LloydWebber to Parliament: Help!
LONDON—“The Phantom of the Opera” composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has told British lawmakers that the arts are “at the point of no return” and urged the government to set a date for theaters to be allowed to reopen.
Lloyd Webber spoke about the struggles of staging socially distanced shows and making them profitable, noting that very few shows “hit the jackpot” like “Hamilton,” “Lion King” or “Phantom.”
“We simply have to get our arts sector back open and running. We are at the point of no return, really,” he told Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee by video. “There comes a point whenwe really can’t go on anymore. Theater is an incredibly labor-intensive business. In manyways, putting on a show now is almost a labor of love.”
He added that theater shows are “not like cinema, you can’t just open the building.”
In July, Lloyd Webber’s company staged a pilot concert featuring soul singer Beverley Knight at the London Palladium to test coronavirus-era safety measures like separating clusters of seats and mandatory maskwearing. The theater boss hoped that the trial performance could show how theaters can open at full capacity safely.
Asked about whether he has amessage for the British government, Lloyd Webber said: “Give us a date” to reopen.
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A spokesman for the couple said Monday that Harry had made a contribution to the Sovereign Grant, the public money that goes to the royal family. He said the contribution “fully covered the necessary renovation costs of Frogmore Cottage,” near Queen Elizabeth II’s Windsor Castle home, west of London.
He said Frogmore Cottage will remain the home of Harry and Meghan when they visit the U.K. ‘Kojak’ star Dobson dies: Kevin Dobson, 77, an actor best known for his starring roles on the CBS shows “Kojak” and “Knots Landing,” died Sunday.
The United Veterans Council of San Joaquin County announced Dobson’s death Monday. He served as a former chairman of the organization.
A former Army soldier and Long Island Rail Road conductor, Dobson began his acting career in the late 1960s, first appearing on shows like “One Life to Live,” “The Doctors,” “The Mod Squad,” “Emergency!” and “Cannon.” His first major role came on “Kojak,” where he played detective Bobby Crocker, opposite star Telly Savalas’ lead role.
Dobson joined the cast of the prime-time soap opera “Knots Landing” during its fourth season in 1982. He played Marion Patrick “Mack” MacKenzie, the love interest and eventual husband of star Michele Lee’s character Karen MacKenzie.
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