The '
Late Late Show' host and his theater troupe, including a surprise appearance from
Josh Gad, performed songs from 'Evita,' 'Cats,' 'Phantom of the Opera' and 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.'
James Corden has brought "Crosswalk the Musical" to
London. While filming The Late Late Show across the pond, Corden staged an
Andrew Lloyd Webber-themed edition of the segment, featuring songs from some of Webber's best-known musicals.
"So we're back. We're on home shores," said Corden in introducing the segment. "There are really only two events that everyone in Britain circled on their calendar this year. One, the royal wedding, which, you know, happened and two, this: Crosswalk the Musical."
"Gather around everyone. Gather around," Corden told his theater troupe. "To commemorate our return to this greatest of isles, Great Britain, we will be celebrating the work and career of one of the true legends of the stage. None other than Mr. the Lord Lloyd Andrew Lloyd Webber."
The performers then crowded the legendary composer before Corden yelled at them. He then curtsied in front of Webber, who asked, "What are you doing down there? Get up."
"To have Lloyd Andrew Lloyd Webber choose us to help him celebrate his 70th year is the icing on the icing on the cake. It's a cake with two icings, which sounds incredible," said Corden.
Corden explained that the group will perform a medley of songs from the composer. The host then realized that he may be saying Webber's name wrong. "I feel like I'm saying it wrong. Is it Lloyd Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber?" The composer responded, "Lord Lloyd."
"To be honest, when James asked me if he could perform my musicals at the crosswalk I couldn’t believe it," said Webber as Corden pushed a huge ball of red yarn as he trained the performers. "I thought the production could use some youth and energy, so I've asked the cast of my School of Rock musical to come by. I think James is going to absolutely love it."
After watching the young cast perform, Corden appeared unimpressed. "Yeah, we had to let them go. Attitude problems," he said.
Corden later gave Webber the opportunity to read the cast list, which revealed that Corden was cast in all the main roles.
The first musical number the ensemble performs is from Evita. Corden wears a strapless white dress as he takes on the role of Eva Peron. Webber can been seen watching the performance and holding a playbill on the sidewalk. The composer threw a bouquet of roses to the cast following the performance, at which Corden screamed, "He's throwing them to me."
"Patti LuPone, Madonna, Elaine Paige and I don't want to say it, but I think James Corden is now top of that list, " said Corden of his place among well-known actresses who played Eva Peron. Webber later said, "Yeah, well he's definitely bottom of the list."
The theater group then took on a musical number from Cats. While preparing for the performance, they easily got distracted by a pedestrian dog.
The group then performed a number from Phantom of the Opera. "Where's my Christine?" asked Corden, who was dressed as the phantom. "We don't have a Christine. Who is playing Christine?"
In desperate need of an actor for Christine, Corden called in a favor. Josh Gad then showed up to help out. "You know, once you've appeared in one Crosswalk the Musical, you become like a member of the company for life. We're like theatrical navy SEALs," said the star of Crosswalk the Musical: Beauty and the Beast.
Following the number, Webber praised Gad's performance. "Josh, you're gorgeous and marvelous," he said. A jealous Corden then told Gad he can leave.
The final performance by the group was "Any Dream Will Do" from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The elaborate performance was received with a positive review from Webber. The group, including Webber, took their final bow and received a round of applause from the people stuck in traffic.