Are Andrew Lloyd Webber and Bill Kenwright best buddies or what? It’s like a true West End bro-mance.
Bill and Andy have been commercial partners for a while now, with Bill producing national tours of Andrew’s shows, notably Evita and Joseph – which has made millions for the two men.
Plus Bill is helping Andrew out producing his next biggie, The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium next February, starring Danielle Hope. Their announcement that Sophie Evans will be Dorothy First Reserve for the show at Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff in July, was a nice two-hander that demonstrated how close the two rivals have become (see photo).
And now we hear that Bill is assisting the Lord in doing a bit of light tinkering with Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre. Most who’ve seen the show seem to enjoy it, but Andrew has been unhappy since the opening and his creative team – Hairspray’s Jack O’Brien and Jerry Mitchell – have fled back to Broadway to work on Catch Me If You Can (quite apt!)
So ALW has pressed on with some changes of his own – including some revised lyrics by Phantom lyricist Charles Hart, Ben Elton has been involved in adding his thoughts, and Bill is going to have a stab at making the ending more satisfying.
The show will take a four day break from 22 November for the changes to take place.
Will the critics be invited to review the show all over again we ask?
SPECIAL OFFER: Save on tickets to Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London
Saw it last night, first time since opening week. What a transformation! The show was no more than the sum of its parts in the first iteration, but last night, the souped up first half and stunning performances from the leading players made this an emotionally resonant, quite brilliant piece of theatre.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has become Norma Deesmond and Love Never Dies is his Salomé.