RIALTO CHATTER: 'PHANTOM: LOVE NEVER DIES' to Bow First in West End, Boggess & Karimloo Rumored as Leads

The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye is revealing a huge amount of exciting information on the The Phantom Of The Opera sequel, Love Never Dies, in his newest column. He reports that the show will open in the West End first, rather than on Broadway, as the show's composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has decided it to be the best way to launch the project.

Lloyd Webber revealed to Bamigboye's column that London 'will have the edge over everybody', with the show opening at the Adelphi Theatre in late October or early November. The original Phantom is still happily running, at Her Majesty's, London, 23 years after opening.

It is also reporting in the article that Andrew Lloyd Webber wants Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, who have developed the roles of the Phantom and his protegee in several of the various 'Love Never Dies' workshops, to originate the roles in London.

Karimloo is the current Phantom in London, and Boggess was in The Phantom of the Opera production in Las Vegas and is currently Broadway's The Little Mermaid.

The plan being shaped is to open Love Never Dies in London at the Adelphi Theatre first, and then Toronto, New York and Shangai in quick succession. It's a huge and historic undertaking that, combined, will cost many millions explains the Mail article. Tickets for the Adelphi show are expected to go on sale in late May or early June of this year.

Rehearsals with three complete casts will take place in South-East London from August 17th for three months. Soon after its Adelphi bow, it will open at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre and then, around next April, the cast from Toronto will drop down to Broadway - winding up in all likelihood at the Neil Simon Theatre reveals Bamigboye.

Of most interest is Bamiboye's description of the music for 'Phantom" Love Never Dies', "From what I've heard, it sounds like the best work Andrew has produced in decades. I confess, I didn't know he still had it in him - it's a score of high passion, full of longing and regret".

The complete article, which is full of even more details of the upcoming musical can be read by clicking here.

To read an earlier BWW Rialto Chatter article on many of the current casting rumors click here.

A recent Equity audition casting breakdown gives a bit more insight into how the characters of the original musical have changed nearly ten years after the sad and passionate events of "Phantom". We have the scoop to share with you right here, click to read.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Really Useful Group Limited has launched the official website for Love Never Dies, the highly anticipated sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

Lloyd Webber recently confirmed his very active plans for Phantom: Love Never Dies, the sequel to his worldwide mega hit musical The Phantom of the Opera. To visit the new website www.loveneverdies.com, click here.

On Broadway, since its debut on January 26, 1988, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has grossed over $700 million, making it the highest-grossing show in Broadway history. The production has played over 8,600 performances and total New York attendance is over 12.5 million. PHANTOM became the longest-running show in Broadway history on January 9, 2006 (surpassing Cats) and has now played well over 1,000 performances and more than two and a half years since breaking that record - and all with no end in sight.

Its internationally success - equally staggering - is represented by a total worldwide box office gross of more than $5 billion, making PHANTOM the most successful entertainment venture of all time, surpassing not only any other stage production, but also far surpassing the world's highest-grossing film Titanic (at $1.2 billion) and such other blockbusters as The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park and Star Wars. Worldwide attendance is over 80 million people, having played over 65,000 performances in 25 countries and 124 cities. It's won over 50 Theater awards including 7 Tonys, and there are currently 8 productions around the world. The most recent international opening was Perth, Australia in February 2009.

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and is directed byHarold Prince. Lyrics are by Charles Hart (with additional lyrics by Richard Stilgoe) and the book is byRichard Stilgoe and Andrew Lloyd Webber. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA has production design by the late Maria Björnson, lighting by Andrew Bridge, sound design by Mick Potter and original sound design by Martin Levan. Musical staging and choreography is by Gillian Lynne. Orchestrations are by David Cullen and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Photo of Anthony Crivello and Sierra Boggess in the Las Vegas 'PHANTOM' by Joan Marcus