Andrew Lloyd Webber turned West 44th Street into an impromptu dance floor Friday night, stepping outside the Broadhurst Theatre as his alter ego DJ Webz for a surprise post-show set that stretched late into the night. He spun alongside DJ Bill Coleman to salute Cats: The Jellicle Ball, the Broadway production that had just landed nine Tony nominations.
The crowd packed the block, with cast members and a handful of names from the New York ballroom scene joining the celebration as music thumped into the street. For a few tense moments, the outdoor setup overpowered the generator and threatened to cut the whole thing short, but power came back and the dancing resumed.
The set was a street-level victory lap for a show that has already become one of the season’s most watched titles. Cats: The Jellicle Ball was the reason for the party, and its nine Tony nominations gave the gathering the kind of buzz that can turn a post-show moment into an event in its own right.
Webber has been here before. His DJ work on 44th Street began when The Phantom of the Opera reopened after the pandemic, and that earlier run led to DJ offers in Ibiza and Las Vegas. This time, though, the scene felt more immediate and less polished: a Broadway legend, a packed block and a system that nearly went dark before the beat won out.
By around 12:30 a.m., police dispersed the fans and the block started to empty, ending a night that had briefly pushed past theater and into street party. The unanswered question is not whether Webber can draw a crowd; it is what he and Coleman played while the neighborhood was still loud enough to hear it.
