New Documentary SHOW MUST GO ON Showcases Andrew Lloyd Webber's Lockdown Theatre Advocacy

A documentary about Andrew Lloyd Webber's theatre advocacy in the lockdown period is in the works from co-directors Sammi Cannold and "The Prom" producer Dori Berinstein.

In the wake of the global pandemic, The Show Must Go On chronicles the race against time to save live theater and an army of theatermakers determined to win it.

In March of 2020 and for the first time in history, the performing arts were decimated worldwide when theater shut down indefinitely in every country except one: South Korea. From the frontlines in Seoul, this film follows two theatrical productions - the World Tour of The Phantom of The Opera and the South Korean Tour of Cats - that pushed ahead safely during the pandemic and helped show the way forward.

And a continent away in the UK, the film simultaneously follows Webber as he uses the example set by his Korean colleagues to envision a new future for theater on Broadway and the West End.

The Show Must Go On chronicles the survival of the performing arts and the worldwide resuscitation of an artform with the fate of a global industry at stake. But more importantly, the film tells a human story - one of the resilience of storytellers and their determination to come together to heal, create, and inspire.

"I felt we had to document it," said Berinstein. "It was history and it would give hope to all of us in the theater community to not give up."

Cannold flew to South Korea to document the rehearsal process after a strict, twelve-day quarantine.

"Korea had musicals running for much of the pandemic, with theaters operating many times at full capacity," said Cannold. "And yet there were zero cases of audience-to-audience transmission."

Although theaters in the UK and the US remain closed, the filmmakers - and Webber - remain hopeful that their documentary will provide a roadmap for reopening.

The film is now in post-production. There is no information about where or when "Show Must Go On" will premiere, but BroadwayWorld will be sure to provide it when available.