March 19 (UPI) -- Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced he will miss Thursday's opening of his new Broadway musical, Bad Cinderella, so he can be with his hospitalized son.
"I am absolutely devastated to say that my eldest son Nick is critically ill. As my friends and family know, he has been fighting gastric cancer for the last 18 months and Nick is now hospitalized," Webber said in a statement Saturday.
"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. 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."
The show's Twitter feed said in a statement that the cast and company "send their love, thoughts and prayers to Andrew and the Lloyd Webber family."
Nicholas, 43, is a Grammy-nominated composer and record producer, best known for penning the scores for the BBC 1 drama Love, Lies and Records and the 2021 film The Last Bus.
The elder Webber's beloved musical, The Phantom of the Opera, is set to close next month after 35 years.
It is Broadway's longest-running production.