October 22, 2010, 10:57 am
‘Phantom’ Sequel Going Underground While Changes Are Made
By DAVE ITZKOFF
Detractors of the “Phantom of the Opera” sequel, “Love Never Dies” — it has a few — who would like to see that Andrew Lloyd Webber musical shut down are about to get their wish, for a few days anyway. The West End production of “Love Never Dies” at the Adelphi Theater will close from Nov. 22 through Nov. 25 while its producers make changes to the show, the Web site Official London Theater reported.
In a statement at that site, Mr. Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group says, “Some changes were written up over the summer and destined for the Australian production, and as they make improvements to the show we’d be mad not to put them into the Adelphi.”
The statement did not describe those changes, but The Daily Mail of London reported that the lyricist Charles Hart, who worked with Mr. Lloyd Webber on the original “Phantom” as well as “Aspects of Love,” reworked some lyrics for “Love Never Dies,” and that the theater producer Bill Kenwright “will help put right some of its problems, which include the much-troubled ending.”
The Australian production of “Love Never Dies” is scheduled to open in Melbourne in May; its Broadway production has been indefinitely postponed from spring 2011.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/phantom-sequel-going-underground-while-changes-are-made/
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Producers find no space in the city for a plethora of big-budget musicals
Michaela Boland, National arts writer
From: The Australian
October 16, 2010 12:00AM
There aren't enough venues for the number of theatrical blockbusters heading our way
DURING the past decade Sydney was the home of musical theatre in Australia. The city boasts the nation's biggest population, the most tourists and the headquarters of leading media organisations.
Without too much trouble these attributes have been harnessed on many occasions to launch multimillion-dollar shows that have then travelled the nation and, at their best, toured internationally. Shows such as Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story Live on Stage, The Boy From Oz and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical all opened in Sydney before national tours and an eventual tilt at the West End or Broadway, or both.
Disney Theatrical Australia elected to open The Lion King at the Capitol Theatre in Haymarket, Sydney, in 2004.
The producers of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2007 chose the same theatre for the Australian debut of their West End-hatched musical, a third version of which later opened on Broadway.
But now that has changed.
Andrew Lloyd Webber this week announced he had chosen Australia for the international debut of Love Never Dies, his sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.
The musical takes up the love story between the Phantom of the Paris Opera House and the object of his obsession, soprano Christine Daae, 10 years later at Coney Island in New York. Love Never Dies opened in London in March to mixed reviews.
The Australian version will be reworked by an Australian creative team led by director Simon Phillips and, if the new version works, Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group will consider Broadway. Love Never Dies, however, will open at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in May.
Likewise, Disney's second Australian musical Mary Poppins is now ensconced at Melbourne's Regent Theatre.
Jersey Boys, Wicked and Hairspray, the three other big expensive musicals in Australia, also opened in Melbourne.
The state government's Victorian Major Events Company offers enticements to lure the shows south and producers wax lyrical about the marketing support it provides.
The Really Useful Group managing director Tim McFarlane says: "It was always a very particular thing about the association of the Phantom and Melbourne." The original The Phantom of the Opera opened in Melbourne in 1990.
"That was really the prime motivator, but when you add on top of that the support you get in Melbourne as well from VMEC, Melbourne City Council, Tourism Victoria and patrons it is compelling," he says.
But there's another side to the story. Impresarios find Sydney downright hostile. "It's dire, it's really difficult to get a set of dates [in Sydney]. The problem is every show has to play Sydney and Melbourne to get its money back," producer John Frost says.
Producers all want their show to land at the 2000-seat Capitol Theatre, which boasts a busy city locale and street awnings that inform shoppers at the nearby bustling market that their show is in residence.
Second choice is the Star City Casino Lyric Theatre, which is comfortable and convenient but not exactly glamorous. Third choice for most producers is the Theatre Royal, where Jersey Boys is proving to be a hit despite limited street awnings, hectic one-way King Street traffic, dinky decor and the frequent rumbling of the subterranean railway.
By listing those three theatres, it implies there are choices available to producers in Sydney, but in this turbulent economy where well-made shows are finding strong audiences despite A-reserve tickets selling for $145, each of those theatres is booked.
The Capitol has bookings until 2015; the Lyric, which recently closed for three months for renovations, is just as busy.
Frost, who this year toured the play Calendar Girl, is producer of Wicked and Doctor Zhivago, which will open at the Lyric Theatre on February 19 next year.
