Broadcast on ITV1 on December 14th at 7:30 pm The 2011 Royal Variety Show took places at the Lowry Theatre Salford Keys early December in the presence of HRH Princess Anne. West End Stars performing included Adam Cooper and the cast of Singin’ in the Rain which had rave reviews at the Chichester Festival Thetre earlier this year and is due to open in London’s West End at the Palace Theatre in February. Four West End leading men who did not appear in the ITV1 billing also made an appearance:  Ramin Karimloo who has just taken over the role of Jean Valjean from Alfie Boe in Les Miserables:John Owen-Jones who is currently the Phantom of the Opera and is shortly leaving the show to play the role on a national tour which starts next year: Simon Bowman who has played Jean Valjean and the Phantom and Earl Carpenter who has been playing the role of Khasoggi in We Will Rock You and is currently in  rehearsals to take over the role of Phantom from Owen-Jones and also play it in the latter half of the tour. They were joined by Nicole Scherzinger who was spotted having dinner with Lord Lloyd Webber before the show.  She was introduced by the Lord as “performing alongside the cast of Phantom of the Opera”.  She is known to be a Phantom fan and has made a recording of “Love Never Dies”.  She said: “It was an honour to be in his company. To be asked to sing Phantom Of The Opera is amazing. I’m so excited to be performing again.”

Our two originating actors for Love Never Dies, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess starred in the Phantom of The Opera 25th anniversary show at the Albert Hall this month. The performances took place at the Royal Albert Hall London on October 1st and 2nd 2011 with Ramin Karimloo playing the Phantom and Sierra Boggess as Christine. The pair, who performed together in the Adelphi Theatre’s Phantom sequel Love Never Dies, performed one show on October 1st and a further two shows on October 2nd. Karimloo and Boggess were joined on stage by Barry James as Monsieur Firmin, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry, Gareth Snook as Monsieur André and Wynne Evans as Piangi as well as special guests and a 200-person-strong supporting cast and orchestra. Producer Cameron Mackintosh said: “It is amazing to think that the extraordinary success of The Phantom of the Opera is about to celebrate 25 years. The success of the show has become the stuff of theatrical legend so Andrew and I felt we needed to create a really special performance to celebrate the 25th anniversary. One of the great strengths of The Phantom of the Opera is that being set in an opera house, its production is totally theatrical. So we felt that there could be no better 19th Century theatrical auditorium in London for this occasion than the Royal Albert Hall.”

Royal Albert Hall

2012 Theatre Breaks 2012 is a special year for the United Kingdom and theatre breaks, not just because of the London 2012 Olympic Games, but also because it’s the The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year as well. That means a lot of extra activity and tourism in central London which will have an effect on the West End venues and on Theatre Breaks bookings.  Over twenty shows  have responded by extending booking dates early so that you can book early, right now, for all the popular musicals and plays right through into the 2012 celebration year, which may help a lot of people to combine tourism trips and spectating with theatre breaks in London. First the two main events of the year: The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee

To mark 60 years of the Queen’s reign the Diamond Jubilee will take place in 2012. The celebrations will centre around an extended weekend in 2012 on 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th June 2012.

  The Department for Culture, Media and Sports is responsible for coordinating the Government’s role for Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations. Buckingham Palace will be coordinating the Queen’s programme for the Diamond Jubilee, including the arrangements for the central Jubilee weekend in the first week of June 2012. For further information about the Diamond Jubilee and the events taking place during 2012, please visit direct.gov.uk/diamondjubilee The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games Olympic Games 27 July-12 Aug 2012 The London 2012 Olympic Games will feature 26 sports, which break down into 39 disciplines. Paralympic Games 29 Aug-9 Sept 2012 There are 20 sports in the Paralympic programme for the London 2012 Games. Paralympic Cycling breaks down into two disciplines: Road and Track. Cultural Olympiad The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. London 2012 Festival The London 2012 Festival is the finale of the four-year Cultural Olympiad, taking place from 21 June to 9 September 2012. Complementing the sport events at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Festival will be the biggest party the UK has ever seen, with a huge range of events from leading artists from all over the world. Theatre Breaks

