Andrew Lloyd Webber's LOVE NEVER DIES to Play Hollywood Pantages in 2018; Season Announced!

Variety reports that the musical LOVE NEVER DIES, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, will be part of next season's line-up at the Hollywood Pantages. According to the report, a new national touring production of the show joins a slate of shows which already includes the touring companies of Broadway's ALADDIN, COLOR PURPLE, WAITRESS and ON YOUR FEET! as well as Lloyd Webber's most current hit, SCHOOL OF ROCK.

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. It starred Ramin Karimloo, Sierra Boggess, Joseph Millson, Liz Robertson, Summer Strallen and Niamh Perry. The show received mixed reviews from critics but found greater success in 2011, when Simon Phillips directed an Australian production of the show. That 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. Phillips is also set to direct the new U.S. tour which brings LOVE NEVER DIES across the Atlantic for the very first time. It is scheduled to play the Hollywood Pantages from April 3-22, 2018. SCHOOL OF ROCK will follow with a run set for May 3-27, 2018.

In addition, Disney's hit ALADDIN will run from Jan. 10-March 31, 2018, while the Tony-winning revival of THE COLOR PURPLE will play from May 29-June 17, 2018. ON YOUR FEET! is set to run from July 6-29, 2018 and WAITRESS, featuring a score by Sara Bareilles, will play from Aug 2-26, 2018. As previously reported, the multi-Tony Award winning musical HAMILTON will play the Pantages' in the fall of 2017.

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...

Photo Credit: John Tsiavis