The Phantom Sequel
Phantom sequel has already a title:
Phantom: Once upon another time.
From BBC news, Webber says:
"I have got my own new show coming on next year,
which is my sequel to the Phantom of the Opera,
which I think is going to be called Phantom: Once
Upon Another Time".
History:
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber announced months ago
on his video blog that he was creating a sequel to The
Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running musical in
Broadway history.
In a taped message, the Tony-winning composer said: “I’ve
made a decision today that I will do The Phantom of the
Opera sequel. And I have met with a couple people today
who have persuaded me to do it, who I will not reveal, but
it’s a very exciting day for me. . . It’s going to be very
exciting, and I can reveal that it will be set in New York.”
This Sequel is going to be based in the Frederick Forsyth's
novel The Phantom of Manhattan, though Mr. Webber
intends to change the story in some details.
Phantom: Once upon another time.
From BBC news, Webber says:
"I have got my own new show coming on next year,
which is my sequel to the Phantom of the Opera,
which I think is going to be called Phantom: Once
Upon Another Time".
History:
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber announced months ago
on his video blog that he was creating a sequel to The
Phantom of the Opera, the longest-running musical in
Broadway history.
In a taped message, the Tony-winning composer said: “I’ve
made a decision today that I will do The Phantom of the
Opera sequel. And I have met with a couple people today
who have persuaded me to do it, who I will not reveal, but
it’s a very exciting day for me. . . It’s going to be very
exciting, and I can reveal that it will be set in New York.”
This Sequel is going to be based in the Frederick Forsyth's
novel The Phantom of Manhattan, though Mr. Webber
intends to change the story in some details.
London's Daily Mail reports that Jack O'Brien will direct the
sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.
The London paper says much of the music for the sequel has
been written, although the book and the lyrics are proving
more difficult. Ben Elton, who collaborated with Lloyd
Webber on The Beautiful Game, had worked on the show,
but the results were less than satisfying. Now, novelist
Forsyth is back working on the book.
The creative team will also include Tony-winning designer
Bob Crowley, who worked with O'Brien on Coast of Utopia.
The show will most likely be mounted in 2009.
In Phantom in Manhattan, the Daily Mail says, "the Phantom
has slipped away to New York and has set up a fairground
world on Coney Island, along with Madame Giry and her
daughter, Meg. He organizes a concert in Manhattan for
Christine, the object of his desire. Christine travels to the
U.S. with her husband Raoul and their teenage son, who
happens to be a musical genius...just like the Phantom."
Jack O'Brien won Tony Awards for his direction of The Coast
of Utopia, Hairspray and Henry IV. He was also
Tony-nominated for his work on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
The Invention of Love, The Full Monty, Two Shakespearean
Actors and Porgy and Bess. O'Brien, who has served as
artistic director of San Diego's Old Globe for the last 26
years, will pass the torch to Jerry Patch and Darko Tresnjak
in 2008.
Bob Crowley has designed sets and/or costumes for the
Broadway productions of Les Liaisons Dangereuses,
Carousel, Racing Demon, The Capeman, The Judas Kiss,
Twelfth Night, The Iceman Cometh, Amy's View, Putting It
Together, Aida, The Invention of Love, Sweet Smell of
Success, The History Boys, Mary Poppins, The Coast of
Utopia, The Year of Magical Thinking, A Moon for the
Misbegotten and Tarzan; he also made his Broadway
directorial debut with the latter. Crowley is the recipient of
five Tony Awards.
sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.
The London paper says much of the music for the sequel has
been written, although the book and the lyrics are proving
more difficult. Ben Elton, who collaborated with Lloyd
Webber on The Beautiful Game, had worked on the show,
but the results were less than satisfying. Now, novelist
Forsyth is back working on the book.
The creative team will also include Tony-winning designer
Bob Crowley, who worked with O'Brien on Coast of Utopia.
The show will most likely be mounted in 2009.
