Toronto tapped as likely 'tryout' city for Phantom sequel: report
Andrew Lloyd Webber has said he wants to premiere the sequel to his massive hit The Phantom of the Opera in multiple cities around the globe, but Toronto could be the musical's "tryout" city, according to a report by industry publication Playbill.
Citing leaked casting notices for the British theatre mogul's musical Love Never Dies, Playbill.com reported that Webber has nabbed Tony Award-winning choreographer Jerry Mitchell for the project and that rehearsals are tentatively set to begin this August, in preparation for an October opening.
"Due to the ambitious nature of this production, which will premiere in London and New York in the same season, exact opening dates and cities cannot be confirmed at this time. However, it's confirmed that rehearsals will take place in London prior to an out-of-town tryout, probably in Toronto, before opening on Broadway," read the leaked notice.
Leading Toronto theatre company Mirvish Productions, currently running Lloyd Webber's The Sound of Music revival, would likely be the local partner, but the company has declined comment.
Sequel set a decade later, across the Atlantic
Love Never Dies is set in Coney Island about a decade after the tumultuous events of the Paris-set The Phantom of the Opera.
In the sequel, a mysterious Maestro invites now-famous opera singer Christine Daaé to perform a special, one-off concert at the New York-area park. She travels there with her husband, Raoul, and her son, Gustave.
"[T]heir subsequent meeting with the Maestro brings the cataclysmic events of 10 years earlier at the Paris Opera crashing back into all their lives," the casting notice said.
Ben Elton, who created the musical We Will Rock You and collaborated with Lloyd Webber on The Boys in the Photograph, is the librettist for Love Never Dies. Director Jack O'Brien and lyricist Glenn Slater have also signed on.
Iranian-born, Toronto-raised actor Ramin Karimloo, currently portraying the Phantom in London's West End revival, is rumoured to be a frontrunner being considered to star in the upcoming sequel.
Since its 1986 debut, Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera has been seen by millions of people in more than 100 countries around the globe.
The Phantom of the Opera's original Toronto run was a watershed moment in the city's theatrical evolution. It helped usher in an era of blockbuster musicals, played for a solid 10 years and toured across Canada.