Webber Reveals LOVE NEVER DIES was 13 Years in the Making

Nigel Farndale of the Telegraph recently sat down to speak with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber about his career and accomplishments, as well as he feelings and expectations for the upcoming Phantom of the Opera continuation, LOVE NEVER DIES.

Webber told Farndale he has been working on LOVE NEVER DIES for nearly 13 years. Beginning in 1997, Webber began his outline for the Phantom sequel, and brought in several authors to assist him on the script and story. Webber said the music for the show flowed readily: "I often think of random melodies. And I pretty much hear in my head what I want to do with the orchestra as I'm writing on the piano. But the most important thing with musical theatre is the story. That is where you have to start...When they haven't worked, as with Woman in White, it was because the story wasn't right."

He said the show finally came together when he picked the correct setting for the musical, Coney Island. "The answer was Coney Island, where freaks can walk around without being noticed."

When asked about his belief as to the widespread success of Phantom, Webber said he felt it was about self-image. "I think that's it. That is why people identify with the Phantom. Everyone has something about themselves they would like to change."

To read the full article from the Telegraph, click here.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me on a Sunday combined as Song & Dance, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of The Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down The Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White. He composed The film scores of Gumshoe and The Odessa File, and Requiem, a setting of The Latin Requiem Mass, for which he won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Composition. He has also produced in The West End and on Broadway, not only his own work, but The Olivier Award-winning plays La Bête and Daisy Pulls It Off. In 2004 he produced The film version of The Phantom of The Opera. In 2006 he oversaw a new London production of Evita, Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular and pioneered television casting for musical Theater with The hit BBC series "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" which won an International Emmy. He followed this with The equally successful series "Any Dream Will Do." His awards include seven Tonys®, three Grammys, six Oliviers, a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an International Emmy, The Praemium Imperiale and The Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. He was knighted in 1992 and created an honorary life peer in 1997. He's a 2006 Kennedy Center Honoree.

LOVE NEVER DIES continues the story of ‘The Phantom', who has moved from his lair in the Paris Opera House to haunt the fairgrounds of Coney Island, far across the Atlantic. Set ten years after the mysterious disappearance of ‘The Phantom' from Paris, this show is a rollercoaster ride of obsession and intrigue...in which music and memory can play cruel tricks...and ‘The Phantom' sets out to prove that, indeed, "LOVE NEVER DIES".

The World Premiere of "LOVE NEVER DIES" will take place in London on 9 March 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre. Previews begin on 20 February. For tickets and more information, visit loveneverdies.com. The show will subsequently open in New York on 11 November 2010 and then in Australia in 2011.

 

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