To be honest, nobody really knows exactly what effect all of this is going to have on London theatre breaks during the 2012 celebration year. Obviously there is going to be a high demand for hotel accommodation and London is going to be prominent in the world’s attention.  People who are in London anyway may well wish to visit the West End theatres as part of the whole London experience, and there are certainly plenty of great shows on offer this year. Meanwhile the traditional theatre going public may decide to avoid certain dates in order not to get caught up in the crowds and busier traffic. In order to make the most of the 2012 opportunity presented though, the London theatres as a whole have announced extensions to the booking dates for more than 20 popular shows well in advance, so that those with Olympics tickets or other intentions can book theatre breaks as part of their overall London trip  of a lifetime. The shows which have extended so far are as follows: Some of the shows announcing 2012 booking dates extensions are the following West End musicals and plays: We Will Rock You Wicked The Wizard of Oz Billy Elliot the Musical Blood Brothers Dreamboats and Petticoats Jersey Boys The Phantom of the Opera Mamma Mia! Legally Blonde the Musical Ghost The Musical  Les Misérables Shrek The Musical Disney’s The Lion King Million Dollar Quartet  The Mousetrap The 39 Steps Stomp Thriller Live War Horse The Woman in Black Rock of Ages  Matilda The Musical

Today July 27th being the start of the one year countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games in Stratford, East London as part of the countdown launch, a large number of West End theatres have announced new extensions to the period for which the most popular shows can be booked. This is to allow London Theatre breaks to be booked well in advance for the period of the Olympics, and indeed the Olympic year 2012 as a whole, during which there are all sorts of special events laid on. Some of the shows announcing 2012 booking dates extensions are the following West End musicals and plays: We Will Rock You Wicked The Wizard of Oz Billy Elliot the Musical Blood Brothers Dreamboats and Petticoats Jersey Boys The Phantom of the Opera Mamma Mia! Legally Blonde the Musical Ghost The Musical  Les Misérables Shrek The Musical Disney’s The Lion King Million Dollar Quartet  The Mousetrap The 39 Steps Stomp Thriller Live War Horse The Woman in Black Rock of Ages  Matilda The Musical

Love Never Dies’ Phantom Ramin Karimloo confirmed his performance schedule in the show for after  the cast change on 5th March. Ramin extended his contract for six months until 3rd September 2011, but he has a new reduced new performance schedule playing the role of Phantom in Love Never Dies London for six shows a week,  probably with Mondays and Thursdays off. Ramin also mentioned a record deal and some show dates for his group the Sheytoons.  If you’re lucky enough to have seen them perform you’ll know they are great songwriters.

The Love Never Dies London cast changes tonight 9th March 2011 at the Adelphi Theatre. David Thaxton, who is nominated in this year’s Olivier Awards for his role in Passion, replaces Joseph Millson as Raoul, Celia Graham takes over from Sierra Boggess as Christine and Haley Flaherty will replace Summer Strallen as Meg. Ramin Karimloo stays on as the Phantom.

From the 5th March 2011, Love Never Dies gets a new Raoul in the form of David Thaxton taking over the role from Joseph Millsom. David Thaxton Sierra Boggess is also leaving the cast, to head for Broadway where the former Christine will star in Master Class with Tyne Daly. The role of Christine in Love Never Dies will be taken over by the current Christine’s understudy, Celia Graham. Other changes are that Celia Graham (who is currently Christine’s understudy) will take over the role from Sierra Boggess who is heading to Broadway to star in Master Class with Tyne Daly. Ramin Karimloo stays on as The Phantom extending his contract for an undsiclosed period, but he’ll be one of the few Love Never Dies originators since Summer Strallen  is also leaving to go on a tour of Top Hat the Musical with Tom Chambers. Haley Flaherty (Rocky Horror Show, Mamma Mia, Follies, Grease, Chicago, Saturday Night Fever) is taking over as the new Meg Giry.

