14 minutes ago 2009-11-29T03:03:04-08:00
Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in 2004 s Phantom of the Opera Warner BrothersAccess Hollywood
LONDON, U.K. -- A new Phantom of the Opera is coming to Broadway - and beyond. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber told the Times of London on Sunday that "the button is pushed" on a sequel to the world's most successful musical.
He plans to open "Phantom: Love Never Dies" at the end of 2009, with a historic simultaneous opening in three cities - on Broadway in New York, in London's West End, and potentially Shanghai. Such an opening would be groundbreaking.
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"I don't think you could do this if it wasn't the sequel to Phantom," he told the paper. "We've been into the feasibility of rehearsing three companies at once and opening very fast in the three territories. The one which really interests me [in the Far East] would be China ... I think to open 'Love Never Dies' in Shanghai would be an enormous thing."
The follow-up to "Phantom," which debuted in 1986 with Michael Crawford in the lead role, will take place a decade after the original, with the story set on Brooklyn's Coney Island.
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"It was the place," Lloyd Webber said. "Even Freud went because it was so extraordinary ... people who were freaks and oddities were drawn towards it because it was a place where they could be themselves."
And the Phantom, who perishes at the end of the original musical, will reunite with lost love Christine. The iconic roles have yet to be cast. "We are pretty clear who our Phantom is going to be - I can't say who," Lloyd Webber said.
"Phantom," based on a French novel by Gaston Leroux, is the longest-running Broadway show in history and has out-grossed even "Titanic" - the most successful film of all time.
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And it has gone off-Broadway as well -- most recently, Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum starred in a 2004 film adaptation.
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comments
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Judy BGerard Butler is the best Phantom I`ve seen yet.I dont think ANYONE can beat himreport abuseposted February 15, 2009 9:58 AM PST
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SarahThis is gonna be bad. I love Rebbeca Caine and Colm Wilkinson. They are amazing!! Go on Youtube and search this and you'll see what its about. It's crazy! They should just leave it how it is. I'm a big Phan:)report abuseposted January 28, 2009 2:55 PM PST
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i loveeeeeeeee that movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!report abuseposted January 9, 2009 5:44 PM PST
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SherrybI think gerard butler did it best. I seen it on broadway and still emmy rossum and gerard butler get my votereport abuseposted January 4, 2009 9:31 AM PST
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SaffronAzrealOh, and just for those wondering, Christine is still with Roul, they have a son.report abuseposted December 31, 2008 3:27 PM PST
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LibbyGod, Llyod Weber must be running out of cash. He hasn't had an original idea since Tim Rice told him to sod off, so this is what he comes up with. Sad. I really liked the POTO and this will just make it a joke.report abuseposted December 30, 2008 5:49 AM PST
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hmm that will be really weird. i'm pretty interested to see how it'll turn out. after growing up with the origional it's gna be awkward.report abuseposted December 30, 2008 5:35 AM PST
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notkathyI agree with booklover, Michael Crawford, and Sarah Brightman are untouchable in their roles and to try to pull off a sequel without them is an insult.report abuseposted December 30, 2008 3:26 AM PST
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bitchydeenahow can there be a sequel to that story? doesn't anyone have any fresh ideas anymore? if not, why doen't he put Kiss in their kabuki makeup and do a broadway version of Phantom of the Amusement Park? it'd be a hell of a lot more interesting than this.report abuseposted December 30, 2008 1:15 AM PST
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Alie HI'm not very happy about this. It is supposed to be a tragidity and a love story at the same time and reuniting them is after the fact would be super cliche. Why mess with something so great. it is not Harry Potter or Twilight!!!report abuseposted December 29, 2008 9:58 PM PST
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