Andrew Lloyd Webber dedicated the final performance of 'Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway to his late son Nicholas.
Andrew Lloyd Webber honoured his late son at final Phantom show
The 75-year-old composer's eldest child died of gastric cancer last month aged 43 and on Sunday (16.04.23) the theatre boss honoured the musician as his beloved production took its final curtain call after 38 years on the New York stage.
Amid a standing ovation, he said: “I hope you won’t mind if I dedicate this performance to my son, Nick.”
Turnuing 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 very much.”
During the performance, the soprano - woh was married to Andrew from 1984 to 1990 - joined the current cast, previous actors, and members of the crew for a rendition of 'The Music of the Night', the production's most famoous song.
After the show, Andrew teased it is possible the music could return to Broadway one day in the future, particularly after its recent box office boom.
He said: “Thank you to absolutely everyone who has made this extraordinary run possible… It is just amazing really what has happened, and in the last few months I don’t think any of us thought that 'Phantom' would go out quite with the bang it has.
“So it may come back, you never know.
“What I would like to say is if it was going to go out with a bang it couldn’t have gone out with a better performance.”
Andrew announced the passing of his son via a statement posted on social media last month, having revealed just weeks before that he was battling cancer.
The award-winning composer wrote on Twitter: "I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital. His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft. -ALW (sic)"
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