London Production of Phantom Sequel Love Never Dies 'Reopens' with 'Substantial' Rewrites

The London production of Love Never Dies has a new look, according to the show’s official website. Confirming speculation that the musical sequel to The Phantom of the Opera was being revised while continuing to run at the Adelphi Theatre, the production made the following announcement:

“After a substantial re-write over the summer and three intense weeks of new rehearsals at the Adelphi Theatre, Love Never Dies has reopened with a revised structure, which hopefully has made the storyline clearer, and the production more vibrant both musically and choreographically. There is also a new twist! The re-writes were originally prepared by Andrew Lloyd Webber and his team for the Australian and international productions of the show, but they worked so well that it seemed obvious that they should be put straight into the London production.”

Love Never Dies opened on March 9 to mixed reviews under the direction of Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien, with Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine. Set in Coney Island, it picks up 10 years after the events of The Phantom of the Opera, with The Phantom (now called Mr. Y) running a boardwalk entertainment complex known as Phantasma.

In a recent interview with Broadway.com, Australian director Simon Phillips, who will helm the Melbourne premiere of Love Never Dies in May 2011, commented, “They got the show up in London in a very big way, and then Andrew took a step back and looked at it again. When I first met him, I was just thrilled at where he was with the show in terms of realizing how the show could develop further. Everyone knows it’s not without its faults, but there’s so much great material there…I think it’s the best score Andrew’s done.”

No word on whether reviewers will be invited back to assess the revised version of Love Never Dies.