RIALTO CHATTER: LOVE NEVER DIES to Delay Broadway Opening to Spring?

Word is coming out this morning that the LOVE NEVER DIES opening on Broadway, which was scheduled for November 11, 2010 might be pushed into January/February or even to Spring in New York.

In a new German TV interview with the composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber cites both his health (he beat prostate cancer last year) and his new London production of The Wizard of Oz as potentially forcing the show to be delayed to "January or February or maybe even later in the Spring." He says that nothing has been decided yet and it all will come down to his health and the number of the hours in the day.

In the New York Post however, Michael Riedel notes that the delay is because Andrew Lloyd Webber wants to make changes to the show including working on the pace, a new opening and other tweaks.

LOVE NEVER DIES opened 9 March in London at the Adelphi Theatre and previews began on 22 February. LOVE NEVER DIES stars Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo, and features direction by Jack O'Brien. The show was scheduled to open in New York on November 11, 2010 and in Australia in 2011.

LOVE NEVER DIES continues the story of 'The Phantom', who has moved from his lair in the Paris Opera House to haunt the fairgrounds of Coney Island, far across the Atlantic. Set 10 years after the mysterious disappearance of 'The Phantom' from Paris, this show is a rollercoaster ride of obsession and intrigue...in which music and memory can play cruel tricks...and 'The Phantom' sets out to prove that, indeed, LOVE NEVER DIES.

In celebration of the opening, Decca Broadway released two versions of the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical LOVE NEVER DIES. Both versions of the CD will be two-disc sets, with the deluxe version including a DVD as well. The DVD will feature behind the scenes footage from the recording session, as well as interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bob Crowley (set design), and members of the cast. In addition, it will include a music video of the song "Coney Island Waltz" from the show.

Performances of LOVE NEVER DIES in London at the Adelphi Theatre will be Mondays - Saturdays at 7.30pm, with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm. Tickets, priced from £25.00 - £67.50 (to include 75p theatre restoration levy and inclusive of booking fees), are available from the Adelphi Theatre Box Office on 0844 412 4651 or online from www.loveneverdies.com.