In Phantom in Manhattan, the Daily Mail says, "the Phantom
has slipped away to New York and has set up a fairground
world on Coney Island, along with Madame Giry and her
daughter, Meg. He organizes a concert in Manhattan for
Christine, the object of his desire. Christine travels to the
U.S. with her husband Raoul and their teenage son, who
happens to be a musical genius...just like the Phantom."
Jack O'Brien won Tony Awards for his direction of The Coast
of Utopia, Hairspray and Henry IV. He was also
Tony-nominated for his work on Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
The Invention of Love, The Full Monty, Two Shakespearean
Actors and Porgy and Bess. O'Brien, who has served as
artistic director of San Diego's Old Globe for the last 26
years, will pass the torch to Jerry Patch and Darko Tresnjak
in 2008.
Bob Crowley has designed sets and/or costumes for the
Broadway productions of Les Liaisons Dangereuses,
Carousel, Racing Demon, The Capeman, The Judas Kiss,
Twelfth Night, The Iceman Cometh, Amy's View, Putting It
Together, Aida, The Invention of Love, Sweet Smell of
Success, The History Boys, Mary Poppins, The Coast of
Utopia, The Year of Magical Thinking, A Moon for the
Misbegotten and Tarzan; he also made his Broadway
directorial debut with the latter. Crowley is the recipient of
five Tony Awards.
Jack O'Brien
Bob Crowley
The Daily Mail previously described the sequel plot this
way: "The Phantom has slipped away to New York and has
set up a fairground world on Coney Island, along with
Madame Giry and her daughter, Meg. He organizes a
concert in Manhattan for Christine, the object of his desire.
Christine travels to the U.S. with her husband Raoul and
their teenage son, who happens to be a musical genius...just
like the Phantom."
Lloyd Webber told "It's a great story and I think I've written
a fairly strong score. I write quickly and have written it in
my head all the way through. So all the building blocks are
there; I just need to put it in shape. But this show will be the
toughest thing I have ever done. Even if it is the greatest
thing ever written artistically, it will never come up to what
the first one was commercially."
Andrew Lloyd Webber's lyricist for the sequel to the
international hit The Phantom of the Opera is none other
than two-time Tony Award winner Tim Rice — the
composer's early-career collaborator of Jesus Christ
Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
and Evita.
More news to come!
way: "The Phantom has slipped away to New York and has
set up a fairground world on Coney Island, along with
Madame Giry and her daughter, Meg. He organizes a
concert in Manhattan for Christine, the object of his desire.
Christine travels to the U.S. with her husband Raoul and
their teenage son, who happens to be a musical genius...just
like the Phantom."
Lloyd Webber told "It's a great story and I think I've written
a fairly strong score. I write quickly and have written it in
my head all the way through. So all the building blocks are
there; I just need to put it in shape. But this show will be the
toughest thing I have ever done. Even if it is the greatest
thing ever written artistically, it will never come up to what
the first one was commercially."
Andrew Lloyd Webber's lyricist for the sequel to the
international hit The Phantom of the Opera is none other
than two-time Tony Award winner Tim Rice — the
composer's early-career collaborator of Jesus Christ
Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
and Evita.
More news to come!
Webber has decided not to use all of the Phantom of
Manhattan story. Here's the latest he has to say in a Q&A
interview in a Las Vegas paper on April 22:
Q: What's the status of the "Phantom" sequel?
A: (ALW) It's in the middle of being written. The current
estimate is it would be ready to be produced in the fall of
next year, or the spring of '10.
Q: Why did you want to do a sequel -- that word has had a
bad connotation in terms of quality.
A: I thought about it for a long, long time, and it took me a
very long time to agree to do it. But I have a fantastic story,
and I've approached it as if it's a completely new work.
There will be nothing of the melodies of the old 'Phantom'
in it at all. There might be a little tiny hint of some of the
more obscure motifs so I can have some fun with my
musician friends.
Q: Are you concerned about unrealistic expectations among
devoted "Phantom" fans?
A: Actually, I haven't absolutely decided to do it. I mean, I'll
write it first, then decide if I want to produce it. There's no
point in even going ahead with it if when I perform it the
first time in a workshop it isn't completely standalone. Apart
from the characters being the same, it can't have any -- well,
I guess it must have some resonance from what it was
before, but you have to be able to see it and say you didn't
need to see the first one.
