Casey Lyons, one of the young actors who plays Gustave on the Love Never Dies American Tour, takes us behind the scenes as he invites us to join his daily routine at the show, his costume changes and how he gets ready for the show, as well as some tender moments with his Love Never Dies castmates. We love to see these sneak peeks of the show, makes it more real and it's nice to be able to experience it first hand, it almost makes you feel as if you're part of the team too, doesn't it?
On December 22nd and 23rd, two concerts were held in Barcelona, where Andrew Lloyd Webber's masterpieces reached Spanish audiences. These melodies that have gained a place in the hearts of people around the world came from the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona y Nacional de Cataluña (OBC), conducted by the director and musical supervisor Alfonso Casado, accompanied by the voices of John Owen-Jones, Geronimo Rauch, Joanna Ampil and Celinde Schoenmaker as soloists. A few days before the concert, we had the great pleasure of meeting in person and interviewing Alfonso Casado, a man of undeniable talent and cordially warm, who kindly answered our questions before one of the last rehearsals before the first concert. Read here the interview!
___
LNDEs: When we found out that this Orchestra was coming to Barcelona with this amazing Conductor and soloists... we couldn't believe how lucky we were. A Spanish conductor and Music Supervisor who has been working in London, in large productions... tell us about it.
AC: Well, I moved to London five years ago invited by the producer Cameron Mackintosh and for him, I directed almost two years Les Misérables there and then I made Miss Saigon for a year and a half. And then they invited me to do The Phantom of the Opera in London, which is Andrew's composition but produced by Cameron. And since then, it's the only musical I've directed there, which I finished a year ago, and since then I've been supervising. What I do is set up Cameron's musicals around the world, where he takes them, or London or England, and I supervise them. "Supervising" meaning that everything respects the original version. LNDEs: Is there a significant change to be in one country or another? How do you live the same productions, but in different ways?
AC: It's very nice creatively because you first get in touch with new Directors, new orchestras, new cast and, on the other hand, you work the material in another language. Of course, the first one I supervised was the Spanish one. They sent me because I speak the language, and afterwards, I have made productions in Japan, in Dubai and in Brazil. In Dubai, we did it in English because we did it in the Opera House, where John [Owen-Jones] played Valjean, but of course, Japan and Brazil were in Japanese and Portuguese, respectively. LNDEs: And speaking of "dream productions". Where would you like to be, in first person?
AC: The truth is that when you belong to these big teams of people and have the opportunity to work with directors and creators of scene and sound of that caliber, the truth is that it's a pleasure wherever you go, Cameron and Andrew's teams are great. So... well, I always have a little bit of the nails that I would love to do a production in America, because I've always heard very good things about how productions are set up there in New York, but the truth is that here in England and where we set the productions around the world, they also are of high level, very demanding but also very satisfying to do. LNDEs: Tell us about the team, the integration and getting to work and meet with great personalities, such as Webber...
AC: I've seen him many times, but to meet him in person... I had the opportunity to chat with him, one time in particular when he came to see The Phantom of the Opera. With him I have less relationship than, for example, with Cameron because I work much more in his team, but when I was conducting Phantom of the Opera, he came several times to see the play and one of them we even talked about the play and his vision, and what did he like and what he did not and such, and it was nice to meet him. Obviously, he is a person who has a unique musical sensibility, and among the notes he gives you, the opinions are very correct.
LNDEs: You are in charge of supervising that everything is going as it should be. As for your personal touch, do you aim to contribute somehow?
AC: Yes, absolutely, when you are part of a team, let's say, you are part of that team because they invite you to contribute with your personality, your ways, right? So I do a little bit of that. And then, there is always criticism to consider. Anything that I've changed or moulded that is not of the composer's taste for example in the case of Les Misérables or Miss Saigon, they are very involved, they come and comment and I can mould what they approve, but my premise is always to respect the original vision of the composer and the story that he wants to tell with that musical.
LNDEs: Have you always had a taste for this kind of musical world?
