the phantom of the opera… returns?

I’m sorry… but I can’t decide if I want this to happen!

I had heard rumors circulating last year, but now it is proving certainly true that theatrical god Andrew Lloyd Webber is crafting a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. Unlike the original Broadway adaptation, which was based upon Gaston Leroux’s 1909 work, this new show does not draw from any source, and Lloyd Webber will have full rights to the storyline and anything coming after it… The new work is titled Love Never Dies (click for Webber’s press release) and is slated to open next March at the Adelphi Theatre in London.

The cast looks excellent — Sierra Boggess will play Christine Daae (she had this role in Webber’s Vegas spectacular and most recently played Ariel on Broadway in The Little Mermaid) and Ramin Karimloo, who played the Phantom in the original London production, is cast with the same role again.

I have complete faith in Lloyd Webber’s ability to create beautiful and emotional music. The Phantom is a true artistic masterpiece, as are most of his works. However, to be honest, I have my reservations about this new show! Maybe I’m being selfish, but I don’t want anything that has the potential to scar the perfect nature of the original. And I’m not sure about how I feel about a title called Love Never Dies and a plot in which Christine and the Phantom miraculously meet again on Coney Island…

All of my cynical nature aside, I am secretly excited for this work and am jealous that Meredith is going to be in London for the opening (perhaps a visit is in order)!