Lloyd Webber's Mona Lisa Heist Musical Eyes a London Opening by Next Autumn
Andrew Lloyd Webber has finished a new musical about the theft of the Mona Lisa. He hopes it will be fully open in London by this time next year, WhatsOnStage reported on 23 October 2026.
The composer spoke about the show in an interview on The Independent's podcast. He described a score that blends Italian arias with Parisian harmonies, which fits a story set around the painting's famous 1911 theft from the Louvre in Paris.
One of the most unusual choices is the character of Mona herself. Lloyd Webber said she steps out of the painting and has an active speaking role on stage. That gives the painted subject a voice, and a place in the plot, rather than leaving her as a silent image.
The timing has shifted. In April, West End Theatre reported that the heist musical was due to open in London in September 2026. The composer's latest comments point to a later date, with a full opening hoped for around October 2027. Neither a venue nor a press night has been confirmed.
The show is based on a book and a film. Lloyd Webber has said the new work came out of a long-running interest in the art world and in how stories about famous paintings can be told through music.
He also said he once came close to working with the American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim. The project would have been about two Italian composers, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Giacomo Puccini, racing to write rival versions of the opera La bohème. It did not go ahead.
The announcement comes as Lloyd Webber looks back on a busy year. His musical The Phantom of the Opera recently marked its 40th anniversary at His Majesty's Theatre in London's West End, where it has run since 1986.
For theatregoers, the main thing to watch is whether the timetable holds. A new musical usually needs a firm venue, a cast, and a set of confirmed dates before it can go on sale. Until those are announced, the autumn 2027 aim is a hope, not a booking.