After a great opening in London, an acclaimed first year and a partial redesign and rewrite, Love Never Dies takes its first step away from the Adelphi Theatre soon as the Australian production opens in Melbourne in June 2011. Love Never Dies Australian Cast Love Never Dies Australia Cast The Australian Christine is to be played by a previous Christine from The Phantom Of The Opera. Anna O’Byrne has already played the part to great acclaim in an Australian tour of The Phantom of the Opera. Anna is an award-winning classically trained singer, and has performed as Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera and appeared in works by Mozart, Puccini and Ibert for The Victorian Opera, Victorian College of the Arts and Victorian Youth Opera. The Phantom  in the new Australian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies is being played by Ben Lewis. Ben’s previous stage credits include the original Australian cast of Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical, Sir Galahad in the original Australian cast of Monty Python’s Spamalot, two-seasons as Count Carl-Magnus in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, Urinetown with Sydney Theatre Company and Polites in The Odyssey for Black Swan and the Malthouse. Performances begin in Melbourne on May 29th 2011 at the Regent Theatre. Tags: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Anna O'Byrne, Australia, Ben Lewis, Christine, Love Never Dies, Melbourne, musical, Phantom of the Opera, the phantom of the opera This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 at 5:30 am and is filed under Love Never Dies, Phantom of the Opera. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. via loveneverdiesphantom.co.uk Posted via email from Love Never Dies

Another great set of photographs by Estefania y Arantxa Álvarez, this time of Ramin Karimloo who plays the Phantom in Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

Love Never Dies By the time many people read this the free tickets competition will be over, so I’ll write about why I think you might like to consider Love Never Dies theatre breaks anyway. I guess you may have already seen The Phantom of The Opera ? The most successful piece of live entertainment ever, it’s been on long enough. Or maybe your parents enjoyed it thirty years ago when Michael Crawford played the Phantom. Well Love Never Dies is a continuation of the story, but with completely new twists. The scene is set ten years after the incident at the Paris Opera House, and the Phantom is now presiding over a huge entertainment complex at Coney Island, New York. He manages to manipulate Christine and Raoul into sailing across the Atlantic and into his lair. But there’s much more than that…

Some of the music in Love Never Dies comes from the operetta genre, some from light entertainment and some even from a rock background. This is the fusion which Andrew Lloyd Webber does so well. The staging, sets and costumes are magnificent, so you really do see a big musical theatre event up there on the big stage. This is certainly not one of your small cast and minimalist aesthetics plays, like many even in the West End, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess are both star quality singers in the lead roles and it’s nice to hear the full orchestra getting a proper work out. Did I mention the free tickets? Love Never Dies Tickets Competition One pair of top price tickets have been donated. That’s worth around £180 normally. Now, you’d need to be able to get to the London Adelphi Theatre for tomorrow night, Saturday 9th October 2010. So if you are in London anyway, and can clear out all of your prior engagements to be free then you’d do well to nip over and quickly enter the simple competition on the Love Never Dies blog. The odds are not against you! Here’s the link again… http://www.loveneverdiesphantom.co.uk Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks If you don’t have easy access to the capital then buying London theatre breaks packages with the tickets and convenient hotel room plus optional discount rail travel is nearly always the best way to go.

Other London Theatre Breaks to see West End Musicals

Theatre Breaks The Wizard of Oz The Phantom Of The Opera Les Miserables Ghost

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Coney Island, New York is the setting for Love Never Dies The Coney Island chapter We started the tour exactly where the second chapter of The Wonder City begins, and Justin filled us in: The Coney Island you see now is physically very different from the one our main characters were looking at back then. A lot has changed, whether by the wrecking ball or fire. Coney Island today has been whittled down from America’s playland (think the Disney World of the 19th and early 20th centuries) to its lowest common denominator: a beach and a carnival spirit that still refuses to die. Justin interlaced the sites, stories, and history of Coney Island with plot details of The Wonder City alongside a packet of charming draft illustrations by Courtney.  September 24 2010 | Comments (View) via blog.kickstarter.com Coney Island as it was in the time that Love Never Die is set in. A lot has changed in New York island since then. Posted via email from Love Never Dies

