The real stunt casting move would be to cast Mickey in the show. Now THAT would increase ticket sales.

Bad Cinderella is a testament to the importance of good writing.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's ego just couldn't handle being called out for writing drivel and now lots of people are out of jobs. Its heartbreaking for the cast and crew

off topic but....the bucket hat/pink collar combo is everything

When I saw this news breaking my brain literally went 'And now we go live to our Bad Cinderella Correspondent, Mickey Jo'. Personally, the way the London cast was treated put the writing on the wall for me, especially the way Carrie found out, and the letter ALW didn't even have the balls to turn up and read himself.... I felt so terrible for the London cast. Being told off in front of your siblings (let's say the rest of the cast/ crew) is very different to being lambasted in front of hundreds (thousands, when thinking of videos on socials) of strangers. THAT was below the belt, both in front and behind of closed doors. I'd bet we haven't heard the half of it in regards to poor treatment.

The worst part is that ALW will not learn from this and will blame the cast and crew. It’s not fair to them.

How sweet of Andrew to wait until you got your bucket hat to close the show 🥰🥰

The way you've always compliment and show your love to the cast is so important and a proof of how much of a good critic you are, Mickey.

I’m just excited to see if dear old Andrew will be at the closing, send a letter, or just keep his mouth shut this time (tbh the latter is probably the best- just let the closing be a celebration of the cast and crew that worked so hard)

The astonishing realization for me is that with this and Phantom closing, this will be the first time ALW won’t be on the Broadway boards since 1979. Wow.

I honestly think that the best way for this show to have longevity is for them to release the rights so that high schools and local theaters can put on the production. They wanted to appeal to younger audiences so what better way than having their schools put it on?

If they had made relatively minor adjustments to the plot they really could have marketed this as an alternative to the idea that Cinderella is only 'beautiful' when dressed up a certain way - they could have shown that her inner beauty and strong sense of self is more attractive than a ballgown. This would have had a clearer message and a clearer audience - great for all ages in such an image- obsessed world. Such a shame as this had so much potential 😞🤔

You know, I have my doubts that this is the last Mickey Jo video about this show and that alone is incredibly amusing to me, it’s like a bad running gag that refuses to die. It simply keeps Mickey in its clutches 😂 Still very sorry for everyone who worked hard on the show and is now prematurely out of a job…

No, Mickey Jo, you can't take the blame for this closing. A really, awful production on Broadway closed the show. Yes, I saw it (regretfully). After a terrific first number, the rest of the show sucked. Cast was great, show was dreadful. It would never have survived.

It's time, Mickey...after June 4th, you'll be free of this curse

Maybe an unpopular opinion here but at its core...the issue with the show is that we dont need another retelling of Cinderella. Even if the writing was better the show was doomed from the start. Cinderella is probably the most retold, remade and overdone princess story in history. Doing a by-the-book pretty princess version is almost more attention-grabbing these days than a 'modern' 'edgy' twist on the story. It was simply a concept that did not need to exist in the first place.

The fact that there are so many theaters dark right now is also indicative of the fact that no one can afford to go see them. Especially diehard musical fans. I would love to see a Broadway musical on Broadway, but I will never have the money to do so. Broadway really needs to work on making Broadway accessible again .

With the power of hindsight, I think ALW's absence from the West End closing was likely due to his son's diagnosis, especially with the director's slip about him having personal issues at the time. Naturally, that doesn't excuse that absolute joke of message he sent, but it does explain his absence. But, if this is what happened, he probably should have put out a statement that he wouldn't be there AHEAD of the show. There would still be the inkling that he wasn't attending because if his hurt ego, but one statement about a family emergency (or something else vague but clearly personal) would have saved a lot of heartache for everyone involved. And I mean the cast and crew, not the general public.

I can't believe they made the same error twice telling the media before the company was all informed. Crazy deja vu.

I would love a video essay about Andrew Lloyd Webber and his role in musical theatre. It's interesting to me that most conversations around the shows he has composed for highlight him, but not necessarily his collaborators (of course, if you're talking with real musical theatre fans it's different, but I think the casual fan who knows who Webber is probably can't easily rattle off his collaborators). I suppose his role as an impresario complicates matters considerably.

Watching this mere hours before auditioning for Dance of the Vampires you cracked me up with that ending. Do have to say though that the one flopping on Broadway is a different version to the one that's so successful in Germany and Austria, but having said that yes. You're absolutely right, Bad Cinderella would for some reason probably be a giant hit here.

