ENTERTAINMENT

Lloyd Webber's 'Stephen Ward' to close in West End after 4-month run

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, February 25, 2014 7:19AM EST

From left, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, actress Charlotte Blackledge, actor Alexander Hanson, Charlotte Spencer, and director Richard Eyre in London on Monday Sept. 30, 2013. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)

Text:

LONDON -- It's curtains for Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical in London's West End.

Producers say "Stephen Ward," a tale of sex and scandal based on a real Cold War episode, will close March 29 after run of less than four months.

The play opened in December to mixed reviews. It stars Alexander Hanson as a well-connected osteopath caught up in a scandal involving a young model, a British Cabinet minister and a Soviet attache.

It was the composer's first new show since "Phantom of the Opera" sequel "Love Never Dies" in 2010, and featured book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black.

Producer Robert Fox said Monday he is saddened the show is closing, "but firmly believe this piece will be seen by many audiences in the future."