He is developing musicals of An Officer and a Gentleman and Dream Lover, the Bobby Darin Story and he is producer of Fame the Musical, which premiered at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in April before a season in Brisbane.
Fame opened at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on Thursday but only after a break necessitated by the fact there was no space in the city. Wicked was at the Capitol, Jersey Boys had booked the Theatre Royal and the Lyric was being renovated.
Enforced hiatuses on the national touring circuit are hitherto rare and always undesirable.
Wicked is in hiatus now. Having wrapped in Sydney, it cannot open in Brisbane until January.
Frost says he minimises costs by contracting cast and crew for each season, rather than for the entire run of the show, but they still need to re-rehearse before each season.
"I'm working as far out as 2014 and 2015, it's really hard to get dates, everyone's feeling it," he says. "Doctor Zhivago is only playing eight weeks in Sydney because it was all it could get, eight weeks in the whole year."
Next year Sydney theatres will prove to be a bigger logjam than this year.
Mary Poppins opens at the Capitol Theatre in May, the same month Hairspray is scheduled to arrive at the Lyric, and if Jersey Boys does as well in Sydney as it did in Melbourne, it will remain at the Theatre Royal until at least mid-year.
Love Never Dies had better work in Melbourne because a Sydney transfer will be impossible for some time. Likewise for the comic Broadway jukebox musical Rock of Ages, which opens at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre next April.
Global Creatures, the Australian company behind the Walking with Dinosaurs live show, which is scheduled to return for a national tour in April, is fortunate it plays arenas.
Canada's Cirque du Soleil will also tap the buoyant Australian economy next year with a return arena tour of Saltimbanco.
Frost says the solution is to build another theatre in Sydney, but that will take seven years. It's a job that should begin soon, however, because the Sydney Opera House's Opera Theatre is in need of substantial renovation, which will force out the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia for at least 18 months, probably longer.
McFarlane says the problem is not confined to Sydney, "theatre availability around the country for the next few years is really tough".
The producers of a new musical theatre production based on Olivia Newton-John's movie Xanadu have come up with a solution, however.
Xanadu will undergo a national tour from March next year in a 2000-seat grand chapiteau.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/producers-find-no-space-in-the-city-for-a-plethora-of-big-budget-musicals/story-e6frg6z6-1225939063690
From: The Australian
October 16, 2010 12:00AM
There aren't enough venues for the number of theatrical blockbusters heading our way
DURING the past decade Sydney was the home of musical theatre in Australia. The city boasts the nation's biggest population, the most tourists and the headquarters of leading media organisations.
Without too much trouble these attributes have been harnessed on many occasions to launch multimillion-dollar shows that have then travelled the nation and, at their best, toured internationally. Shows such as Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story Live on Stage, The Boy From Oz and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical all opened in Sydney before national tours and an eventual tilt at the West End or Broadway, or both.
Disney Theatrical Australia elected to open The Lion King at the Capitol Theatre in Haymarket, Sydney, in 2004.
The producers of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2007 chose the same theatre for the Australian debut of their West End-hatched musical, a third version of which later opened on Broadway.
But now that has changed.
Andrew Lloyd Webber this week announced he had chosen Australia for the international debut of Love Never Dies, his sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.
The musical takes up the love story between the Phantom of the Paris Opera House and the object of his obsession, soprano Christine Daae, 10 years later at Coney Island in New York. Love Never Dies opened in London in March to mixed reviews.
The Australian version will be reworked by an Australian creative team led by director Simon Phillips and, if the new version works, Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group will consider Broadway. Love Never Dies, however, will open at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in May.
Likewise, Disney's second Australian musical Mary Poppins is now ensconced at Melbourne's Regent Theatre.
Jersey Boys, Wicked and Hairspray, the three other big expensive musicals in Australia, also opened in Melbourne.
The state government's Victorian Major Events Company offers enticements to lure the shows south and producers wax lyrical about the marketing support it provides.
The Really Useful Group managing director Tim McFarlane says: "It was always a very particular thing about the association of the Phantom and Melbourne." The original The Phantom of the Opera opened in Melbourne in 1990.
"That was really the prime motivator, but when you add on top of that the support you get in Melbourne as well from VMEC, Melbourne City Council, Tourism Victoria and patrons it is compelling," he says.
