Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, who recently promised to reopen London The ghost of the opera despite what the show’s producer called a “huge financial hit” from the coronavirus shutdown, volunteers received an experimental COVID-19 vaccine “to prove that theaters can safely reopen.”
“I’m excited to be vaccinated tomorrow for the Oxford Covid 19 trial,” Webber tweeted today. “I will do everything I can to prove that theaters can reopen safely.”
De The cat composer apparently referred to the vaccine developed by Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Thousands of people from the United Kingdom, the United States, Brazil and South Africa have voluntarily participated in clinical trials for an early-onset medication.
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Both Webber and his longtime producer Cameron Mackintosh have decided on London’s theatrical closure and what they are saying is the government’s weak response to help the sector. Last month, Mackintosh said in a column he wrote for the UK Evening Standard, “With no end in sight to this crisis, I had to follow up last week with the horrific, distressing downsizing of my organization to ensure the survival of my business …”
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The London and UK tour productions of The ghost of the opera, Mackintosh wrote, are “permanently shut down”, although he later backtracked a bit. Webber responded to the Mackintosh column by tweeting, “As for me Phantom will reopen as soon as possible. “
As with Broadway, London’s theaters have been closed since March due to the pandemic. While Broadway is officially closed until January – with shutdown expansions possible and no shows currently planned to return for the spring of 2021 – some London theaters are considering a phase resumption from early this autumn, with reduced audience capacity. London’s Bridge Theater recently announced a production of David Hare’s new one – man play Beat the Devil, starring Ralph Fiennes, with a goal opening night in September and October.
