The theatrical production, which starred Carrie Hope Fletcher in the lead role, ended on Sunday night at the Gillian Lynne Theatre, more than a month ahead of schedule.
Its closure also halted an upcoming cast change, which was set to begin in July on a one-year contract and featured Strictly Come Dancing finalist John Whaite on his Broadway debut.
According to reports at the time, some employees read the news on social media before being told, prompting a demonstration outside the theatre by Equity, which chastised producers for “effectively sacking by press release.”
Although the musical theatre mogul was not present on closing night, he sent a letter to the production’s director, Laurence O’Connor, who read it out.
The crowd erupted in laughter and surprised whispers when Lord Webber, after praising the actors and creative team, referred to presenting the production as a “costly error,” according to clips from the speech posted on social media.
When O’Connor informed the audience that Lord Webber had asked him to read a letter, there was a loud chorus of booing, leading him to try to appease the audience with a ‘be nice’ while the cast behind him raised their eyebrows and reacted to the crowd before he began reading.
‘I am hugely sorry not to be able to be with you today. But I want to thank everyone, our fabulous cast, crew and musicians, the superb creative team – Laurence, JoAnn, Emerald, David, Gabriella, Gareth and Bruno – everyone who works in Really Useful and the Gillie for bringing Belleville beautifully to life,’ O’Connor read out.
‘I once wrote a song with the late great Jim Steinman called If Only. I keep thinking, if only we had opened three months later we wouldn’t have had to postpone our opening twice because of Covid. If only we hadn’t had to close for a month over Christmas and New Year, once again thanks to Covid. And if only we had had a crumb of help from the Recovery Fund, I promise you we would have been here for a very long time to come,’ he continued.
Since its first workshop in 2019, the production has been hampered by Covid-related issues, and it will premiere in June 2021 with a smaller audience due to pandemic restrictions.
The letter added: ‘Anyway, my huge thanks to everyone. We kept the government’s feet to the flame and lead the charge to the West End opening again.
‘It might have been a costly mistake, but I am proud that we did and proud of everyone who supported me. Cinderella got some of the best reviews of my career.’
‘I am immensely proud of it and it’s hugely due to you. All my love, Andrew,’ O’Connor concluded the letter.
In addition to their perplexed reaction to the term “costly mistake,” the audience booed and cheered in response to the composer’s letter’s conclusion.
‘The reference to a ‘costly mistake’ was never – and will never be – about the production,’ a representative for Lord Webber’s Really Useful Group said when approached for comment. It was about the show’s early start and the numerous obstacles it experienced as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, as the whole text explains.
‘As Andrew said in the letter, he is immensely proud of the show and that is hugely due to everyone involved.’
The show is still set for Broadway next March in a new production with production company No Guarantees.
However, it’s been reported that ‘every aspect of production’ will be ‘revamped before it heads there’.