Andrew Lloyd Webber Sets THE ILLUSIONIST as Next Show; Jamie Lloyd to Direct

Deadline has reported that Andrew Lloyd Webbers new show The Illusionist will be directed by Sunset Boulevard’s Jamie Lloyd. Lloyd Webber also revealed that Oscar-winning screenwriter Chris Terrio "has done the book very much with me, but he’s the scriptwriter." Songwriter Bruno Major is also attached to the project. The musical will feature an operatic score.  Read the full story HERE. 

Lloyd Webber shared, "I think it’s absolutely fair to say we haven’t a clue where it’s going to open because an awful lot of it’s got to do with what theaters are available on which side of the pond. I mean, it could be New York, it could be here [in London]. I’d like it to be here, but it could be New York. It’s also important to emphasize that it’s very, very early days."

The creative team involved so far would like for The Illusionist to be stage-ready by 2026, but there is currently no set time frame for the production. The next step for the team is to to find someone to create the illusions for the production.  

The source material for the musical is the 2006 film written and directed by Neil Burger and starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, and Jessica Biel. The film tells the story of Eisenheim, a magician in turn-of-the-century Vienna, who reunites with his childhood love, Sophie, the Duchess von Teschen. The film is loosely based on Steven Millhauser's short story 'Eisenheim the Illusionist'. 

Lloyd Webber shared, "We are not hugely based on the movie...I think what we’ve done is taken the idea of it and developed it into another area completely."

Read the full story HERE.