Andrew Lloyd Webber To Sue Over 'Jesus Christ Superstar' Cancellation

Musical and live theater impresario Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced his intention to sue the promoter that canceled the "Jesus Christ Superstar" U.S. tour earlier this year.

Webber's production company, the Really Useful Group, announced Tuesday that it would be suing promoter Michael Cohl and his company Options Clause Entertainment to make up for financial losses after Cohl canceled the U.S. tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar" that was set to hit the nation this summer.

In a statement released by Webber's UK spokesperson, the producer said his company "is taking legal action against Michael Cohl's Options Clause Entertainment following his cancellation of the 2014 North American Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar."

"The Really Useful Group (RUG) has no option but to proceed with legal action to recover its costs associated with the project and in turn, satisfy outstanding payments to suppliers and contractors."

"Cohl through, Options Clause Entertainment LLC, had agreed to be the promoter of this tour and under the terms of the agreement was responsible for all of the costs associated with the U.S. dates," the statement continued. "Since Mr. Cohl's unilateral decision to cancel the tour, The Really Useful Group has been tirelessly working to find an out of court settlement of the costs incurred by cancellation at such a late stage."

Cohl, who was also behind the ill-fated Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, abruptly canceled the U.S. tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar" in May, saying at the time that the tour was canceled due to low ticket sales. "It became obvious the shows were in trouble, but we tried until the last moment to give it every chance to turn around," Cohl said in a late May statement.

The broadway show was supposed to begin its U.S. tour in June and had a star-studded cast that included 'N Sync's JC Chasez and Destiny's Child's Michelle Williams, among others.