AC: No, not at all. It emerged by chance fourteen years ago. And I did not think about it at all and in the end it was my profession and the truth is, my passion, because it's a field that I like a lot and it has opened many doors to me and has given me great opportunities to get to know this great orchestra and come for the second time, to play this material. LNDEs: You have already started rehearsals, what can you tell us? What can we expect?
AC: Well, I think you're going to expect a splurge of music very well played. The truth is that listening to all those songs with this great orchestra and with the soloists that we have, I believe and I hope that they fulfil the expectations of the public and that they honour the vision of Andrew Lloyd Webber, of his songs. I think you are going to see something that is not very common to see, that these songs are played in this very symphonic and big format.
LNDEs: And now, after these concerts, where can we find you?
AC: London. I live in London, where I develop my career and I walk around. I do some trips, I have projects next year also abroad, some in Spain... but mostly in London, I will continue there. Thank you so much for the opportunity to get to know this project firsthand, for sharing your passion and talent with all of us and for offering us an unforgettable evening accompanied by the best melodies of the musical world. Good luck with your new projects, keep growing and enjoying!
From Love Never Dies Es Team we want to wish you the happiest, warmest and cosiest Christmas this year! Enjoy the holidays with family & friends and... who knows? Maybe it's a good time to rewatch Love Never Dies Australian production again? (It alway is!). And all of you who are lucky enough to enjoy the North American Tour this Christmas... Enjoy every second of it!
One of the first reasons we created this blog for was to bring the English and American musical world to Spain, so that small pieces of this fantastic theatrical universe could be closer to those who, as ourselves, love musicals and, more specifically, the work of Webber and, to spin even more, The Phantom of the Opera and Love Never Dies. This time, it is the musical world that approaches us, to Barcelona. The masterpieces that have earned a place in the hearts of people around the world come from the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona y Nacional de Cataluña (OBC), conducted by the incredible music director Alfonso Casado and accompanied by the delicious voices of John Owen-Jones, Geronimo Rauch, Joanna Ampil and Celinde Schoenmaker as soloists.
For that reason, when we found out that all this talent was going to perform a concert in Barcelona -our city- dedicated to the musical career of Webber, we knew in the first second that it was a magical opportunity that could not be ignored. For this reason, we bought our tickets for the concert a few months ago, as a precious Christmas gift. Last Wednesday we had the immense pleasure of having a look at the rehearsals with the orchestra, Alfonso Casado and the two male soloists. The orchestra of 75 musicians and the 4 soloists from the West End together with Coral Sant Jordi, el Cor Ciutat de Tarragona, L’Esquitx, L’Espurna and Els Petits Martinencs promise to offer an evening that will not disappoint anyone. In brief, we will share our experience of the night of the concert, as well as the interviews that Alfonso Casado (conductor of Orchestra) and Gerónimo Rauch (soloist) very kindly granted to us.
Meghan Picerno and Gardar Thor Cortes stopped by Tampa Bay's Morning Blend to discuss Love Never Dies. Meghan shares an insight of Christine's character and how her life has changed over the years, what can we expect from her after what we learned with Phantom of the Opera, and how her path reunites her again with The Phantom. Watch here the full interview and share the moment with Love Never Dies leads!
The Tour has visited some cities now and the stars and company are thrilled to share their experiences Touring the American states while getting to show American audiences the amazing story and music of Love Never Dies for the first time. Watch here Meghan Picerno, Sean Thompson and Karen Mason talk about the show, the cast on their impromptu rendition of Bathing Beauty and Meghan Picerno talking about the role of Christine, ten years later.
Join Gardar Thor Cortes as he gets into his role as Phantom/Mr.Y in the Tour production of Love Never Dies, now playing in Durham, North Carolina. Watch his transformation and get a peek at Gardar's sight and understanding of the character, as well as the process he follows with every performance on makeup, prosthetics and clothes to become The Phantom. Video directed by Alexander Goyco, for Broadway.com.
