Lloyd Webber Names Phantom Sequel? With Barrowman???

The Phantom of Manhattan was the name previously mooted for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-expected sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, but now the composer himself has confirmed that the current working title is Phantom: Once Upon Another Time. In an interview with the BBC, he also said that he’s aiming for a November 2009 premiere for the new musical and that, as a result of those commitments, he may take a break from TV casting shows like the just-concluded I’d Do Anything, at least in this country.

Lloyd Webber 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, probably, if everything goes well.”

He continued: “I’m going to have to see whether I can fit another series in and indeed whether I do one in America perhaps and give Britain a year off. I don’t know. It’s been very nice to have been asked, and asked again. I also have to remember that it’s no good thinking of these shows in isolation. There has to be a show at the end of it. We are different to other shows because there is a real prize of a real job in the West End. If we haven’t got a show, we don’t have a television show.” Recent speculation was that the next TV instalment would be a show to cast a revival of Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar (See The Goss, 22 May 2008).

As for Phantom 2, John Barrowman – a judge on all three Lloyd Webber TV competitions to date – 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, for which he won the 2004 Whatsonstage.com Award for Best Actor in a Musical. 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 (See The Goss, 15 Feb 2008).

Amongst the other names previously mooted for the title role in the Phantom follow-up is X Factor runner-up Rhydian Jones (See The Goss, 2 Jan 2008). The creative team is due to include (See The Goss, 11 Apr 2008): Ben Elton (book), Glenn Slater (lyrics), Jack O’Brien (director) and Bob Crowley (designer).