Andrew Lloyd Webber honored his son, who died a month prior, at the final Broadway performance of The Phantom of the Opera.
After 35 years, the curtain closed Sunday on the New York production of Broadway’s longest-running show. In a video shared by the Associated Press, audience members and cast and crewmembers could be seen cheering as confetti poured down around them.
The footage also included a speech onstage from the Oscar-winning composer, who said, “I hope you won’t mind if I dedicate this performance to my son. … When he was a little boy, he heard some of this music.”
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According to the AP, the composer’s ex-wife, Sarah Brightman, who was also an original castmember in the production, added, “When Andrew was writing it, he was right there, so his soul is with us. Nick, we love you very much.”
In March, Lloyd Webber missed the opening night of the Broadway musical Bad Cinderella after revealing his eldest son Nicholas Lloyd Webber was “critically ill” with gastric cancer. Just over a week later, he announced his son died following an 18-month-long battle at age 43.
“I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital,” Lloyd Webber shared at the time. “His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft. Thank you for all your thoughts during this difficult time.”
Apart from the final Phantom of the Opera performance Sunday, the celebratory evening also consisted of a red carpet, appearances by original castmembers and producer Cameron Mackintosh, and an afterparty.