[Notice that he doesn't answer the question about fans]
Q: Isn't this based on source material, a novel called "The
Phantom of Manhattan"?
A: Yes, but I couldn't make that work, so it's a new story. I
promise you, the only reason I'm doing it is because it's a
very, very good story. It's a better story than the original.
Q: Can you give us an outline of the story?
A: Nooooo, I certainly cannot!
News from Daily mail:
Now, with the first act of the new musical about to be
performed privately for friends of the composer and his
wife Madeleine, Forsyth has been telling friends he has had
a narrow escape.
The Day Of The Jackal author accepted the commission with
alacrity last year and quickly produced a plot line based on
his 2000 novel, The Phantom Of Manhattan, in which the
facially disfigured hero Erik moves from the sewers of Paris
to build a new life in New York.
But shortly after delivering the manuscript, Forsyth received
a letter from Lloyd Webber saying he had changed his mind.
Then he learned that comedian and writer Ben Elton had
been drafted in instead.
"Freddie thought it a bit strange, but then Andrew is very
exacting," says a friend of Forsyth.
"Apparently since dropping Freddie, he has had a string of
librettists, lyricists, directors and others working on the
project. He finally ended up with Ben Elton, whom he
collaborated with on The Beautiful Game."
Elton's new storyline has been worked on by American
lyricist Glenn Slater, who penned Disney's The Little
Mermaid as well as the musical of the film Sister Act.
Hairspray director Jack O'Brien has also been involved.
The title has been changed to Phantom: Once Upon Another
Time and it will be premiered next month at Lloyd Webber's
private Sydmonton Festival, near his country pile in
Hampshire.
The peer often uses this venue to trial new ideas. Taking
part will be the final six Nancys from the BBC reality show,
I'd Do Anything, with contestant Rachel Tucker, who was
voted off in the final stages, singing the role of Meg Giry.
Forsyth remains nonplussed with his rejection.
"I don't get miffed over these things," he tells me. "It is news
to me that he has a first act ready. Andrew is an
extraordinarily secretive man.
"I have no idea how much of my story has been retained. He
has been chopping and changing all the time. It is a matter
of complete mystification to me."
A spokeswoman for Lloyd Webber says: "Andrew is
planning to entertain guests with the first performance of
the Phantom sequel at Sydmonton, where he likes to try out
new productions. "
Manhattan story. Here's the latest he has to say in a Q&A
interview in a Las Vegas paper on April 22:
Q: What's the status of the "Phantom" sequel?
A: (ALW) It's in the middle of being written. The current
estimate is it would be ready to be produced in the fall of
next year, or the spring of '10.
Q: Why did you want to do a sequel -- that word has had a
bad connotation in terms of quality.
A: I thought about it for a long, long time, and it took me a
very long time to agree to do it. But I have a fantastic story,
and I've approached it as if it's a completely new work.
There will be nothing of the melodies of the old 'Phantom'
in it at all. There might be a little tiny hint of some of the
more obscure motifs so I can have some fun with my
musician friends.
Q: Are you concerned about unrealistic expectations among
devoted "Phantom" fans?
A: Actually, I haven't absolutely decided to do it. I mean, I'll
write it first, then decide if I want to produce it. There's no
point in even going ahead with it if when I perform it the
first time in a workshop it isn't completely standalone. Apart
from the characters being the same, it can't have any -- well,
I guess it must have some resonance from what it was
before, but you have to be able to see it and say you didn't
need to see the first one.
[Notice that he doesn't answer the question about fans]
Q: Isn't this based on source material, a novel called "The
Phantom of Manhattan"?
A: Yes, but I couldn't make that work, so it's a new story. I
promise you, the only reason I'm doing it is because it's a
very, very good story. It's a better story than the original.
Q: Can you give us an outline of the story?
A: Nooooo, I certainly cannot!