He's going to need the BAO hat back when Netflix makes the Bad Cinderella movie adaptation.

I'm so glad you mentioned Tanz der Vampire because it's unironically one of my favorite shows. What happened to it on Broadway is a CRIME

I saw the news and said "Mickey Jo's gonna flip when he wakes up!"

I have gathered ALW's most successful move recently was appearing for three seconds on Eurovision

Swear it feels like history has been repeating itself. This happened with the West End cast. And Sunset Boulevard.

I think the show could live on with a high school / community theatre version! Thank you for your work documenting this show 👏

I found your channel through the West End closing scandal video so I'm very grateful to ALW for that 😂

I am sad for all the people losing their jobs but am relieved for you that you can put reviewing this show behind you. I am glad I did not miss much by not seeing it based on the reviews it got. Love you! Thanks for all your great coverage and content.❤

In true ALW spirit, when you flashed the title “so what happens now?” I immediately started singing “another suitcase in another haaallll…” 😅

As soon as I heard the news that Bad Cinderella is closing the very first thing I thought of was you Mickey.

Despite not being a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber, I think its important to remember his eldest son died in March 2023, and I can imagine this being a blow to him so soon after losing a child (and yes, he has behaved terribly) but I am still sympathetic to what he must be going through.

There was never anything wrong with the way this show was ***marketed*** on Broadway--it may be the finest example of putting lipstick on a pig in theater history. The one, unavoidable, unsurmountable, glaring problem with this production was that the show itself is no damned good. MickeyJo hit the nail on the head when he said something about "there is no audience for this show." Ken Mandelbaum, in his popular book NOT SINCE CARRIE, a survey of Broadway musical flops and why they flopped, has a whole section titled "Don't Let This Happen To You," with a subhead, "Don't Write A Show For Which There Is No Audience." Cinderella/Bad Cinderella isn't a family-friendly version of the fairy tale; "family audiences" won't like it. The show isn't nearly as hip as it's trying to be; teenagers and other young people ***always*** notice when that's the case and reject the faux-hip accordingly. The show is simply an insult to the intelligence of any grown-up. Who is supposed to like it? Diehard ALW fans who are also gone on bitchy but weak-tea camp and the latest fashion trends of 30 years ago? Well, apparently there aren't so many of those in London, and even fewer in New York. I think I said here about a year ago that I didn't believe the show would ever arrive on Broadway. (Several other ALW shows never have.) Well, clearly I was wrong about that. But I also said at the same time that producers would be crazy to bring it to New York, and I was right about that. New York is a much tougher market than London. New York critics are much, MUCH tougher than in London, and New York audiences are also tougher (harder to please) than in the West End. Add to that, ALW has never been as popular in New York as in London, and that his New York moment was clearly over. (Since Phantom, 35 years ago, all but one subsequent ALW show has flopped on Broadway.) And Cinderella had *flopped* in London--without a serious top-to-bottom rewrite that might require years and was not forthcoming, how ever was it going to succeed on Broadway? Answer: It couldn't. Of course, none of the show's failure was the fault of the cast. It never is. ALL shows that make it to the West End or Broadway have extremely talented, extremely personable, and very, very hard-working casts. But on Broadway, that's the minimum expectation. To *succeed* on Broadway, you have to be even better than that. Not the cast, but the *show.*

The pink collar, black and white shirt, and hat is such a good combination. Great look!

Also: Here's my prediction for the future life of Bad Cinderella (should it live to see another day) 1) The show closes with no tours or subsequent productions 2) It fades into the musical theatre zeitgeist, relegated to a cautionary tale at best and a punchline at worst 3) ten years pass 4) A brand-new production team manages to mount a revival, where the book and score of the show are left the exact same, except now the whole production is in on the fact that it objectively sucks. 5) It becomes a campy cult hit that actually leans into the outrageous melodrama and revels in being a dum glitzy fuzzfest. 6) Double feature midnight showings of Bad Cinderella and Rocky Horror sweep the nation

I adored the West end production of Bad Cinderella, I felt the cast was sublime and I enjoyed it. I haven’t seen the Broadway version, only clips that were shared on social media platforms, I wasn’t keen on the changes made, but again didn’t see the full show. I’m disgusted that ALW has yet again let his pride and ego come before the performers and crew, yet again screwing over the very people who make money for him. I feel he should of let it run another year in the west end, not rush to close it and try again on Broadway, it was a costly mistake. I’m again devastated for all those out of a job yet again, as they don’t deserve the treatment they’re getting. No one will want to be a part of anything ALW is working on soon as how can you trust him not to do this again.

