Andrew Lloyd Webber missing 'Bad Cinderella' opener amid son's gastric cancer battle

Master of musicals and EGOT winner Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed over the weekend that his son Nicholas Lloyd Webber, 43, has been hospitalized after battling stomach cancer for more than a year.

The 74-year-old composer behind the smash Broadway musicals "Cats," "Evita" and "The Phantom of the Opera" said that he is "absolutely devastated" to say that his eldest son is "critically ill,” according to a statement obtained Saturday by Playbill.

“As my friends and family know, he has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is now hospitalized," the father of five said.

Due to his son's illness, the Grammy Legend has been unable to oversee the rest of previews for his newest Broadway musical "Bad Cinderella" and will miss the updated fairy tale's opening night on Thursday when it's set to make its New York debut at the Imperial Theatre. The production recently moved to the Great White Way from London’s West End where it premiered in 2021 after being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I therefore have not been able to attend the recent previews of Bad Cinderella and as things stand, I will not be able to cheer on its wonderful cast, crew and orchestra on Opening Night this Thursday," the seven-time Tony Award winner said. "We are all praying that Nick will turn the corner. He is bravely fighting with his indomitable humor, but at the moment my place is with him and the family."

Representatives for both Nicholas and Andrew Lloyd Webber did not immediately respond Monday to The Times' requests for comment.

Nicholas Lloyd Webber is also a composer and record producer who has worked on short films, ad campaigns and TV series such as "Grey's Anatomy" and the 2021 film "The Last Bus." He worked with his father over the years to co-produce a "Cinderella" concept album and "Three Symphonic Suites," as well as to score a stage adaptation of "The Little Prince" and the musical "Fat Friends."

His famous father also had his own health scare, announcing in 2009 that he had been diagnosed with prostrate cancer. The illness was diagnosed in its early stages and the composer had his prostate removed, underwent treatment and has made a full recovery.

"I’m alive; I have my music; I have my children. I am the luckiest man," he said in 2011 upon revealing that the procedure had left him impotent.

Last month, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the revered British musician wrote the anthem for King Charles III’s May 6 coronation. Lloyd Webber adapted a piece of church music that encourages singers to make a “joyful noise," the Associated Press reported. The "Sunset Boulevard" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" composer was appointed a Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. His title was elevated to lord by the late queen in 1996, and he briefly served as a Conservative member in the British Parliament's House of Lords.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.