But there's another side to the story. Impresarios find Sydney downright hostile. "It's dire, it's really difficult to get a set of dates [in Sydney]. The problem is every show has to play Sydney and Melbourne to get its money back," producer John Frost says.
Producers all want their show to land at the 2000-seat Capitol Theatre, which boasts a busy city locale and street awnings that inform shoppers at the nearby bustling market that their show is in residence.
Second choice is the Star City Casino Lyric Theatre, which is comfortable and convenient but not exactly glamorous. Third choice for most producers is the Theatre Royal, where Jersey Boys is proving to be a hit despite limited street awnings, hectic one-way King Street traffic, dinky decor and the frequent rumbling of the subterranean railway.
By listing those three theatres, it implies there are choices available to producers in Sydney, but in this turbulent economy where well-made shows are finding strong audiences despite A-reserve tickets selling for $145, each of those theatres is booked.
The Capitol has bookings until 2015; the Lyric, which recently closed for three months for renovations, is just as busy.
Frost, who this year toured the play Calendar Girl, is producer of Wicked and Doctor Zhivago, which will open at the Lyric Theatre on February 19 next year.
He is developing musicals of An Officer and a Gentleman and Dream Lover, the Bobby Darin Story and he is producer of Fame the Musical, which premiered at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in April before a season in Brisbane.
Fame opened at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on Thursday but only after a break necessitated by the fact there was no space in the city. Wicked was at the Capitol, Jersey Boys had booked the Theatre Royal and the Lyric was being renovated.
Enforced hiatuses on the national touring circuit are hitherto rare and always undesirable.
Wicked is in hiatus now. Having wrapped in Sydney, it cannot open in Brisbane until January.
Frost says he minimises costs by contracting cast and crew for each season, rather than for the entire run of the show, but they still need to re-rehearse before each season.
"I'm working as far out as 2014 and 2015, it's really hard to get dates, everyone's feeling it," he says. "Doctor Zhivago is only playing eight weeks in Sydney because it was all it could get, eight weeks in the whole year."
Next year Sydney theatres will prove to be a bigger logjam than this year.
Mary Poppins opens at the Capitol Theatre in May, the same month Hairspray is scheduled to arrive at the Lyric, and if Jersey Boys does as well in Sydney as it did in Melbourne, it will remain at the Theatre Royal until at least mid-year.
Love Never Dies had better work in Melbourne because a Sydney transfer will be impossible for some time. Likewise for the comic Broadway jukebox musical Rock of Ages, which opens at Melbourne's Comedy Theatre next April.
Global Creatures, the Australian company behind the Walking with Dinosaurs live show, which is scheduled to return for a national tour in April, is fortunate it plays arenas.
Canada's Cirque du Soleil will also tap the buoyant Australian economy next year with a return arena tour of Saltimbanco.
Frost says the solution is to build another theatre in Sydney, but that will take seven years. It's a job that should begin soon, however, because the Sydney Opera House's Opera Theatre is in need of substantial renovation, which will force out the Australian Ballet and Opera Australia for at least 18 months, probably longer.
McFarlane says the problem is not confined to Sydney, "theatre availability around the country for the next few years is really tough".
The producers of a new musical theatre production based on Olivia Newton-John's movie Xanadu have come up with a solution, however.
Xanadu will undergo a national tour from March next year in a 2000-seat grand chapiteau.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/producers-find-no-space-in-the-city-for-a-plethora-of-big-budget-musicals/story-e6frg6z6-1225939063690
Phantom fans say love should die
By Cassie White
Updated October 15, 2010 13:53:00
Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to Phantom Of The Opera may not be the cash cow the Victorian Government had hoped for Melbourne, after it was dropped from Broadway and received scathing reviews in London.
Victoria is paying to bring Webber's Love Never Dies to Melbourne, where it will show at the Regent Theatre from May 2011.
But the production was delayed twice from its Broadway debut, then eventually dropped all together, and has been panned by critics in the US and London where it played at the Adelphi Theatre.
So the Victorian Government's decision to bring it to Melbourne has left some wondering why taxpayers should fund a stage show that no-one else wants.
When making the announcement, Victorian Government Minister Tim Holding said the production could add millions of dollars to Melbourne's economy.
"Over the last four years, blockbuster theatre shows such as Wicked, Jersey Boys and, currently, Mary Poppins have drawn hundreds of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors to Melbourne ensuring that our hotels, restaurants and famous retail precincts are busy throughout the year," he said.
