Sequel to ‘Phantom of the Opera’ to Premier

The story of one of the world’s most well known and loved musicals is being continued. Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, will be premiering in London’s Adelphi Theater on Tuesday.

According to Andrew Lloyd Webber, the creator of Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies, the new musical takes place 10 years after the previous story. The disfigured Phantom now resides in New York’s Coney Island and is still obsessed with the lovely soprano Christine Daae.

Webber states that this show has been in development since 1997 with writers Frederick Forsyth and Ben Elton working on the script. The Lyrics are by Glenn Slater who has worked on The Little Mermaid and Sister Act.

On the internet, many Phantom fans have given the show extremely poor reviews based on preview performances. Some, such as the West End Whingers, dub the show “Paint Never Dries.” According to some of the reviewers, the sequel’s musical score has nothing to rival its predecessor’s catchy and romantic ballads.

Webber is unconcerned about the negative reviews, which he says are from “three or four people” on the internet. He said that the Web amplifies the common problems any musical has running up to opening night.

Webber is taking a huge risk with this, and it could go either way depending on the opening night Tuesday. Professional critics will be saving their final opinions until then.