Love Never Dies to be staged at Theatre Royal Drury Lane with Norm Lewis and Celinde Schoenmaker
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies is set to return to London’s West End this summer in a concert staging at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
Leading the cast will be Broadway veteran and Tony Award nominee Norm Lewis (The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess) as The Phantom, having previously become the first African-American performer to play the character in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera. His co-star will be Celinde Schoenmaker (Guys & Dolls) as Christine Daaé, following her appearance in the West End for the 30th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera.
Lewis commented: “My love for Andrew’s Love Never Dies meant this was the quickest yes, the moment I was asked! I am honored to don the iconic Phantom mask yet again, and continue the story of a character that forever changed my life. And to perform it at the famous Theatre Royal Drury Lane? There’s nothing greater. I cannot wait to be reconnected with the London audiences!”
Shaun Kerrison (My Fair Lady) is set to direct, with further casting and creatives to be announced in the coming months.
The concerts will also feature the 27-piece London Musical Theatre Orchestra (LMTO).
Featuring a score by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and a book by Lloyd Webber, Slater, Ben Elton and Frederick Forsyth, Love Never Dies originally premiered at the West End’s Adelphi Theatre in 2010, and has since been staged professionally in Australia, Denmark, Austria, Japan, Germany and across the United States.
Love Never Dies is set ten years after the fateful events of The Phantom of the Opera, with The Phantom luring Christine, alongside her husband Raoul and son Gustave, to his new home in Coney Island, New York, for one final attempt to win her love. The score includes “‘Til I Hear You Sing” and the titular number.
Produced by Fourth Wall Live and the LMTO, and arranged with the permission of Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group, Love Never Dies In Concert will run on Monday, 21 August at 7:30pm and Tuesday, 22 August at 2:30pm at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