"Securing the Australian premiere of Love Never Dies strengthens Melbourne's position as the theatre capital of Australia."
The script for Love Never Dies was written by British author Ben Elton and the Australian production will be revamped - led by Simon Phillips and choreographed by Graeme Murphy.
Phillips told The Age that the changes will boost the production's chances of succeeding in Australia.
"There are significant changes to the plot ... This makes it shorter with the longueurs chopped and allows the show to cut to the chase," he said.
But the existence of Love Never Dies has outraged some Phantom Of The Opera fans so much that they have created an anti-sequel group called Love Should Die (LSD).
One LSD member - who wishes to remain anonymous to avoid being harassed by fans of the sequel - cannot believe the Government has paid to bring it here.
"I'm appalled, I really am. It hasn't been stated how much money the Government is spending but I'm assuming it's a fair amount and I just can't believe they haven't looked into this properly before saying they'd fund it," she said.
"To me they couldn't have, because they would have seen that it's not doing any good in England, it was to open in America and it's not doing that now, so we're just going to be another experiment with it opening here.
"They're going to change some or all of the story to make it better; now if they have to do that to a musical isn't that telling the Government something? I just don't get why they haven't looked into it properly and thought 'no, our money can go better elsewhere'."
She describes the sequel as a "complete contradiction" to Phantom Of The Opera.
"It goes against everything that the first musical was. I wasn't against the idea of a sequel, I just thought it didn't need one in some ways because it had an ending and everyone who sees it goes away with their own views on how it ended, or what might have happened," she said.
"With the sequel, it comes along and tells you how it ended and it's just wrong in every way. The characters are wrong; the Phantom is now this namby-pamby person, Raoul's a drunk and a gambler, Christine's a whore, Meg's a killer - it's just ridiculous.
"I do realise people's lives can change in 10 years but this storyline is like a really bad fan fiction and it's just wrong.
"To me it's like Webber had this goal where he wanted to do a sequel regardless and just went bang, bang, bang there you go."
The Australian's theatre critic, Alice Croggon, says it is a mystery why the Victorian Government chose Love Never Dies after its poor track record overseas.
"It's good that the Victorian Government is interested in bringing productions like this to Melbourne and I don't want to criticise their enthusiasm for making Melbourne a cultural destination, which is what this is all about; bringing tourists in and big commercial events," she said.
"[But] it's slightly baffling that they've chosen this production though, it has to be admitted.
"Some of the English reviews have been hilarious. The West End Whingers christened it 'Paint Never Dries' and they weren't alone. It got pretty consistently bad reviews and not just from the critics.
"Online there were Phantom Of The Opera fans who [posted] hundreds of pages of mainly negative responses to the opera, which isn't such a good thing. So it certainly hasn't gone down especially well."
Mr Holding's office did not return ABC News Online's calls.
First posted October 15, 2010 13:32:00
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/15/3039506.htm?site=melbourne
Updated October 15, 2010 13:53:00
Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to Phantom Of The Opera may not be the cash cow the Victorian Government had hoped for Melbourne, after it was dropped from Broadway and received scathing reviews in London.
Victoria is paying to bring Webber's Love Never Dies to Melbourne, where it will show at the Regent Theatre from May 2011.
But the production was delayed twice from its Broadway debut, then eventually dropped all together, and has been panned by critics in the US and London where it played at the Adelphi Theatre.
So the Victorian Government's decision to bring it to Melbourne has left some wondering why taxpayers should fund a stage show that no-one else wants.
When making the announcement, Victorian Government Minister Tim Holding said the production could add millions of dollars to Melbourne's economy.
"Over the last four years, blockbuster theatre shows such as Wicked, Jersey Boys and, currently, Mary Poppins have drawn hundreds of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors to Melbourne ensuring that our hotels, restaurants and famous retail precincts are busy throughout the year," he said.
"Securing the Australian premiere of Love Never Dies strengthens Melbourne's position as the theatre capital of Australia."
The script for Love Never Dies was written by British author Ben Elton and the Australian production will be revamped - led by Simon Phillips and choreographed by Graeme Murphy.
Phillips told The Age that the changes will boost the production's chances of succeeding in Australia.
"There are significant changes to the plot ... This makes it shorter with the longueurs chopped and allows the show to cut to the chase," he said.