There needs to be a 'show that went wrong' kinda show about this show.

Honestly, i can see this show as a future Carrie. I feel like in different hands down the road a revival could be a hit. Just needs time to work out the kinks and make it less superficial and more grounded.

I'm honestly surprised Bad Cinderella will have stayed open as long as it is, even though it's having a very short run. Because, like you said, its only real selling point was that it was an ALW show. The west end production had the benefit of using both ALW and Carrie's names in the marketing, but all the broadway production had besides ALW's name was a bad reputation. Stunt casting, or casting an actual broadway actor with a hug following, from the get go would have probably given the show a couple more months due to increased interest; but this show was doomed on broadway before it even began. I wish the cast and crew nothing but the best, and that maybe, just maybe, this will be the reminder about ALW's ego being bigger than his talent that finally sticks.

something that makes me sad about all this is I think it hurts the chance of Ever After ever coming to Broadway, which I had the chance to see with Sierra Boggess in Atlanta and was absolutely incredible!!

I was refreshing my app REPEATEDLY I am so excited to hear your thoughts. Much love to the cast and crew of this doomed show.

If there’s a bright spot to all this, it’s the color coordination in your outfit. Very cool.

It’d be such a long shot but I’d LOVE to see the lightning thief on Broadway. Maybe in the future when the Disney + show comes out it’ll have the momentum to maybe fill an empty theater.

Thank you for all of your coverage of this show over the years! I bought tickets to one of the last performances - I watched slime tutorial of the West End production, and I'm excited to experience it in person. Given my first name (Ella), Cinderella retellings always fascinate me, and I had such high hopes for this show. But I'm just as much of a fan of trainwrecks! Bad Cinderella is not Andrew Lloyd Webber's most interesting failure, but it is a failure I am alive to see and to enjoy. I want to support the hardworking cast, and I just ordered a bucket hat of my own.

you were the first person that came to mind when the news popped up on instagram😹

I am taking two of my dearest friends in the world to the final performance. For one of them, it will be his very first Broadway show. This will be my second time seeing it, and I couldn’t be more excited.

My daughter & I saw the matinee show on April 16th. We went in blind but truly enjoyed it. It was laugh out loud funny at times. The cast is very talented. Sad to see it end so soon.

It seems almost impossible to screw up the Cinderella story, but ALW certainly did--plastic surgeons, prostitute backgrounds, etc. It all just seems so trite and forced. They lost the soul of the original story, the thing that has kept it around for hundreds of years. So, I think it was less critical condemnation that kept audiences away and more the show not connecting to the audience. The word of mouth was horrible, so there were no fevered fans, and no repeat viewing, like with Bettleguise. I even heard from several 15-20-year-old girls that it was a terrible show. That from what I assume was the target audience. While the performances may be wonderful, if the show is bad, it's not going to work. The bottom line is that Bad Cinderella is a bad show.

To be fair dance of the vampires was very very verrrryyyy different on Broadway from the version that keeps being performed in Austria, Germany, Hungary etc., the US version probably would have flopped in Europe as well - if they wanted similar success for Cinderella here then I think they would still have to massively rework that show for this market.

"Prima Facie" and "Parade" are both limited runs that will close in July and August, respectively. If they don't open new shows in these empty theaters quickly, there will be five theaters all in the same area that will be dark. That's kind of creepy! (I'm counting the Majestic, which is technically on 44th, but the back of the theater is on 45th near the others.)

I am marveling at the color coordination in this video. I knew you would be kind and authentic, but oh good lord that coral pink is perfect for you.

Totally agree with you. The cast got a lot of unnecessary social media fire, and the people working the show (cast and crew) are amazing. The creative was not. It just wasn’t a well written show. I appreciate that you acknowledge the cast and crew in all of your reviews because they really are amazing people.

Hahaha I feel like this has been a marathon that's finally coming to an end. What a journey we've all been on.