Recommending Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks Love Never Dies is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s not exactly  sequel to Phantom of the Opera. I saw it in previews, liked it very much but was not quite ready to recommend it for theatre breaks fans. I wanted to see if the show settled down and to let ‘his Lordship’ make the inevitable changes a preview period brings. Now the show has settled and people are happily booking their Love Never Dies theatre breaks and having a great time. ** Book Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks ** The Story of Love Never Dies Set on Coney Island, New York some 10 years after the events of Phantom, Love Never Dies is a more grown-up story of love. It has lost some of the teenage fascination with the Gothic that is such a huge part of the power of Phantom and in its place there is a much more human set of characters. There are plenty of places online where you can find a synopsis of the story but my advice is to go to the show without any preconceptions and enjoy it for what it is, a powerful piece of theatre, full of spectacle and gorgeous music. Love Never Dies  Music I just adored the music. Some people thought there were not enough memorable tunes but my house rang to much whistling and humming for days after we saw the show. I think the music is more interesting and I actually enjoyed it more than Phantom (gasp!).  Speaking of the gorgeous music just listen to the divine voice of Sierra Boggess: Click here to view the embedded video. Oh and how about the utterly wonderful Ramin Karimloo: Click here to view the embedded video. And that’s without mentioning the great performance of Summer Strallen as Meg Girey! Love Never Dies theatre stage set I thought the set was mostly wonderful. There’s good use of back projection and special effects but it’s the Art Nouveau aspects that just blew me away. Some of the sets looked like exquisite pieces of Art Nouveau jewelry or spectacular Tiffany lampshades. At times I was reminded of the film set of Moulin Rouge, but then I loved that too! It made a wonderful backdrop for the passionate story. A big question:  One show or two? I know people were worried that they haven’t seen Phantom and would find it hard to follow the story. In our party we had someone who had never seen Phantom and she said that within the first ten minutes she had worked out enough to make sense of what was happening. She didn’t feel that not knowing the back story spoiled her enjoyment at all. Having read all the fuss about certain bloggers and forums I think there have been more problems with the devoted ‘Phans’. They’ve had to let go of their preconceptions about what the Phantom could be like and his relationship to Christine. People were too quick to judge a show that was still being ‘tweaked’ and seem to have forgotten that Phantom had its share of problems when it opened. I’ve seen both shows and I think the ideal solution is a double show theatre break. No one is offering one yet but there are rumblings from one or two of the agencies. Never fear as soon as they are available I’ll let you know! ** Book Love Never Dies Theatre Breaks ** a

Love Never Dies the new Phantom musical will open in London on Tuesday 9th March, just one week’s time. So what will the critics and press reviews make of it? Well in many ways, it doesn’t really matter because, having seen one of the early previews and loved it all, especially the score, I’m certain that the great British musical theatre going public is going to really enjoy this musical extravaganza. It’s a modern production that builds on the language of musicals and delights the eye and ear, while twisting the emotions appropriately as the plot unfolds. There were one or two effects that didn’t work quite as well as others, but from all accounts the show had already improved considerably on the first preview, and it’s now a case of tweaking a show that is ready for the world rather than implementing any big last minute redesigns. Maybe if you go and see Love Never Dies in three months time, for a summer theatre break, it will be a more mature production, perhaps with a new final ensemble or something to smooth over any slight disappointments, but the characters are set and most importantly, the music is a final piece that holds together very well. I’ll be throroughly recommending Love Never Dies as a new musical top choice choice for London theatre breaks.

