.

“I don’t know, I just kind of let my hair down,” said Webber.

Later a grand piano was wheeled out and Webber treated Fallon and his audience to songs from Phantom Of The Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats.

Bad Cinderella is currently playing at the Imperial Theater on Broadway with music by Webber, lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Emerald Fennell.

On piano: A grand piano was later wheeled out and Webber treated Fallon and his audience to songs from Phantom Of The Opera, Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats