Gardar Thor Cortes News

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies is now streaming through the weekend, as part of The Shows Must Go On! We're celebrating the streaming production with a flashback to the show's journey.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, the spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, continues its North American tour (currently at South Carolina's Peace Center), and BroadwayWorld has just learned that Bronson Norris Murphy as officially taken over the role of The Phantom.

I'll admit that I've never been what you would call a fan of 'Phantom of the Opera'. I appreciate it for what it is, and I find it tolerable with some interesting melodies but largely it's all flash and no substance. But now comes the (gulp) sequel to 'Phantom', 'Love Never Dies' currently playing at the Paramount, and this overblown pile of musical theater Ambien not only stretches out the story to a ridiculous effect but also by doing so exposes the original to what it really is, a desperate need for therapy and a restraining order.

There are many, very obvious spectacular things that stand out while watching LOVE NEVER DIES, Andrew Lloyd Webber's infamously, uh, troubled 2010 musical follow-up to his long-running global hit THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, now continuing its two-week engagement at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa through May 5, 2018. While, sure, the show is stunning in its visual artistry and musical performances, the rest is repetitively frustrating. Unless you're a huge PHANTOM fan already or are perhaps maybe morbidly curious as to what the fuss is all about---LOVE NEVER DIES, sadly, doesn't offer much else to audiences beyond its superficial surface beauty.

Let's make one thing perfectly clear from the start. If you are expecting a sequel to Phantom of the Opera in Love Never Dies, you may be let down. This new show that is making its American premiere in the tour across North America, after a dismal opening in London in 2010, has been rewritten and reworked many times over, and is based on Frederick Forsyth's The Phantom of Manhattan, not on Gaston Leroux's Le Phantome de l'Opera upon which the first Phantom was based. Even Lloyd Webber stated emphatically that it is not a sequel, but a different story with the same characters. If you open your imagination and find it in your heart to believe that the Phantom and Christine consummated their love for one another by having sex and producing a son, you will enjoy much of the show. If not, and you want this production to follow the original from 1986, it will most likely not suit you.

Last night, the stars were in alignment as multi-platinum recording artist Nicole Scherzinger attended the opening night of Andrew Lloyd Webber's LOVE NEVER DIES, the spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera; April 5 - 22, 2018.

LOVE NEVER DIES is playing through April 1st at the San Diego Civic Theatre. This one is for those whose love for the Phantom never died.

Hennepin Theatre Trust announced Andrew Lloyd Webber's LOVE NEVER DIES, the spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, makes its Minneapolis premiere as part of the 2017-2018 Bank of America Broadway on Hennepin season June 26-July 1, 2018 at the historic Orpheum Theatre (910 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis).

LOVE NEVER DIES is an unnecessary sequel to the megahit PHANTOM that wisely skips Broadway and hits the national tour road for ALW fans. The ladies of this evening rule even though the guys are (supposed to be) in charge of the action in this passable evening of musical theatre.

Direct from the highly successful production of Love Never Dies in Hamburg, Germany, Gardar Thor Cortes will portray the man behind the mask, 'The Phantom,' with Meghan Picerno as 'Christine Daae,' Karen Mason as 'Madame Giry,' Sean Thompson as 'Raoul,' Mary Michael Patterson as 'Meg Giry,' and Casey Lyons and Jake Heston Miller sharing the role of 'Gustave.' The trio of Phantom's henchmen include Katrina Kemp as 'Fleck,' Richard Koons as 'Squelch,' Stephen Petrovich as 'Gangle,' Gardar Thor Cortes is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.  The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

Dark, brooding and weird, the show collapses under the weight of plausibility.

Broadway In Chicago and Andrew Lloyd Webber's LOVE NEVER DIES are delighted to announce that individual tickets for LOVE NEVER DIES, the spellbinding sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, will go on sale Friday, December 8, 2017.

The North American tour of LOVE NEVER DIES brings the musical to the United States for the first time since its 2010 London premiere, and is playing at the Boston Opera House through February 11th as part of the 2017-2018 Lexus Broadway in Boston Season.

Love Never Dies will make its San Jose premiere at the Center for the Performing Arts (255 s. Almaden Blvd.) from March 13 18, 2018 as part of a North American tour. Single tickets ($48 $128) are on-sale now online at www.ticketmaster.com, in-person at the City National Civic Box Office (150 W. San Carlos St., San Jose), or by calling 800-982-ARTS (2787). Ticket prices are subject to change without notice.

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature The Book of Mormon, Waitress, Love Never Dies, and More!

Ten years after the epic conclusion of The Phantom of the Opera, we find ourselves on the shores of the Atlantic- an ocean away from the Paris Opera House where years prior Christine, Raoul, and the Phantom would meet for an explosive encounter in the lair. Christine and Raoul would flee together, leaving the Phantom to the mercy of the encroaching mob. It is the most recognizable love triangle in musical theatre- one that ends in the questionable disappearance of the Phantom. But Andrew Lloyd Weber could not let the Phantom's love and story end there; thus gives us the basis for the sequel Love Never Dies.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, has hit the road, making recent stops in Durham, NC, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Orlando, FL, Atlanta, GA, Ft. Myers, FL, Tampa, FL, and is currently playing in Providence, RI. Let's see what the critics are saying!

BroadwayWorld presents a comprehensive weekly roundup of regional stories around our Broadway World, which include videos, editor spotlights, regional reviews and more. This week, we feature FIDDLER, LES MIS, and LOVE NEVER DIES.

On paper, LOVE NEVER DIES should have everything going for it. With PHANTOM'S bedrock story and unforgettable music as its foundation, this tour adds to its credit a truly phenomenal cast, top-notch stagecraft and costuming, and Lloyd Webber's fine new score. Yet even these strengths fail to keep LOVE NEVER DIES from buckling under the weight of a deeply flawed narrative.