News from Daily mail:
Now, with the first act of the new musical about to be
performed privately for friends of the composer and his
wife Madeleine, Forsyth has been telling friends he has had
a narrow escape.
The Day Of The Jackal author accepted the commission with
alacrity last year and quickly produced a plot line based on
his 2000 novel, The Phantom Of Manhattan, in which the
facially disfigured hero Erik moves from the sewers of Paris
to build a new life in New York.
But shortly after delivering the manuscript, Forsyth received
a letter from Lloyd Webber saying he had changed his mind.
Then he learned that comedian and writer Ben Elton had
been drafted in instead.
"Freddie thought it a bit strange, but then Andrew is very
exacting," says a friend of Forsyth.
"Apparently since dropping Freddie, he has had a string of
librettists, lyricists, directors and others working on the
project. He finally ended up with Ben Elton, whom he
collaborated with on The Beautiful Game."
Elton's new storyline has been worked on by American
lyricist Glenn Slater, who penned Disney's The Little
Mermaid as well as the musical of the film Sister Act.
Hairspray director Jack O'Brien has also been involved.
The title has been changed to Phantom: Once Upon Another
Time and it will be premiered next month at Lloyd Webber's
private Sydmonton Festival, near his country pile in
Hampshire.
The peer often uses this venue to trial new ideas. Taking
part will be the final six Nancys from the BBC reality show,
I'd Do Anything, with contestant Rachel Tucker, who was
voted off in the final stages, singing the role of Meg Giry.
Forsyth remains nonplussed with his rejection.
"I don't get miffed over these things," he tells me. "It is news
to me that he has a first act ready. Andrew is an
extraordinarily secretive man.
"I have no idea how much of my story has been retained. He
has been chopping and changing all the time. It is a matter
of complete mystification to me."
A spokeswoman for Lloyd Webber says: "Andrew is
planning to entertain guests with the first performance of
the Phantom sequel at Sydmonton, where he likes to try out
new productions. "
According to sctimes.com:
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber says the long-
awaited sequel to “Phantom of the Opera” should be
ready at the end of 2009, with a possible simultaneous
opening on three continents.
Lloyd Webber told The Times of London that he hopes
the new musical, to be called “Phantom: Love Never
Dies,” will open in New York, London and possibly
Shanghai or another Asian city.
“We’ve been into the feasibility of rehearsing three
companies at once and opening very fast in the three
territories,” he said. “The one which really interests me
would be China. I think to open ‘Love Never Dies’ in
Shanghai would be an enormous thing.”
According to mosntersndcritics.com:
Andrew, who actually turned 60 on March 22, said:
"There is something I would like to say tonight which
is thank you to all the people who have helped me in
my career. I would like to thank everyone who loves
musicals as much as me and I promise you I will try my
best with the sequel to 'The Phantom of the Opera'
which, I can exclusively reveal tonight, will be called
'Love Never Dies'."
According to playbill.com:
The new musical, directed by Jack O'Brien, is set in Coney
Island in 1906. The Post describes the musical's first half as
such: "The Phantom, having fled Paris, is running a freak
show. At night, he crawls into his lair and makes love to an
automaton that looks like Christine.
Christine, meanwhile, has become a famous opera singer.
But she's fallen on hard times because her husband, Raoul,
has squandered their fortune. So she's accepted a high-
paying gig from a mysterious impresario to open a new
amusement park. On her first night in New York, she draws
back the curtain in her hotel suite and comes face to face
with her new employer — flash of lightning, crash of chords
— the Phantom! Christine has a child, Gustave, but is his
father Raoul or the Phantom?"
Gerard Butler, the Phantom? Or John Barrowman?
Andrew Lloyd Webber wants to bring Gerry to the London
stage as the Phantom, a role he played in the 2004 film. He
said, “I have got my own new show coming on next year,
which is my sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, which I
think is going to be called Phantom: Once Upon Another
Time. But that will come on in November next year, if
everything goes well.”
According to Watsonstage.com:
As for Phantom 2, John Barrowman is rumoured to up for
the role of the famous masked man in the sequel.