No matter how you feel about the show this still hurts. As I said on a previous video the best bet here is a tour because most theaters in the US people lock into a subscription no matter the line up so it will work fairly well. The other seats will be grabbed by me & others curious just to say they saw it. Now I'm off to go listen to more of the KPop Cast Recording because the tunes are super catchy & the production quality on it is bonkers good.

There are an eerie amount of similarities between this show and the show Merrily We Roll Along, both ended their original run after less than 100 shows, both were written by famed playwrights, hell, both have even won the same WhatsOnStage award. I really wouldn't be surprised if this show is appreciated in a few decades in the same light

In 2021, I was in a very low point in my life and making efforts to find the light again. I was incredibly intrigued about the upcoming ALW Cinderella project, and was thrilled to find your videos about them. Following your reviews and comentary throughout the show's rollercoaster of a life, death, life and death again, as well as having a community in the comments to talk about all my thoughts with, has been an incredible source of levity for me these past few years. I'm so pleased I've found your channel through this baffling journey. Subscribing to you has certainly been the opposite of a costly mistake, a fruitfully wise decision.

It just feels like Lloyd Weber needs to retire at this point. He's lost the pulse of what seems to work now and a lot of material choices are sus too

Love the turning out of the lights leaving the hat at the end! I see what you did there!

I saw the show on March 29th in anticipation of it not getting Tony nominations. I figured it would close and I guess I was correct. It was a weird show and really long. I appreciated how hard the cast worked with what they were given.

I have never clicked so fast. So sad for the cast. I hope they all move on to something wonderful.

I HAVE ALWAYS thought Andrew opened the production when he did with the expectation it'll close on Broadway ... So he can then move phantom in.

I think the main problem with this show is that it doesn’t know who it’s audience is.

As a German I want to raise emy hand for the "European" community and Dance of teh Vampires. Mickey I invite you to go see it and review it and realise that it has nothing to do with the Broadway version that was silly and campy. I know you're just making fun but Dance of the Vampires deserves so much more and a lot of respect. Running for over 25 years... (bad) cinderella could never live up to this.

ALW is the M.Knight Shyamalan of Musical Theater. He had a run of great shows, but his work slowly faded with each show after Sunset Blvd, yet somehow he puts out show after show, and he never seems to listen to others for guidance. Sadly, the creative wheelhouse is getting pretty dry. Musically, his best work has melodies that are memorable, they advance the story, they are beautifully orchestrated, and they are not overused. His later work takes a small riff and repeats the living hell out of it. For example, in Bad Cinderella, I was so tired of hear the repeated melody line in "Unfair". So many more songs repeat the same annoying melody line. A great example of a good use of a melody line is in Evita's Rainbow Tour "There you are, I told you so. Makes no difference where I go..." I think that piece is only used once in the show, but I love listening to it. Musically, his top shows are Phantom, Evita, Aspects, Sunset, Cats, JCS, and Starlight. I even love much from Variations, Tell Me on a Sunday, and Joseph. His worst, most repetitive shows include Bad Cinderella, Woman in White, and Beautiful Game, all of which were made after the mid 90s. ALW is known for taking little pieces of someone else's music and breathing beautiful life into it with great orchestrations, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Mickey Jo, I would love to hear some of your thoughts on his previous works!

Great vid! You should put Cards in the video where you mention another video you've made on (BAD) Cinderella. And put a link to the playlist in the description!

its sad because i feel like bad Cinderella has soooo much potential if they cut some songs and reworked the book a bit.

As soon as I saw the headline about it closing I started anticipating this video 😂

Well, the example of Dance of the Vampires (Tanz der Vampire) was that the Broadway production was actually a parody of the German production, instead of the movie. Tanz der Vampire (the German/Austrian) is an awesome show.

Dance of the Vampires was changed beyond recognition for Broadway. Nevertheless it's surprising that it has been around for 25 years (is there anyone who hasn't seen it yet?), especially after having been scaled down so much.

I was at Dreamcoat Stars recently and someone asked Jonathan Dudley if he enjoyed being in Cinderella and he literally just sighed, looked at the audience and said “no.”

This was a fun show to watch, I enjoyed bad Cinderella twice on broadway sucks to see it closing. And I feel bad for the cast and crew, and everyone else who works in that venue.

