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Andrew Lloyd Webber come by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday night (April 17) to review Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and more.
Host Jimmy Fallon led his discussion with the Broadway legend to the Jellicle 1981 musical by asking, “Can I ask you about Cats?” as members of the audience laughed. “How does one come up with an idea like Cats? And are you a cat person?”
“Well, I am a cat person,” Lord Lloyd Webber reacted. “Well, I was a total cat person until I saw the Cats movie.”
After that joke got an unscripted standing ovation from the studio audience, the author continued. “What happened to the Cats movie was, during the course of it being, as it were, shot — which I hope the whole movie would’ve been — I bought this little puppy. And he was called Mojito, he’s a little Havanese dog, he comes from Cuba.”
Lloyd Webber went on to explain that he attempted utilizing the puppy as a treatment dog on a plane, however the unnamed airline company said he required a medical professional’s note. “And so I simply said, ‘I saw the Cats movie and bought a puppy,’” he deadpanned. “And they said, ‘No doctor’s letter needed.’”
Directed by Tom Hooper, the 2019 musical adjustment included a who’s who of stars like James Corden, Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellan and Taylor Swift as humanoid street cats. It was panned by critics and audiences alike, though “Beautiful Ghosts,” the initial tune composed for the movie by Lloyd Webber and Swift, did gather a Grammy election for finest tune composed for visual media.
During the interview, the Broadway impresario likewise discussed the closing of Phantom the night in the past, stating, “It was sad last night because I just felt it could run on, but there you go.”
However, the renowned chandelier might not have actually succumbed to the last time. ALW received a strange note that was provided to the Tonight Show studio from the Phantom himself, which checked out, “I am extremely displeased that my legend is no longer being told in New York, a city for which I have developed great affection. I am therefore currently obtaining a new address in which my legend will be examined in extreme detail. I advise you and New Yorkers to be vigilant.”
Watch Lloyd Webber’s total interview with Fallon listed below.
