Love Never Dies – Starts tonight
Editors update since this article was first posted: See a round-up of Love Never Dies reveiews from critics following last night’s world premiere at the Adelphi Theatre in London
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s brand new musical Love Never Dies will start previewing tonight at the Adelphi Theatre in London.
And to say there is some anticipation is an understatement.
The show is directed by legendary Broadway director Jack O’Brien, responsible for big Broadway hits The Full Monty and Hairspray.
The first preview performance was originally scheduled for Saturday 20 February but had to be cancelled to give the cast and crew more time to rehearse.
The multi-million pound new musical, which has already taken more than £8 million at the box-office, follows the story of Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera, this time setting the show on Coney Island in New York at the turn of the last century.
Sierra Boggess
The original musical has been seen by over 100 million people worldwide, so the pressure is on to create a new work that lives up to the incredible legacy of the original.
The new show is based on a novel by Frederick Forsyth called The Phantom Of Manhattan, and adapted initially by Ben Elton (We Will Rock You), who was responsible for reintroducing some of the original characters including Christine and Raoul.
A strong launch cast includes Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Christine, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry, Summer Strallen as her daughter Meg, Joseph Millson as Raoul, Niamh Perry as Fleck, Adam Pearce as Squelch and Jami Reid-Quarrell as Gangle.
Joseph Millson
The show’s World Premiere will be on Tuesday 9 March 2010, followed by New York on Thursday 11 November and Australia in 2011.
In the musical, the story continues with the Phantom moving from his lair in the Paris Opera House to haunt the fairgrounds of Coney Island in New York. Set ten years after the mysterious disappearance of the Phantom from Paris, the show works on the themes of obsession and intrigue, promising a number of shocking plot twists and large-scale spectacles.
Summer Strallen
LOVE NEVER DIES – CREATIVE TEAM:
Director – Jack O’Brien (Hairspray, The Full Monty, Catch Me If You Can)
Music – Andrew Lloyd Webber (The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Evita)
Lyricist – Glenn Slater(The Little Mermaid, Sister Act)
Set and costume designer – Bob Crowley (Phèdre, The History Boys, Mary Poppins)
Choreographer- Jerry Mitchell (Legally Blonde, Hairspray, The Full Monty)
Book tickets to see Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London
Hotel and theatre breaks to see Love Never Dies
Phantom sequel Love Never Dies to open in London
Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s new sequel to The Phantom of the Opera – “Love Never Dies” – will have its world premiere in London, as reported today by Baz Bamigboye in the Daily Mail.
It was initially believed that the new blockbusting musical would open simultaneously in New York, London and Shanghai, but it now appears that managing the logistics of this has proved too complex. However, the show will still break new ground in opening productions around the world in quick succession – starting with London and then following with Toronto, Shanghai and then Broadway.
In London, the show will play at the Adelphi Theatre, owned by Lloyd-Webber’s Really Useful Group, in late October or early November.
Lloyd-Webber also revealed to Baz that, as predicted by previous rumours, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess will launch the show in the two main leads.
Variety recently reported that the show would open in Toronto at the Canon Theater, where the original Phantom launched in Canada in 1989, although Lloyd-Webber has now confirmed that it will open after London at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and then go to Broadway.
The show’s music is written by Lloyd Webber with a book by Ben Elton, who has more than proved his musical credentials with We Will Rock You, which continues to pack them in and celebrates the start of its 8th year in London from the end of April.
The book is based on an original idea by best selling author Frederick Forsyth, and is set in Coney Island in 1907.
Ramin Karimloo (pictured) is currently appearing as the Phantom in the West End and will continue in the role in the new production. The actor was born in Iran and brought up in Canada.
A notice placed on the Actors’ Equity Association website says of the plot that, “the mysterious “Maestro” who runs the theatre at Coney Island announces a one-off concert by legendary Parisian soprano Christine Daaé. Her arrival in New York with husband Raoul, Victome de Chagny and son Gustave, and their subsequent meeting with the “Maestro,” bring the cataclysmic events of 10 years earlier at the Paris Opera crashing back into all their lives.”
Director Jack O’Brien and choreographer Jerry Mitchell – the dream team from the Hairspray musical – will stage the show.
O’Brien said to Baz that Lloyd-Webber was enormously passionate about the project: “‘It is like the last flowering of a great era of lyric romanticism – the theatre doesn’t seem to have that any more.”
It is unclear whether Jospeh, currently playing at the Adelphi Theatre starring Gareth Gates, will extend its run until Love Never Dies Opens.
BOOK TICKETS TO THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA – PLUS SAVE ON THEATRE AND DINNER PACKAGES
Original article published 20 March 2009
