Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to reopen in the West End this July

Cinderella, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Phantom of the Opera will all open this summer.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast this morning, Andrew Lloyd Webber has told of plans to reopen all his musicals this summer. This includes the world premiere of Cinderella, which will now begin performances at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on 14 July, with The Phantom of the Opera and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat also set to return this summer.

In an interview with the BBC, Webber said: "Oh it's fantastic to be back. We were all together in the Gillian Lynne Theatre yesterday... we've got to get theatre open up and down the country everywhere, for all of the actors and musicians and the technicians, whose livelihood has been put completely on hold now for a year. I'm determined that we open, we're gonna open Joseph and Phantom and obviously Cinderella... whatever it takes, unless there's some really good reason for us not to."

He's also stated that rehearsals for his new musical, Cinderella, begin today, with full casting to be announced. Currently, Carrie Hope Fletcher stars in the lead role, joined by Victoria Hamilton-Barritt as the evil stepmother and newcomer Ivano Turco as Prince Sebastian.

The Phantom of the Opera will now begin at Her Majesty's Theatre from 21 July, with Killian Donnelly as the Phantom. At the London Palladium, Jac Yarrow will reprise his leading role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, with performances still set to begin from its original date of 1 July.

West End productions are likely to confirm new dates in the coming days and weeks, as a result of the Coronavirus roadmap, announced last month. As part of the roadmap, theatres can open from 17 May, with larger venues given the go ahead from 21 June.

Cinderella tickets, The Phantom of the Opera tickets and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat tickets are on sale now.

^{Photo credit: Andrew Lloyd Webber (Photo by John Swannell)}