Ben Lewis & Anna O'Byrne to Play the Phantom and Christine in Australian Premiere of Love Never Dies

After an audition process that involved 900 hopefuls, Ben Lewis and Anna O’Byrne have won the coveted roles of the Phantom and Christine in the Australian premiere of Love Never Dies, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. The composer introduced the pair at a press event on January 31 in which Lewis performed “’Til I Hear You Sing” and O’Byrne performed the title song. [Click below to watch a clip from the event.] Director Simon Phillips (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) will direct the production, which premieres in May at the Regent Theatre, Melbourne.

Lewis appeared in the original Australian casts of Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Spamalot and has appeared in A Little Night Music, Urinetown and The Odyssey. O’Byrne played Christine in an Australian tour of The Phantom of the Opera and has appeared in The Threepenny Opera and in various operatic productions.

Love Never Dies debuted at London’s Adelphi Theatre on March 9, 2010, where it is still running in a production that was revised over the summer; London critics were invited to see the show again in December 2010, and the revisions will reportedly be incorporated into the Australian production. Still no word on whether Love Never Dies may eventually make its way to Broadway.