Andrew Lloyd Webber has been slammed after cast members of his Cinderella musical were reportedly told about the show’s axing after going on stage, while others have claimed they only found out on social media.
It was recently revealed that the show, which starred Carrie Hope Fletcher as Cinderella, will close on June 12 in London, before being revamped for a Broadway run.
told the news before the show began on Sunday night. However, Metro.co.uk understands they were informed after the matinee performance.
A tweet from the official Cinderella account read: ‘Cinderella will play its final performance in London’s West End on 12th June.’
However, cast members have since furiously spoken out.
Carrie tweeted: ‘I don’t think I have the words. And if I did I would probably be advised not to say them. Sending love to all impacted by todays news and by how that news was delivered.’
Ivano Turco, who plays Prince Sebastian, said: ‘I’m just… tired.’
Chrissie Bhima, who was due to take over as Cinderella, retweeted a message from her agent who suggested her West End debut had ‘vanished in a heartbeat’.
She added: ‘Oh dear. I’m overwhelmed with love and also emotionally exhausted. I want to thank everyone so much for their messages. I’m so sorry for not responding right now. I’m a bundle of anxiety. @ChrisDavisAgent I adore you! We got this.’
Summer Strallen, who was due to take over as the Queen, said she found out she had been ‘sacked via social media’, sharing an emotional video of herself reacting to the news.
Daisy Twells, who was due to join the ensemble, said: ‘Well this is definitely not the way I expected to write this but as most of you may know I was due to be making my West End Debut In the next cast of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne theatre as Ensemble and 1st cover for Adele and Marie the step sisters.
‘This was a dream come true for me and yesterday it was all taken away in seconds, I and many others In the current and upcoming cast found out through a press release that the show is closing and as you can probably imagine this is the most devastating thing to hear after [accepting] the contract and having the next year all planned out financially and logistically!’
She added: ‘I’m just very upset about how something that could have been addressed differently was handled, thank you to everyone who has reached out already and given me nothing but love and well wishes, it definitely helps with the healing, but hopefully change is coming.’
Strictly’s John Whaite, who was also due to join the cast, said he was ‘heartbroken’.
Webber has not responded to the backlash but issued a statement about the closure to WhatsOnStage, reading: ‘I am incredibly proud of Cinderella.
‘Not only did it get some of the best reviews of my career, but we led the charge to reopen the West End, ensuring that theatre and live entertainment remained relevant and in the news. While mounting a new show in the midst of Covid has been an unbelievable challenge, we held the Government’s feet to the flames throughout their changes of heart during the pandemic.
‘Now, I am really excited to get to work putting together a new production with No Guarantees (Christine Schwarzman, President, Darren Johnston, Executive Vice President) for Broadway. Thank you very much to everyone involved, particularly our UK audiences who have loved and supported the show. See you next March on Broadway!’
Cinderella opened on the West End in August last year, but was plagued by trouble over the Covid-19 pandemic, with theatres being forced to close.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Really Useful Group for comment.