Love Never Dies officially premiered at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit on October 25th, and Andrew Lloyd Webber was there to celebrate the opening with the cast and crew. The musical will play there through October 29 and then move on to Durham, North Carolina. Watch here some pictures of the opening night, we'll keep this post updated with more media to come!
Andrew Lloyd Webber talks Love Never Dies, why he knew Phantom needed a new conclusion and the journey the musical has come through the years to become a fully masterpiece. Love Never Dies previewed at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit on October 18, and the official tour opening night is October 25, where it will play through October 29. Watch here the full interview with Love Never Dies creator and composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Andrew Lloyd Webber joined the cast of the North American tour of Love Never Dies on stage last night, October 18, at the Fisher Theatre in Detroit, where it will play through October 29. The official tour opening night is October 25, following a special preview engagement at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on October 3, and this week's previews in Detroit.
Love Never Dies started a special preview engagement in Baltimore at the Hippodrome Theatre on October 3rd, and the show will be performed all week until October 8th. These are the first Tour promotional pictures, shared by the Hippodrome Theatre's Facebook page and BroadwayWorld. For the event, Katrina Kemp (Fleck) and Stephen Petrovich (Gangle) took over the Love Never Dies and the theatre's Instagram pages, respectively. This post will be updated with every new picture release!
BroadwayWorld offers this wonderful interview with Karen Mason, Madame Giry in the Love Never Dies North American Tour. We get to see the show through her eyes her excitement on being a part of the wonderful show and her understanding about her iconic character and the story.
Lifetime's The Balancing Act offers a first look inside rehearsals with the cast and creative team as part of their "Broadway Balances America” series. In this sneak peek video, hear from Meghan Picerno (who stars as Christine Daae) as she talks taking on the iconic character and where Christine is now post-Phantom of the Opera, then get a glimpse of her singing the soaring title song. Tune in to The Balancing Act on Lifetime on September 25 and October 2 at 7:30am to see the full episode.
These past days the Love Never Dies team has been on fire working on the Tour that will perform to the public with a special preview engagement at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on October 3. Actors are now on rehearsals and costume fittings, and the theatre is already prepared to welcome the production.
We wanted to share with you some pictures Playbill has kindly shared and links where you get to see firsthand the day-a-day routine and feel closer to the production, team, and cast.
BroadwayWorld and Playbill invites us to share a moment with the cast in the meet the press that took place on September 8th (read the full article here!). The video shows interviews with Gavin Mirford (associate director), Glenn Slater (lyrics & book), Meghan Picerno (Christine), Gardar Thor Cortes (Phantom), Mary Michael Patterson (Meg Giry), Karen Mason (Madame Giry) and Casey J. Lyons & Jake Heston Miller (Gustave), where they talk about the musical, how did they react when they knew they were chosen to perform the show and their experience so far with the Tour. Enjoy!
The North American tour media press of the cast was held at New 42nd Street Studios on September 7, and interviews were given to the cast, who showed excited to be part of this great trip. The Tour will begin with a special preview engagement at Baltimore's Hippodrome Theatre on October 3!
It's here! The official cast for the North American Love Never Dies Tour has been finally announced! Playbill.com has just released the name of the actors and actresses who will perform Love Never Dies in the North American Tour. Gardar Thor Cortes will reprise his role as The Phantom after the Hamburg production, Meghan Picerno as Christine Daaé, Karen Mason as Madame Giry, Sean Thompson as Raoul, Mary Michael Patterson as Meg Giry, and Casey Lyons and Jake Miller sharing the role of Gustave. Check the article here for the full cast!
Love Never Dies is finally coming to the US as a North American Tour, what do we know so far? First of all, it is not a "full production" as in a Broadway show. It is a Tour, so this production will last a few days in every city and then move to the next one! This one will follow the steps of the Australian production in the script, costumes, and scenography, as well as the German production did so gracefully. This Tour is scheduled to start in 2018, with previews on 2017, mark your calendars!
The Love Never Dies team has shared an official list with every city the show will be performing, you can check in your locations if your theatre is holding Love Never Dies in their schedule as well.