Barrowman, now best known for television’s Torchwood,
started in musicals, with myriad credits including Anything
Goes. Barrowman has taken a break from the stage as his
TV career has taken off, but earlier this year he was linked
with a possible West End revival of Barnum.
Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber says the long-
awaited sequel to “Phantom of the Opera” should be
ready at the end of 2009, with a possible simultaneous
opening on three continents.
Lloyd Webber told The Times of London that he hopes
the new musical, to be called “Phantom: Love Never
Dies,” will open in New York, London and possibly
Shanghai or another Asian city.
“We’ve been into the feasibility of rehearsing three
companies at once and opening very fast in the three
territories,” he said. “The one which really interests me
would be China. I think to open ‘Love Never Dies’ in
Shanghai would be an enormous thing.”
According to mosntersndcritics.com:
Andrew, who actually turned 60 on March 22, said:
"There is something I would like to say tonight which
is thank you to all the people who have helped me in
my career. I would like to thank everyone who loves
musicals as much as me and I promise you I will try my
best with the sequel to 'The Phantom of the Opera'
which, I can exclusively reveal tonight, will be called
'Love Never Dies'."
According to playbill.com:
The new musical, directed by Jack O'Brien, is set in Coney
Island in 1906. The Post describes the musical's first half as
such: "The Phantom, having fled Paris, is running a freak
show. At night, he crawls into his lair and makes love to an
automaton that looks like Christine.
Christine, meanwhile, has become a famous opera singer.
But she's fallen on hard times because her husband, Raoul,
has squandered their fortune. So she's accepted a high-
paying gig from a mysterious impresario to open a new
amusement park. On her first night in New York, she draws
back the curtain in her hotel suite and comes face to face
with her new employer — flash of lightning, crash of chords
— the Phantom! Christine has a child, Gustave, but is his
father Raoul or the Phantom?"
Gerard Butler, the Phantom? Or John Barrowman?
Andrew Lloyd Webber wants to bring Gerry to the London
stage as the Phantom, a role he played in the 2004 film. He
said, “I have got my own new show coming on next year,
which is my sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, which I
think is going to be called Phantom: Once Upon Another
Time. But that will come on in November next year, if
everything goes well.”
According to Watsonstage.com:
As for Phantom 2, John Barrowman is rumoured to up for
the role of the famous masked man in the sequel.
Barrowman, now best known for television’s Torchwood,
started in musicals, with myriad credits including Anything
Goes. Barrowman has taken a break from the stage as his
TV career has taken off, but earlier this year he was linked
with a possible West End revival of Barnum.
Ramin Karimoo and Sierra Boggess the new cast for the
new Phaantom?
NEWS!
We can already see the new web site of the Phantom
sequel!
http://www.loveneverdies.com./
According to TheStar.com:
Phantom II to premiere in Toronto
According to published reports from reputable New York
City casting agencies today on playbill.com, Love Never
Dies, the long-awaited follow-up to The Phantom of the
Opera will be presenting one of its premiere
performances at the Canon Theatre under the auspices of
Mirvish Productions, nearly 20 years from the day it
opened the venue (then known as the Pantages Theatre)
and ushered in the era of the mega-musical in Toronto
theatre.
Iranian-born, Toronto-raised Ramin Karimloo, who is
currently playing the role of the Phantom in London's
West End - is rumoured to be a front runner for the lead
role.
We can already see the new web site of the Phantom
sequel!
http://www.loveneverdies.com./
According to TheStar.com:
Phantom II to premiere in Toronto
According to published reports from reputable New York
City casting agencies today on playbill.com, Love Never
Dies, the long-awaited follow-up to The Phantom of the
Opera will be presenting one of its premiere
performances at the Canon Theatre under the auspices of
Mirvish Productions, nearly 20 years from the day it
opened the venue (then known as the Pantages Theatre)
and ushered in the era of the mega-musical in Toronto
theatre.
Iranian-born, Toronto-raised Ramin Karimloo, who is
currently playing the role of the Phantom in London's
West End - is rumoured to be a front runner for the lead
role.