Technorati Tags: extravaganza, london, london theatre, Love Never Dies, March, music, musical, musicals, phantom, score

As the build up to the official opening of Love Never Dies gathers pace, Andrew Lloyd Webber has been on TV promoting the new Phantom musical with not one but two soprano Divas over the weekend. On Friday Night with Jonathan Ross he accompanied Sierra Boggess, the leading lady from the Adelphi Theatre London where previews are currently underway. Sierra sang the title track “Love Never Dies” beautifully again, and then on ITV’s “Dancing On Ice” show, Lord Webber played the piano again but this time with acclaimed classical soprano Katherine Jenkins singing her own unique interpretation of the now more familiar “Love Never Dies” song.

The performance was also interpreted visually by none other than Ice dance superstars Torvill and Dean.

Technorati Tags: Adelphi Theatre, adelphi theatre london, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Christopher Dean, dancing on ice, friday night with jonathan ross, Jayne Torvill, katherine jenkins, leading lady, Love Never Dies, phantom, Sierra Boggess, soprano, Torvill and Dean, youtube

Love Never Dies, the new musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber which continues the story from The Phantom Of The Opera, is moving into the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End.

The show opens in March 2010.

Here is a selection of London Theatre Breaks bargains with show tickets and hotel included. Love Never Dies Love Never Dies Ticket & 3*, £99.50pp Show available from 26th March to 23rd October Andrew Lloyd Webber’s eagerly awaited new musical continues the life of The Phantom of the Opera. There is no need to say anymore, book your tickets today for March 26th showing, where the Phantom sets out to prove that infact, Love Never Dies…

Dirty Dancing Dirty Dancing Ticket & 3*, £130.50pp Show available until 23rd October Seen by millions across the globe this worldwide smash-hit tells the classic story of Baby and Johnny, two fiercely independent young spirits from different worlds, who come together in what will be the most challenging and triumphant summer of their lives. Legally Blonde Legally Blonde Ticket & 3*, £86.50pp Show available until 23rd October The cult classic movie of the 90’s comes to the West End! Legally Blonde the musical tells the story of ditzy blonde Elle Woods (Sheriden Smith) having been dumped by boyfriend Warner (Duncan James from boyband blue) follows him to Harvard law school in a bid to win him back! The Misanthrope The Misanthrope, ticket & 3*, £70.50pp Show available until 12th March 2010 The Misanthrope tells the story of a British playwright (Damian Lewis) fuelled and angered by the narcissistic contemporary world, vowing to reject all society…until he falls in love with socialite and ambitious actress Jennifer (Keira Knightley) who will prove to be his biggest challenge yet!

Well here it is, Sierra Boggess singing the theme song to Love Never Dies at the last ever ITV South Bank Show Awards on Sunday Night, January 31st accompanied by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Louise Hunt on two grand pianos.

So what did you think? I was struck by the performance style of Sierra Boggess being reminiscent of the Sarah Brightman who was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s inspiration for the original Phantom of The Opera. The flourishing crescendo of that operetta style is a bit much for my taste just for a few moments but I did recognise a great show tune in there which will have a strong emotional appeal when seen live at the theatre in just a few weeks tine when Love Never Dies opens in London. I did actually start humming the tune the next day after only having heard it once.

Technorati Tags: Andrew LLoyd Webber, itv, london, louise hunt, Love Never Dies, melvyn bragg, phantom, Phantom of the Opera, sarah brightman, Sierra Boggess, south bank show, the phantom of the opera

More of the casting for Love Never Dies has now been announced and it includes one Niamh Perry from the BBC 1 TV search for a star to play Nancy for Oliver the Musical, “I’d Do Anything”.  Since Niamh Perry left I’d Do Anything she starred in the West End production of Only the Brave and is currently in the London production of the highly successful musical, Mamma Mia! Love Never Dies will receive it’s world premier on the 9th March 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre and Niamh Perry joins the already announced cast list which includes Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom, Sierra Boggess as Christine, Summer Strallen as Meg Giry, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry and Joseph Milson as Raoul.

