Love Never Dies – Lengthy Birth Process
Love Never Dies, the Phantom Sequel is on it’s way now, with a firm announcement being made on October 8th 2009. But this new musical hasn’t just arrived onto the London musical theatre scene from nowhere, it has had a lengthy and difficult incubuation period.
Phantom of Manhatten – the Novel on which Love Never Dies is based
Frederick Forsyth's The Phantom of Manhatten
Phantom of The Opera fans have discussed the possibility of a sequel since 1997, twelve years ago when Frederick Forsyth the author of “Day of The Jackal” and “The Odessa File” published his novel The Phantom of Manhattan with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s approval. Yes, it is a little surprising that the Phantom of The Opera sequel and novel upon which Love Never Dies is based was written by Forsyth. He explained at the time it was intended as a departure from his usual genre.
“I had done mercenaries, assassins, Nazis, murderers, terrorists, special forces soldiers, fighter pilots, you name it, and I got to think, could I actually write about the human heart?”
The Phantom of Manhatten however, did not achieve the same success as Frederick Forsyth’s other novels, so he returned to writing modern day thrillers.
Stage adaptation for Love Never Dies
Plans to adapt the Phantom of Manhatten were shelved for a while after the book was poorly received, but ten years later in March 2007, Andrew Lloyd Webber announced that plans for a stage sequel would be going ahead, and that it would be set in New York. How much of the plot for the new book for Love Never Dies falls back on Forsyth’s original novel remains to be seen as the musical approaches its first previews.
What followed the 2007 announcement was a series of unlikely events which supposedly involved several creative writers and composers being hired and fired, entire musical scores being dumped and something about a cat and a piano which has been kept very secret. Forsyth himself was supposed to be collaborating, but first he was in and then he was out.
Ben Elton’s script for Love Never Dies
Ben Elton writer for Love Never Dies
Then it was announced that Ben Elton has written the new Love Never Dies playscript, which is a brilliant move by Lloyd Webber, after the magnificent success of We Will Rock You which was also written by Ben Elton.
Ben Elton first collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on The Beautiful Game in 2000, writing the book and lyrics (Lloyd Webber wrote the music). The Beautiful Game won the London Critics Circle Award for best new musical. Elton went on to write a number of compilation shows featuring popular songs taken from the back catalogues of pop/rock artists. The first of these was the musical We Will Rock You with music by the rock band Queen. This was successful in London and won the 2003 Theatregoers’ Choice Award for Best New Musical. It has since opened in the US, Australia, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden and Canada. Tonight’s the Night, based on the songs of Rod Stewart, opened in November 2003.
Love Never Dies Lyrics
Interestingly, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s old collaborator Tim Rice was approached to write lyrics for Love Never Dies, but that job eventually went to Glenn Slater who also wrote the lyrics to the new London musical Sister Act.
Love Never Dies Alternate Titles
As well as the name from the novel The Phantom of Manhatten, and obvious ideas such as “Phantom 2″ , “Phantom of The Opera Returns” etc, rejected names for the Love Never Dies project included The Phantom of Coney Island and Phantom: Once Upon Another Time, but that was never more than a working title really and in September 2008 Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber announced the name Love Never Dies at his birthday celebrations in Hyde Park, London.