I was seconds away from watching yesterdays tony nominations video.... but another chapter in the alw cinderella story... this takes priority

Thank you for documenting this whole thing so well! Sad to see any closure, and I've suspected for a little while now that ALW's son was a big driver in why he didn't show up for the closing performance. Might I ask what that lovely glow is? Your skin is always immaculate!

your BAD hat has not yet failed to make me giggle. will be sad if this is really the end of the saga for ALW's cinderella... if only bc i love following it from your videos. on the bright side for you, maybe you're free at last!

Oh how I would have loved to have been in a room with Carrie Hope Fletcher and Lauren Byrne when this news reached them! 😂😂😂

Totally agree with the European tour idea, it could even be adapted into a drag show, which might capitalise on the camp-a-bility element and give it a kind of Rocky Horror cult status, perhaps generating potentially huge audiences going forward? Surely will be interesting to see what happens next?!

Mickey Jo receiving the Pulitzer Prize(s) for Criticism and/or Explanatory Reporting when?

Mickey, thank you for another awesome vlog. Questions: 1. As you know, a cast member posted on Insta that a popular website announced the closure before the cast were "officially" notified. Others have denied this. Do you have any additional info? 2. Your insight into productions, and what the issues are, leads me to believe quite strongly that you would make an amazing director - or someone to go into a production to try and turn it around. What would you do to Cinderella / Bad Cinderella to try and keep it afloat? 3. Please tell us more about the stunt casting... 4. I agree completely about ALW. The man has seen his son lose his life. I believe he will always associate this with Nick's passing. But thank you as always for an incredibly thoughtful vlog!

I’ve been planning my first (and likely only) trip to Broadway for October of this year. Really hope that by the time I start thinking about buying tickets that the industry starts getting revitalized. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this closure, especially considering the current economic condition.

You killed me with that ending 😂. All you needed was meg to come in frame and hold up the hat with an ominous look.

I do hope maybe we will still get a cast recording, as I did think the new opening number, "Beauty is Our Duty" was a stronger number!

Your entire journey is what inspired me to finally see it on Broadway and I just saw it last night before the closing announcement. Glad to have seen it, but it was unsurprising outcome 😅😂

I think it would've done better if they didn't change things (like making Cinderella a stereotypically attractive Latina instead of a Mid/plus sized actress) 🤷‍♀️

If anyone else made a string of such terrible business and creative mistakes it would be career ending, but because it's ALW no doubt he'll just bounce back yet again without learning a single thing

Honest to God my first thought was just don't let him write a closing speech this time...

Is it now Sad Cinderella?

Totally unrelated, but Mickey’s skin looks incredible in this video

So sad. I saw it twice and had a great time. The music is super catchy. I really hope they release an album recording.

I was at the Eurovision grand final rehearsal last night, and ALW was included in the montage of footage at the start of the show. He got quite a few boos.

So….alw admitted the west end opening was rushed, yet they still rushed the show to broadway anyway?!?! Obviously he couldn’t handle having a failed show and tried to force something that clearly needed more workshopping and maybe a better script 😬

Been a while since I watched the previous videos and it's probably been said before but the fact that he owns merch of a show he doesn't even like is. Amazing. (Also a damn cute look, help.)

Somehow I don’t think this is the end for you and bad Cinderella

Truly sorry for Lord Lloyd Weber's loss. Nobody needs to post details about it here. We all know how to use the internet. There have been ALW shows over the last decade or two that surprised me, that confused me, as projects that he would not have been interested in, such as School of Rock. He never seemed to me to be the type to write music for a movie adaptation. Even Cinderella/Bad Cinderella was a show that had already been done. I wonder if a part of the problem with the Broadway production may have been the potential thought - by both theatre-goers and critics - that he was trying to outdo Rogers and Hammerstein. I don't know whether that thought ever entered his mind, probably it didn't. But we've all known for many years that he has a (well deserved) ego. Of course he did. He wrote the amazing music for Phantom. If it weren't amazing, it wouldn't have run for 35 years. But this could paint him as a has-been. As box-office poison. And if this is his swan song, that would truly be sad.

Honestly, that moment with the bucket hat at the end was legit emotional

ALW: 'It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me'

Love the lights going off at the end! I laughed out loud.

Turns out it wasn't the actors, it's the show. Big shocker.

* remembers when the [Bad] Cinderella playlist had five vids *

Andrew: is this a bad show? No, it's the cast and crew who are wrong. Again.

It's over. The long international nightmare is over. Mickey is free now! Free!