But the existence of Love Never Dies has outraged some Phantom Of The Opera fans so much that they have created an anti-sequel group called Love Should Die (LSD).
One LSD member - who wishes to remain anonymous to avoid being harassed by fans of the sequel - cannot believe the Government has paid to bring it here.
"I'm appalled, I really am. It hasn't been stated how much money the Government is spending but I'm assuming it's a fair amount and I just can't believe they haven't looked into this properly before saying they'd fund it," she said.
"To me they couldn't have, because they would have seen that it's not doing any good in England, it was to open in America and it's not doing that now, so we're just going to be another experiment with it opening here.
"They're going to change some or all of the story to make it better; now if they have to do that to a musical isn't that telling the Government something? I just don't get why they haven't looked into it properly and thought 'no, our money can go better elsewhere'."
She describes the sequel as a "complete contradiction" to Phantom Of The Opera.
"It goes against everything that the first musical was. I wasn't against the idea of a sequel, I just thought it didn't need one in some ways because it had an ending and everyone who sees it goes away with their own views on how it ended, or what might have happened," she said.
"With the sequel, it comes along and tells you how it ended and it's just wrong in every way. The characters are wrong; the Phantom is now this namby-pamby person, Raoul's a drunk and a gambler, Christine's a whore, Meg's a killer - it's just ridiculous.
"I do realise people's lives can change in 10 years but this storyline is like a really bad fan fiction and it's just wrong.
"To me it's like Webber had this goal where he wanted to do a sequel regardless and just went bang, bang, bang there you go."
The Australian's theatre critic, Alice Croggon, says it is a mystery why the Victorian Government chose Love Never Dies after its poor track record overseas.
"It's good that the Victorian Government is interested in bringing productions like this to Melbourne and I don't want to criticise their enthusiasm for making Melbourne a cultural destination, which is what this is all about; bringing tourists in and big commercial events," she said.
"[But] it's slightly baffling that they've chosen this production though, it has to be admitted.
"Some of the English reviews have been hilarious. The West End Whingers christened it 'Paint Never Dries' and they weren't alone. It got pretty consistently bad reviews and not just from the critics.
"Online there were Phantom Of The Opera fans who [posted] hundreds of pages of mainly negative responses to the opera, which isn't such a good thing. So it certainly hasn't gone down especially well."
Mr Holding's office did not return ABC News Online's calls.
First posted October 15, 2010 13:32:00
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/10/15/3039506.htm?site=melbourne
Phantom success goes on
Robin Usher
October 13, 2010
MELBOURNE'S status as Australia's natural home for musical theatre has taken a big leap forward with the decision by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to choose it as the home for a new production of his sequel to the world's most successful show, The Phantom of the Opera.
It means the current London production of Love Never Dies will have served as the out-of-town tryout for the revised Melbourne version, to open at the Regent Theatre next May.
''This will be a completely new show,'' Lloyd Webber said via video link from London yesterday to a media conference in Parliament House's Queen's Hall. ''Melbourne is the place I have chosen to develop this production and there is every chance it could go on to Broadway.''
He added there was also the prospect of touring to Asian capitals, if it worked.
The multimillion-dollar production will have an all-Australian backstage team led by Simon Phillips, the outgoing artistic director of the Melbourne Theatre Company and director of the home-grown international success Priscilla: the Musical, which is about to open in Toronto before a New York season next year.
The choreographer is internationally acclaimed Graeme Murphy and the set and costume designer is award-winning Gabriela Tylesova, who has worked for both the MTC and Opera Australia.
The show opened in London to mixed reviews last March and although it is still doing good business its proposed transfer to New York has been cancelled.
Tourism Minister Tim Holding said it was a coup for Melbourne to attract the show which, if successful, could add more than $40 million to Victoria's economy.
''Over the past four years blockbuster shows such as Wicked, Jersey Boys and Mary Poppins have drawn hundreds of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors to Melbourne,'' he said. ''We worked very hard to bring this show here.''
He said it was a tribute to the strategy adopted by the Victorian Major Events Company to be able to have several large-scale musicals running successfully at the same time.
Auditions for Love Never Dies begin on October 25. Lloyd Webber will be here in January to decide on final casting and will return in April as the production nears completion.
Phillips said from Toronto, where he is finishing rehearsals for the new Priscilla season, that the stakes were high with the new show, but improvements to the story increased the chances for success.
''There are significant changes to the plot,'' he said. ''This makes it shorter with the longueurs chopped and allows the show to cut to the chase.''
The story, by Ben Elton, is set on New York's Coney Island where Lloyd Webber says the Phantom has fled to be ''a freak amongst freaks'' 10 years after the famous chandelier crashed to the floor of the Paris Opera.
He said the character was obviously older but still charismatic with a voice to die for. His love, Christine, is a world-famous soprano in a failing marriage to Raoul. ''She is a marvellous singer but the acting demands are more complex.''
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/opera/phantom-success-goes-on-20101012-16hsh.html
October 13, 2010
MELBOURNE'S status as Australia's natural home for musical theatre has taken a big leap forward with the decision by English composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to choose it as the home for a new production of his sequel to the world's most successful show, The Phantom of the Opera.
It means the current London production of Love Never Dies will have served as the out-of-town tryout for the revised Melbourne version, to open at the Regent Theatre next May.
''This will be a completely new show,'' Lloyd Webber said via video link from London yesterday to a media conference in Parliament House's Queen's Hall. ''Melbourne is the place I have chosen to develop this production and there is every chance it could go on to Broadway.''
He added there was also the prospect of touring to Asian capitals, if it worked.
The multimillion-dollar production will have an all-Australian backstage team led by Simon Phillips, the outgoing artistic director of the Melbourne Theatre Company and director of the home-grown international success Priscilla: the Musical, which is about to open in Toronto before a New York season next year.
The choreographer is internationally acclaimed Graeme Murphy and the set and costume designer is award-winning Gabriela Tylesova, who has worked for both the MTC and Opera Australia.
The show opened in London to mixed reviews last March and although it is still doing good business its proposed transfer to New York has been cancelled.
Tourism Minister Tim Holding said it was a coup for Melbourne to attract the show which, if successful, could add more than $40 million to Victoria's economy.
''Over the past four years blockbuster shows such as Wicked, Jersey Boys and Mary Poppins have drawn hundreds of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors to Melbourne,'' he said. ''We worked very hard to bring this show here.''
He said it was a tribute to the strategy adopted by the Victorian Major Events Company to be able to have several large-scale musicals running successfully at the same time.
Auditions for Love Never Dies begin on October 25. Lloyd Webber will be here in January to decide on final casting and will return in April as the production nears completion.
Phillips said from Toronto, where he is finishing rehearsals for the new Priscilla season, that the stakes were high with the new show, but improvements to the story increased the chances for success.
''There are significant changes to the plot,'' he said. ''This makes it shorter with the longueurs chopped and allows the show to cut to the chase.''
The story, by Ben Elton, is set on New York's Coney Island where Lloyd Webber says the Phantom has fled to be ''a freak amongst freaks'' 10 years after the famous chandelier crashed to the floor of the Paris Opera.
He said the character was obviously older but still charismatic with a voice to die for. His love, Christine, is a world-famous soprano in a failing marriage to Raoul. ''She is a marvellous singer but the acting demands are more complex.''
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/opera/phantom-success-goes-on-20101012-16hsh.html
Search for a Phantom of the Opera star
Sally Bennett
From: Herald Sun
October 14, 2010 12:00AM
THE search for the next Phantom has begun.
Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, will open at Melbourne's Regent Theatre next May.
The creative team for the all-Australian production is in place, all that's needed now is to find the stars.
Love Never Dies creator Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber said yesterday that all roles were up for grabs and he had no one in mind for the lead yet. "But I know exactly what we need," he said. "He's got to be a really charismatic figure and he's got to have a voice to die for.
"Of course Christine (the female lead) has got to be beautiful ... and she has to be the most marvellous singer."
Nationwide auditions for Love Never Dies, which fast-forwards the Phantom story 10 years, begin on October 25.
Possible candidates to play the Phantom include crooner David Campbell and theatre stars Bobby Fox (Jersey Boys) and Mitchell Butel (Avenue Q).
Female contenders for the lead role of Christine could include opera singers Annette O'Halloran and Taryn Fiebig.
The Australian production of Love Never Dies has a dream creative team in Simon Phillips as director, Graeme Murphy as choreographer and Gabriela Tylesova as set and costume designer.
It will come straight to Melbourne from London, where it made its world premiere in March.
Sir Andrew said he was excited about Phillips directing the show.
"Musical theatre today is international and it's about working with the best people in the best situations," he said in a broadcast from London to Melbourne's Parliament House for yesterday's launch.
"I'm really excited about the possibility of working with very talented people."
Sir Andrew said he would spend a lot of time in Australia from January until the premiere.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/search-for-a-phantom-of-the-opera-star/story-e6frf96f-1225938361783
From: Herald Sun
October 14, 2010 12:00AM
THE search for the next Phantom has begun.
Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, will open at Melbourne's Regent Theatre next May.
The creative team for the all-Australian production is in place, all that's needed now is to find the stars.
Love Never Dies creator Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber said yesterday that all roles were up for grabs and he had no one in mind for the lead yet. "But I know exactly what we need," he said. "He's got to be a really charismatic figure and he's got to have a voice to die for.
"Of course Christine (the female lead) has got to be beautiful ... and she has to be the most marvellous singer."
Nationwide auditions for Love Never Dies, which fast-forwards the Phantom story 10 years, begin on October 25.
Possible candidates to play the Phantom include crooner David Campbell and theatre stars Bobby Fox (Jersey Boys) and Mitchell Butel (Avenue Q).
Female contenders for the lead role of Christine could include opera singers Annette O'Halloran and Taryn Fiebig.
The Australian production of Love Never Dies has a dream creative team in Simon Phillips as director, Graeme Murphy as choreographer and Gabriela Tylesova as set and costume designer.
It will come straight to Melbourne from London, where it made its world premiere in March.
Sir Andrew said he was excited about Phillips directing the show.
"Musical theatre today is international and it's about working with the best people in the best situations," he said in a broadcast from London to Melbourne's Parliament House for yesterday's launch.
"I'm really excited about the possibility of working with very talented people."
Sir Andrew said he would spend a lot of time in Australia from January until the premiere.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/search-for-a-phantom-of-the-opera-star/story-e6frf96f-1225938361783
Brand New Australian Production for Love Never Dies
Mebourne has stolen the march on Sydney yet again, with the premiere of another musical blockbuster.
Stage Whispers Editor Neil Litchfield attended the media briefing at the Queen's Hall in Victoria's Parliament House.
Andrew Lloyd Webber today announced, via satellite link from London, that Australia will have an all new production of Love Never Dies, his continuation of the story of The Phantom of the Opera, with a new, Australian creative team.
Simon Phillips will direct the production, which begins previews at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in May 2011. Graeme Murphy will choreograph and the production will have a new design by Gabriela Tylesova.
After a preliminary speech from Victoria's Minister for the Arts Tim Holding listing the numerous sporting and cultural events taking place in Victoria, Lloyd Webber joked about following Tiger Woods into Melbourne with Love Never Dies.
Mr Holding was evasive about the precise amount the Victorian Government has paid to secure the production, but stressed that the flow-on benefits to the Victorian economy from interstate and regional tourism more than justified the outlay.
When host Ray Martin asked Lloyd Webber why Australia and why Melbourne, he replied:
"I have always had a very special relationship with Australia for my musicals. One particularly was Jesus Christ Superstar which, when it opened on Broadway, I was never very happy with. It was only when it came to Australia that it really took off. Of course the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Jim Sharman, was based on the Australian one. So when Tim (McFarlane) said to me that Simon Phillips wanted to direct it, I just said, let’s do it."
Martin subsequently asked if Melbourne was going to become the new pre-Broadway, given that clearly there are changes he wants to make before going to New York or Los Angeles.
Lloyd Webber responded.
"No, I think that Melbourne will be the place where we can really finally develop the production I wanted to do. I don’t see it in any sense as an off-Broadway situation, any more than Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened originally in Sydney of course, then became the London production.
"I think today that musical theatre is international, and that it’s about working with the best people in the best possible situations. To think about London and Broadway as where you’re going to do something is out of date now. Some of the best theatre that’s happening around the world now is happening in places that are miles away from London or Broadway, so I’m really excited about the possibility of working with two really talented people. I’m not interested in talking about London or Broadway, just getting the best possible how and the best possible result."
Among Lloyd Webber's many Australian connections, Martin mentioned Ben Elton, now a Perth resident, in connection with the show's book.
"Ben is an old friend of mine," he replied, "and when we were talking about doing the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, it was Ben who unlocked the story for me. I think the production that we’re going to be doing in Melbourne is going to take the story even further than we did in London. There’s one crucial thing which we’re going to make even more exciting. The whole thing is going to be, for me, like it’s a new show reborn."
