Andrew Lloyd Webber is giving the gays everything they want by streaming his musicals during coronavirus crisis
Andrew Lloyd Webber. (Mike Coppola/Getty)
Andrew Lloyd Webber has decided to give the gays everything they want by streaming some of his most famous musicals for free during coronavirus lockdown.
The acclaimed British composer will be allowing people to stream one of his musicals each week for free during the coronavirus pandemic through YouTube.
The initiative has been aptly titled The Shows Must Go On! and was kicked off with his 2000 adaptation of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond, Joan Collins and Richard Attenborough.
The musical is available now for 48-hours, Variety reports.
Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat will be streamed as part of the coronavirus initiative.
Next weekend, Webber’s 2012 production of Jesus Christ Superstar, starring Tim Minchin, Mel C and Chris Moyles, will be available to stream for free through YouTube for the same 48-hour period.
Universal have come up with the idea of a whole series called The Show Must Go On! which is about musicals going from stage to screen, and they’re going to show one of mine every Friday for the next few weeks.
Other shows from the British composer will be made available at later dates to help keep people entertained while stuck in lockdown.
In a video posted to Twitter, Lloyd Webber said: “Universal have come up with the idea of a whole series called The Show Must Go On! which is about musicals going from stage to screen, and they’re going to show one of mine every Friday for the next few weeks.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber encouraging viewers to donate to charities to help struggling actors.
While the musicals are free to stream, viewers will be encouraged to donate to charities such as Acting for Others, Broadway Cares and Actors Benevolent Fund.
The news should come as a relief to queer musical theatre fans after Broadway and the West End were both shut due to the current pandemic.
The last time the West End was closed was in 1939, at the outbreak of the Second World War. Its current closure has been seen as an unprecedented but necessary response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who is behind a wide range of famous musicals such as Evita and The Phantom of the Opera, has been trying to keep people entertained by taking requests to play songs on the piano from home.
