Andrew Lloyd Webber.Photo: Noam Galai/Getty
April Fools, musical fans!
Andrew Lloyd Webberteased his followers Friday on April Fools' Day withan Instagram Reels videoof himself performing a song parodying his 1981 musicalCats.
In the clip, the 74-year-old Broadway legend said he has “moved on” from theCatsmovie, which hit the big screen in 2019, to a new show calledDogs.
“Dogs. I’m talking of dogs,” Webber crooned. “Not kangaroos, not centipedes or frogs. I’m talking of dogs.”
The second verse followed a similar pattern: “Dogs. I’m talking of dogs. Not buffalos, not zebras or warthogs. We’re talking of dogs!”
In the caption, Webber asked his followers to “let me know what you and your dogs think” of his new song.
Webber has openly criticized the 2019 film adaptation ofCatssince the film’s premiere in December 2019. Nearly two years after the film’s release, the composer called the movie “off-the-scale all wrong” during an interview withVariety.
It was so bad, in fact, Webber said he feltcompelled to adopt a dog.
“There wasn’t really any understanding of why the music ticked at all,” he said during the October 2021 interview. “I saw it and I just thought, ‘Oh, God, no.’ It was the first time in my 70-odd years on this planet that I went out and bought a dog. So the one good thing to come out of it is my little Havanese puppy.”
Webber also quipped about attempting to get permission from one airline to bring his dog aboard as an emotional support animal.
Arturo Holmes/Getty
“I wrote off and said I needed him with me at all times because I’m emotionally damaged and I must have this therapy dog,” he toldVariety. “The airline wrote back and said, ‘Can you prove that you really need him?’ And I said ‘Yes, just see what Hollywood did to my musicalCats.’ Then the approval came back with a note saying, ‘No doctor’s report required.’ "
The year prior, Webber said he took issue with howCats— which starredIdris Elba,Judi Dench,Taylor Swift,Rebel Wilson,Jennifer HudsonandJames Corden— ultimately came together.
“The problem with the film was that Tom Hooper decided that he didn’t want anybody involved in it who was involved in the original show,” Webber, who was listed as an executive producer on the film, told the U.K.‘sSunday Times. “The whole thing was ridiculous.”
source: people.com
