Andrew Lloyd Webber, one of the most successful composers and producers in the history of musical theater, will be honored by Goodspeed Musicals on May 30 at the company’s 2026 Gala & Auction at the New Haven Lawn Club.
Lloyd Webber, whose British title is Baron Lloyd-Webber (since the House of Lords insists on hyphenating double names), will receive the Goodspeed Musicals Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre at the event. Goodspeed has bestowed the award since 1981, though not every year. Previous winners include Ira Gershwin, Julie Andrews, Jerry Herman and Tommy Tune.
While Goodspeed is better known for staging classic musicals by American writers and composers, spanning from Irving Berlin’s work in the 1930s to Stephen Schwartz’s in the 21st century, and for fostering new works from a wide range of musical theater artists, its relationship with Lloyd Webber goes back decades. Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre in Chester was chosen for the U.S. premiere of “By Jeeves,” the musical version of P.G. Wodehouse’s Wooster & Jeeves characters which Lloyd Webber created with Alan Ayckbourn, in 2001. That production transferred to New York with Goodspeed as one of its producers.
Lloyd Webber’s visit coincides with the new Goodspeed production of his first full-length musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” which opens the 2026 opera house season April 17 through June 7. “Jesus Christ Superstar,” whose 50th anniversary tour played The Bushnell in 2020, the Shubert Theatre in New Haven in 2023 and the Waterbury Palace in 2024. The show has been done by dozens of theaters around the state, from professional productions at such places as Seven Angels Theatre and UConn’s Connecticut Repertory Theatre to amateur productions put together by community theaters or groups of local musicians.
Lloyd Webber’s other musicals include “Cats,” “The Phantom of the Opera” and its sequel “Love Never Dies,” “Evita,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” “School of Rock,” “ “Sunset Boulevard,” “Song & Dance,” “Starlight Express,” “Aspects of Love,” “The Woman in White,” “The Beautiful Game,” “Stephen Ward,” “Bad Cinderella” and his adaptation “The Wizard of Oz.” The acclaimed off-Broadway production of a rethinking of “Cats” set in the realm of LGBTQ+ ballroom runways, “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” will open on Broadway in April.
“I am thrilled to be honoured by Goodspeed Musicals, particularly as Goodspeed presented my favourite musical, By Jeeves. I have long admired the work at the Opera House and am delighted to be part of this occasion,” Lloyd Webber said in a statement,
The May 30 gala event at the New Haven Lawn Club is black tie optional and includes a cocktail party, a five-course sit down meal, a live auction, performances celebrating Lloyd Webber’s work and the award presentation. Tickets range from $1,750 for a single ticket to $15,000 for a 10-person “Rainbow High” table. More information on the Goodspeed Gala & Auction and the Goodspeed Musicals Award for Outstanding Contribution to Musical Theatre is at goodspeed.org/gala.