Technorati Tags: casting, Love Never Dies, Niamh Perry, phantom

Love Never Dies is the new musical which continues the story of The Phantom Of The Opera, opening in London in March 2010 with Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is sparing no expense when it comes to the set, cast recording, workshops and anything else necessary to make sure the music lives up to its famously successful precessor at least in some part. Now we have news that the promotional website for Love Never Dies is to include an intricate simulation of the original Coney Island funfair, which is where the Phantom has his domain in the new story. The blog explains: an interactive ‘Coney Island Experience’ is being created which will transport you to the Phantom’s new home, located in the Island’s funfair. By exploring the funfair you will be able to take part in various themed online games and compete with other members of the Love Never Dies Community.

So all you rollercoaster tycoon fans out there have a real theme park mass online dungeon adventure game to look forward to! Wow.

Theatre Breaks Reviewed for 2009 Linda looks back on 2009 for London Theatre Breaks as the top of the year approaches: Winter 2009 is here and I’m just wondering what sort of a year this has been for theatre breaks. There’s been a recent survey that assures us reality TV has actually boosted ticket sales. The box offices are claiming the credit crunch has had little effect on bookings, with most theatres usually full. But what has been the reality? The West End Shows In terms of shows one or two have closed early but the old favourites like We Will Rock You carry on. Avenue Q was saved from oblivion by popular demand and has moved to a new theatre. The Lion King is as popular as ever and proudly boasts that it is so well booked that it has NEVER released tickets to the reduced ticket agencies. Priscilla Queen of the Desert Some good shows reached the end of their natural life and wonderful though Spamalot was it really was time for it to say goodbye. It’s been replaced by Priscilla and that has been a fair swap. Carousel never really quite hit the spot and its closure wasn’t any great surprise. It was sad to see the end of Cabaret and a shame they couldn’t take a leaf out of Chicago’s book and find a constant stream of new familiar faces to keep us going back.  Joseph went too and no doubt was mourned by thousands of Lee Mead’s fans but it was another how that seemed ready to go. No doubt it will be back someday. One show I thought should have done better was Spring Awakening, which I just loved. All that energy and a theatre full of young people the night we went. I felt positively ancient, and that’s a good thing! (honest!) Oliver has of course been a total triumph with Jodie Prenger making a real name for herself. Who would have thought she’d still be there doing 8 shows a week nearly a year later? What a star. I saw her at West End live this year and she has a super voice and a lovely stage presence. She managed to upstage Christopher Biggins, to great comic effect and that takes some talent for comedy! I think we’ll see more of Jodie once she moves on but for now she seems happy where she is. She’s on her 3rd Fagin and this is the one I’d really like to see. I think Griff Reese Jones will make a great Fagin and be well worth the trip. Hairspray has seen some major changes with the departure of Micheal Ball. Still Phil Jupitous is doing a grand job and Brain Connely was very well recieved in the part. I wonder how long Micheal will stay away, I’m sure I heard somewhere that he’s thinking of coming back to Edna. We hope! Wicked is going from strength to strength and is the most popular musical at this witchy time of year. Kerry Ellis is just a distant memory now and Alexia Kadhim has made her own interpreation of Elphaba. I think she has a lovely voice, quite different to Kerry’s but wonderful all the same:

New shows coming into the West End and available for theatre breaks include Legally Blonde which I was less than keen on when first announced. Since then I’ve had a good look at the videos on youtube and listened to the cast recordings and I might just change my mind. It might be fun and has the sort of casting that makes me want to see it. What to say about Love Never dies (apart from “I can’t wait!!”)? Well it’s definitely going to be a huge event and it should be a spectacular in the best Andrew Lloyd Webber tradition. The Coney Island setting should give it a great atmosphere, you know how creepy fairgrounds can be. We’ve all seen Scoobydoo   It’s got two faboulous stars in Sarah Boggess and Ramin Karimaloo (I’ve been doing this so long I can now spell these names without flinching!) In the next part of this annual theatre breaks review I’ll be looking at the travel implications and prospects for London theatre breaks into 2010.