All this discussion skirted politely around, yet pointed clearly to, the fact that the show, which received a disappointing critical response to its West End production in March, is undergoing quite a makeover.
Nationwide auditions commence in a fortnight, on Monday October 25, with Andrew Lloyd Webber visiting Australia for the final round of auditions in January, returning in April when the finishing touches are being put on the production. The auditions will follow conventional lines. Despite the success of reality TV auditions for the leads in recent Lloyd Webber West End productions, Australian networks haven't shown any interest.
Asked if there was a chance that if he loved our stars here, he might take them to Broadway, Lloyd Webber replied, “Well we didn’t do too badly with Sunset Boulevard with Hugh Jackman. Artists come from everywhere. That’s the extraordinary thing about today.”
Image: Andrew Lloyd Webber by satellite from London
loveneverdies.com.au/
http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/news/brand-new-australian-production-love-never-dies
Stage Whispers Editor Neil Litchfield attended the media briefing at the Queen's Hall in Victoria's Parliament House.
Andrew Lloyd Webber today announced, via satellite link from London, that Australia will have an all new production of Love Never Dies, his continuation of the story of The Phantom of the Opera, with a new, Australian creative team.
Simon Phillips will direct the production, which begins previews at Melbourne's Regent Theatre in May 2011. Graeme Murphy will choreograph and the production will have a new design by Gabriela Tylesova.
After a preliminary speech from Victoria's Minister for the Arts Tim Holding listing the numerous sporting and cultural events taking place in Victoria, Lloyd Webber joked about following Tiger Woods into Melbourne with Love Never Dies.
Mr Holding was evasive about the precise amount the Victorian Government has paid to secure the production, but stressed that the flow-on benefits to the Victorian economy from interstate and regional tourism more than justified the outlay.
When host Ray Martin asked Lloyd Webber why Australia and why Melbourne, he replied:
"I have always had a very special relationship with Australia for my musicals. One particularly was Jesus Christ Superstar which, when it opened on Broadway, I was never very happy with. It was only when it came to Australia that it really took off. Of course the London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Jim Sharman, was based on the Australian one. So when Tim (McFarlane) said to me that Simon Phillips wanted to direct it, I just said, let’s do it."
Martin subsequently asked if Melbourne was going to become the new pre-Broadway, given that clearly there are changes he wants to make before going to New York or Los Angeles.
Lloyd Webber responded.
"No, I think that Melbourne will be the place where we can really finally develop the production I wanted to do. I don’t see it in any sense as an off-Broadway situation, any more than Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened originally in Sydney of course, then became the London production.
"I think today that musical theatre is international, and that it’s about working with the best people in the best possible situations. To think about London and Broadway as where you’re going to do something is out of date now. Some of the best theatre that’s happening around the world now is happening in places that are miles away from London or Broadway, so I’m really excited about the possibility of working with two really talented people. I’m not interested in talking about London or Broadway, just getting the best possible how and the best possible result."
Among Lloyd Webber's many Australian connections, Martin mentioned Ben Elton, now a Perth resident, in connection with the show's book.
"Ben is an old friend of mine," he replied, "and when we were talking about doing the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, it was Ben who unlocked the story for me. I think the production that we’re going to be doing in Melbourne is going to take the story even further than we did in London. There’s one crucial thing which we’re going to make even more exciting. The whole thing is going to be, for me, like it’s a new show reborn."
All this discussion skirted politely around, yet pointed clearly to, the fact that the show, which received a disappointing critical response to its West End production in March, is undergoing quite a makeover.
Nationwide auditions commence in a fortnight, on Monday October 25, with Andrew Lloyd Webber visiting Australia for the final round of auditions in January, returning in April when the finishing touches are being put on the production. The auditions will follow conventional lines. Despite the success of reality TV auditions for the leads in recent Lloyd Webber West End productions, Australian networks haven't shown any interest.
Asked if there was a chance that if he loved our stars here, he might take them to Broadway, Lloyd Webber replied, “Well we didn’t do too badly with Sunset Boulevard with Hugh Jackman. Artists come from everywhere. That’s the extraordinary thing about today.”
Image: Andrew Lloyd Webber by satellite from London
loveneverdies.com.au/
http://www.stagewhispers.com.au/news/brand-new-australian-production-love-never-dies
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