Andrew Lloyd Webber has weathered a series of professional and personal heartbreaks, with the death of his eldest son Nicholas "Nick" in March and the closing of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway after 35 years this past weekend.
After dedicating the final show to the memory of his late son, the legendary English composer penned an essay for The New York Times expanding upon his thoughts.
He opened with a nod to his relationship with Nick, explaining that the two often exchanged P.G. Wodehouse quotes and did so the day before he passed.
"I was speaking in P.G. Wodehouse quotes with my eldest son, Nick, who was in hospice, where he was being treated for cancer just days ago," Webber, 75, wrote.
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After they "hugged and said our goodbyes," he opened up about the grief of losing his son at the age of 43 in the midst of closing out Phantom, which enters the record books as the longest-running show ever on Broadway.
"The next day, my son died. Nothing's worse for a parent than the death of a child. In my bones I feel it wrong to write about the closing of Phantom or where Broadway's going right now.
Webber announcing the passing of his eldest son Nick
"But I’ll try. I owe everything to my love of Broadway and its glorious legacy of musicals. So everything I write comes from my childhood dream that I'd make it to the Great White Way."
Webber talked of his friendship with late theater producer and director Harold "Hal" Prince, with whom he collaborated on Phantom and was responsible for bringing the likes of Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Cabaret, and Fiddler on the Roof to Broadway.
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After detailing their evolving friendship, which began in 1970, and the journey that led them to Phantom, he continued: "Cut to this past weekend.
"The 35-year Broadway run of Phantom has come to an end. It's a personal loss to see the close of this wonderful creation, the last Hal Prince production on Broadway, with its almost 30-piece orchestra and one of the grandest designs that have ever been seen in the theater.
"The irony is that this past season was its best ever. Perhaps it will rise again," he mused, ending with a call to Broadway producers to create better environments for theatergoers, such as better facilities, more affordable pricing, and more proactive efforts from theater unions.
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