Andrew Lloyd Webber Celebrates Historic Achievement at Opening Night of SUNSET BOULEVARD

Moments before the curtain went up on the Broadway revival of Sunset Boulevard, starring Glenn Close, the stars of Andrew Lloyd Webber's productions came together to celebrate the legendary composer's historic achievement of having four musicals running simultaneously on Broadway with a commemorative photo.

Lloyd Webber posed backstage at Broadway's Palace Theatre (1564 7th Avenue) with cast members from Sunset Boulevard (Glenn Close, Michael Xavier, Siobhan Dillon, Fred Johanson), School of Rock - The Musical (Eric Petersen, Jersey Sullivan, Rachel Katzke), CATS (Jessica Hendy, Harris Milgrim, Tanner Ray Wilson), and The Phantom of the Opera (James Barbour, Kaley Ann Voorhees).

Three of Lloyd Webber's musicals rang in 2017 with record-breaking sales, smashing house records at the Winter Garden (School of Rock - The Musical), Majestic (The Phantom of the Opera) and Neil Simon (CATS) Theatres.

As part of the celebration of Lloyd Webber's historic achievement, the website www.alwbroadway.com has been launched, allowing fans to easily find information for all four shows. Fans will also find a link to download Andrew Lloyd Webber iOS Stickers, which include fun phrases and emojis inspired by all four musicals. Click here to add some iconic Broadway to your iPhone keyboard.

Three-time Tony Award-winner Glenn Close returns to Broadway and her stunning portrayal of Norma Desmond in Lloyd Webber's Tony Award-winning "Best Musical," Sunset Boulevard, at Broadway's Palace Theatre. Based on Billy Wilder's classic Academy Award-winning film, Sunset Boulevard originally premiered in London's West End at the Adelphi Theatre in 1993, where it ran for almost four years and played to nearly two million people. The American premiere was at the Shubert Theatre in Century City, Los Angeles in December 1993 with Close as Norma. The musical was an instant success and played 369 performances before moving to Broadway in 1994 with, what was then, the biggest advance in Broadway history, at $37.5 million.

School of Rock - The Musical is Lloyd Webber's newest success. Based on the smash hit film, School of Rock opened at the Winter Garden Theatre to rave reviews on Sunday, December 6, 2015. This Ben Brantley New York Times 'Critics' Pick' "is an inspiring jolt of energy and mad skillz," raves Jesse Oxfeld of Entertainment Weekly. And in his four-star Critics' Pick review, Time Out's David Cote proclaimed, "School's IN - forever!" School of Rock - The Musical was nominated for four 2016 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, and Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Now in its second year on Broadway, School of Rock recently opened, again to rave reviews, in London's West End on November 14, 2016. The musical shattered the house record for the third time at the Winter Garden Theatre by grossing $2,022,136.11 for the week ending December 31, 2016.

CATS, the iconic Lloyd Webber musical that became synonymous with NYC and Broadway, returned to the Great White Way on July 31, 2016 at the Neil Simon Theatre. The new production features direction by Trevor Nunn and choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, based on the original choreography by Gillian Lynne. Since its world premiere, CATS has been presented in over 30 countries, has been translated into 15 languages, and has been seen by more than 73 million people worldwide. The first-ever revival of Lloyd Webber's CATS broke house records at the Neil Simon for a 9-performance week, smashing the record previously set by All The Way, with a $1,723,568.70 gross for the week ending December 31, 2016.

Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, directed by theater legend Harold Prince, is the longest-running show in Broadway history and the best-selling musical of all-time. The New York production opened at The Majestic Theatre on Jan. 26, 1988 and went on to win 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical. The Broadway production celebrated an unprecedented 29 Years on January 26, 2016. It has played a staggering 12,000 performances (as of November 2016), been seen by 17 million people, grossing more than $1 billion. PHANTOM remains a box office champ and continues to play with no end in sight. The original cast recording, with over 40 million copies sold worldwide, is the best-selling cast recording of all time.

Photo credit: Nathan Johnson