Inside the Love Never Dies Press Event: Scoop from Lloyd Webber, O'Brien and the Stars

Grand romance is coming back to the stage thanks to the West End bow in March 2010 of Love Never Dies, the Andrew Lloyd Webber follow-up to The Phantom of the Opera (the composer said he dislikes the word sequel), which was unveiled to the press on October 8 at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, where the first Phantom has been running since 1986. The event was complete with a short film detailing the landmark status of the original Phantom (scarcely a statistic went unmentioned) and another in forming those in attendance about the glory days a century ago of Coney Island, where this new show takes place: “Think of Vegas and quadruple it,” Lloyd Webber quipped.

After a performance by leading man Ramin Karimloo of "Till I Hear You Sing," an early powerhouse number for this Phantom as we meet him 10 years later, various creatives met with the press: Karimloo and co-star Sierra Boggess (Christine), followed by the director Jack O’Brien, and then Lloyd Webber with O’Brien in tow. What follows is an edited transcript of their comments in advance of the start of rehearsals on January 4. In addition to the two stars, Lloyd Webber announced that Summer Strallen will play Meg Giry and that the cast would be the same as those on the recording, which was finished six weeks ago and will be released to coincide with opening night in London on March 9, 2010.

Sierra Boggess Plays Christine
“I’m 27 but by the time we open, I’ll be 28, which is fine since Christine was 18 in the original and here we are 10 years later. I opened the Vegas Phantom, where I did [Christine] for a year opposite Brent Barrett and Anthony Crivello, so I feel as if the material is in my soul. The question here is, ‘Has Christine been singing like she used to in the 10 years since we last met her? Or was that only about the music [the Phantom] allowed her?’ Andrew’s given me a lovely aria that’s the title of the show, which is one of the greatest songs I’ve ever had the privilege of singing. It’s as beautiful as you would imagine. Every fiber of Andrew’s passion is in this score, and it’s thrilling.”

Ramin Karimloo Plays The Phantom
“The character I play is known as Mister Y—get it? Mystery. The question, I suppose, is how do people seek redemption in their lives and what happens when someone tries to finish up what they started. I’m really looking forward to telling that story, especially now that [the narrative] is set in Coney Island where the Phantom isn’t the only person who looks like he does. [The show will have a sizable circus element.] I’ve been part of this journey for so long. I was 27 when I first got the job as standby to the Phantom and I’ve now played the part two years. My last performance [at her Majesty’s] is November 7. And I had played Raoul four years before my first Phantom, when I was 23. [Karimloo is now 31.] The difference here, of course, is that I’m creating the part from scratch, and it’s definitely a lot more demanding: The Phantom [in Phantom of the Opera] is on stage for 43 minutes, or something like that, though it’s a full-throttle 43 minutes. I’ll be happy to leave the screams behind. I’m coming to this a blank sheet, which makes it a lot freer because I don’t have anything to base it on. I feel totally able to come to the table with fresh ideas, which is why I’ve been watching documentaries about Asperger Syndrome and thinking about people like Mozart who could play the violin or piano by the age of four—these young geniuses and what happens when they grow up. It’s been a phenomenal trip so far. The way Jack O’Brien steers a ship is just amazing.”

Director Jack O'Brien
“I was like a nasty schoolmaster when we were putting this together. I kept saying, ‘Yes, but why? Yes, but how?’ The thing we know is that all of you [spectators] are going to listen very astutely to every single word of this, so if you don’t believe it, we’re doubly culpable. This is a very considered piece, I have to tell you. My advice from the start was to remind everyone that no one is going to thank us for playing with people’s memories; we had better be very considered because those memories are sacrosanct. As a result, no one has walked into this without thinking very seriously, ‘How does this story tell? Why does this story tell?’ I also, with all respect, felt that if this was going to take place in America that it should have some American involvement. Coney Island 100 years ago is very different from 19th-century France. Having said that, this is very much Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies. Because the show is through-sung, it comes down to Andrew telling the story musically. The role of a director in this is basically to ask questions of a piece motivated by its music that falls on the shoulders of its composer. Hal Prince [director of the original Phantom] and I are very dear friends. Hal was one of the very early supporters in my life, and he was always there for me. So there’s something sort of sweet about us now having these adjoining box cars. Why isn’t he directing it? I wouldn’t if someone said to me, ‘Go back to something earlier.’ That sounds like the most appalling thing I have ever heard in my life. I’m told they’re writing a sequel to Hairspray—I know they are—but why would I want to be involved in that? At the same time, it’s obvious that Andrew felt that he wasn’t through writing this glorious music that no one else seems to be writing. We’ve been existing on cocktail napkins for a long time. Now, I think we’re all hungry for a nice big steak.”

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber
“I think this has a fantastic story, and it’s the story that has really driven it. Since I did the first Phantom, the only thing that’s been reinforced over the years is how important the story is to any successful musical: A great story has to be the catalyst to any idea. People have pointed out that Christine dies at the end of the film, but the film isn’t really relevant to what we are doing. I don’t regard this as a sequel; I regard it as a completely stand-alone piece, and there are practically no quotes [musically] from the original show at all. This is a completely new show, and I’ve tried to think of it as if someone hadn’t seen the original Phantom and had come to this first. That one in a sense was unfinished business: The end of [Phantom] is enigmatic, to put it mildly. I wouldn’t be sitting here now if I didn’t think we’d found a way of pushing the story forward—found the one thing that can unlock the material, which we did. I’m not going to tell you what that thing is. The two people I wanted most to hear [this score] were Cameron Mackintosh [the original co-producer] and Sarah Brightman [the first Christine and Lloyd Webber’s ex-wife]. Cameron wrote me one of the sweetest and nicest notes I have ever had. That he’s not producing [Love Never Dies] is about the fact that Cameron Mackintosh has his own life, and so do I. He is making available his theater today [for the launch], which says a lot. There is not going to be a sequel to this set in Tahiti. Steel drums will not appear! I can’t see that the story could possibly continue.”