LOVE NEVER DIES Confirmed for North American Tour

It's been long rumored with teases back as early as 2015 that Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM sequel was heading our way. Last Spring, the legendary composer revealed in a feature for BuzzFeed that THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA follow-up will "make its way to Washington, D.C. next year."

No official tour announcement has yet been made, but we learned yesterday through BBVA's Compass Broadway at the Hobby Center season announcement that LOVE NEVER DIES would play the venue from July 17-22, 2018, so such news is surely imminent!

Press notes promise "The greatest love story ever lives on in a new musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber set against the spellbinding backdrop of Coney Island. LOVE NEVER DIES makes its U.S. premiere on this North American tour."

In last year's interview, ALW went on to say that this version of LOVE NEVER DIES, which debuted in Australia and recently bowed in Hamburg, Germany, is "a major improvement" compared to the original London show, which he dubbed a "big catastrophe." The differences are subtle, he told the site, because "the fine line between a musical working or not is very small, but the consequences are very large."

LOVE NEVER DIES is the highly acclaimed follow-up musical to the 1986 love story THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, set against the spellbinding backdrop of Coney Island.

The London premiere, which opened in March 2010, was directed by Jack O'Brien and featured choreography from Jerry Mitchell and design from Bob Crowley, starring Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, Joseph Millson, Liz Robertson, Summer Strallen and Niamh Perry. Simon Phillips directed the 2011 Australian premiere, with Gabriela Tylesova behind the design. Guy Simpson, who worked with the Australian production of PHANTOM, served as music supervisor, and Graeme Murphy choreographed. The Australian version was filmed and then shown in movie theaters worldwide. A Danish production opened in 2013, directed by Daniel Bohr, followed by a German production in October 2015.

In LOVE NEVER DIES: The year is 1907. It is 10 years after his disappearance from the Paris Opera House and the Phantom has escaped to a new life in New York where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island. In this new electrically-charged world, he has finally found a place for his music to soar. All that is missing is his love -- Christine Daaé. Now one of the world's finest sopranos, Christine is struggling in an ailing marriage to Raoul. So, it is with excitement she accepts an invitation to travel to New York and perform at a renowned opera house. In a final bid to win back her love, the Phantom lures Christine, her husband, and their young son Gustave from Manhattan; to the glittering and glorious world of Coney Island... not knowing what is in store for them...

While we wait for the official word on additional dates, visit the tour's official site for updates and more info!

Pictured: Andrew Lloyd Webber and the cast of LOVE NEVER DIES take their opening bows in Hamburg, Germany last fall. Photo courtesy Stage Entertainment.