FIRST OFF . . .

Broadway’s powerhouse duo of Harold Prince and Andrew Lloyd Webber have announced plans to form a company that will stage new joint productions and develop plays and musicals. Among Prince’s stage credits is his present direction of Webber’s musical “The Phantom of the Opera” in London, which is scheduled to receive its New York premiere in January. The long-running “Cats” and “Starlight Express” provide Webber’s present Broadway visibility. But the New York Times reported that the creation of the as-yet-unnamed Prince-Webber production company will raise questions about Lloyd Webber’s present “Phantom” partnership with Cameron Mackintosh. Despite claims by a Mackintosh spokesman that the two still were “good friends,” personal and business differences were reported to be the cause of the strained relationship.