I know we have talked about the electricity surrounding the show… but the scale of the buzz increased ten fold as the cast said farewell to their temporary rehearsal space and gathered at the Adelphi at the end of last week for the first time.  This marks a major landmark in the build up to first preview and the rehearsals gather momentum as the cast start to work through the show on the actual stage.

The auditorium was filled with technical, production, crew and make up personnel, pouring over dozens of computer screens at makeshift desks as everyone arrived and the intake of breath was audible.

Our regular bloggers Niamh Perry (Fleck) and Adam Pearce (Squelch), together with the third member of their trio, Jamie Reid-Quarrell (Gangle) fill us in on the initial reaction.  We also collared other members of the cast who are rendered almost speechless by the surroundings…and Head of Wigs and Make Up Sandra (aka Biddie) who talks about getting the Phantom into make up for the first time!

Today, as the cast prepare to move from the rehearsal space into the theatre, we paid a visit to the workshop where Nicola Killeen and her textile team are busy bringing to life some of designer Bob Crowley’s fantastic costumes, including a gorgeously extravagant – and very long – garment that one of the characters will wear in one of the show’s key scenes.

With costume such an important part of this and any musical theatre production it is pretty incredible to see the amount of work that goes into creating what we will see onstage in a few short weeks. You would not believe how much energy is involved in making just one item of clothing – albeit in this case, one item of clothing that looks like it’s going to be a real showstopper.

Although for many stage plays costumes and fabrics can be sourced from specialist or vintage shops, or in some cases are hired in from theatrical costumiers, when the production is a large scale spectacular period piece such as Love Never Dies  the costumes are designed and created as unique pieces.  This often requires the fabric itself to be created and specially printed, painted, stencilled or treated which is where Nicola’s team step in. 

Working from Bob’s original drawings, Nicola and her colleagues liaise closely with Irene Bohan – Love Never Dies’ costume supervisor who oversees the process of getting Bob’s designs from page to stage – by preparing the fabric that will then be turned into a wearable costume. This particular item is the biggest piece Nicola has ever created so working out the measurements, selecting the appropriate material  and then preparing the panels of fabric are all time-consuming jobs. Nicola’s first meeting with Bob Crowley was in early December and the fabric is only now in its final stages of being put together, after samples were created and tested for length and colour.  The fabric also needs to be able to withstand the daily wear and tear and constant handling that a theatrical costume endures and yet fall correctly and be in keeping with the period look of the piece.  

Because this particular garment is so large, it is being created in several panels. Each panel is prepared separately, with the fabric being digitally printed (by an amazing piece of equipment which is a huge specialist version of your every day colour printer ) before it’s steamed dry and further decoration is added. Nicola then has to work out how the panels will fit together, although these final stages are done in the costume workshop, where this beautifully prepared fabric makes its final transformation before it will appear onstage…

It’s a wee bit late this week, but we slipped down to the rehearsal space on Friday to find out what has been going on down there…

As the cast prepare to move into the theatre for the next stage in the rehearsal process it is a very busy time for everyone concerned but during a very quick two minute tea break we cornered Ramin (The Phantom) and Sierra (Christine), witnessed a very brief appearance by Summer (Meg), got fed by Jo (Raoul), were surrounded by very vocal Gustaves and asked Adam (Squelch) about his new look.

She is a very busy lady at the moment, what with performances on the South Bank Awards Show squeezed in between Love Never Dies rehearsals, but we managed to get Sierra Boggess to sit still for a few moments while we asked her a few questions about her introduction to The Phantom of the Opera, and why other cast members think of her as the Grandma of the company…

Last night, the last South Bank Show Awards included the first live performance of the Love Never Dies title track as Sierra Boggess (Christine) performed ‘Love Never Dies’ accompanied by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Louise Hunt on two grand pianos.

Our exclusive video footage shows the three in rehearsal along with the show’s Musical Supervisor Simon Lee as they prepared for their performance.

You can watch Sierra’s full performance on our YouTube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/phantomloveneverdies

Meanwhile, Andrew writes about the song in the CD booklet:

“When at last I had a story, I made a decision. It would be daft not to occasionally have a flavour of the original show. But only very occasionally. I decided that none of the main melodies of The Phantom of the Opera would appear in Love Never Dies. After all the story is set roughly ten years on and, with one short exception, I have stuck firmly to my rule.

However there is one of the new melodies whose history I should explain before someone else does. It is ‘Love Never Dies’ itself. This was the only tune I wrote at the time when I first thought of continuing the Phantom and Christine’s story.

It was recorded by Kiri Te Kanawa under the title ‘The Heart is Slow to Learn’. Even though I had given up on the new Phantom, some second sense told me not to release the Kiri Te Kanawa recording, although it did subsequently appear on a limited edition compilation.

But with the Phantom sequel definitely abandoned in my mind, I used the chorus of the melody in The Beautiful Game, the musical I wrote with Ben Elton. Frankly I felt it stuck out like a sore thumb from the rest of the score, and it was eventually cut and replaced by ‘The Boys in the Photograph’, now the title of the show when it is revived. However the dramatic situation in the story of Love Never Dies is exactly the same as the one that I had originally composed the melody for and I was always proud of the moment. Once I had the new plot, I restored it to what I hope is its rightful home.”

07.30 – jump in the shower, shave, dressed, brekkie and some telly to wake up my eyes!
08.01 – received a text saying my car was on its way! (never had a private car waiting for me before, very excited!!)
0815 – car arrives (with blacked out windows, ooo get me!) and on my way
08.50 – arrive at the workshop where today’s fitting is taking place

I am having a full head plaster cast today which I am really looking forward too!! The reason for this fitting is for the complex design for my character Squelch.

So, I am chatting with Leigh and his wife who are going to be ‘plastering me up’, they talk me through the procedure and cover me in plastic bin bags neck to knee as I sit down. They place a bald cap on my head and get to work. They soak plaster strips (the same strips hospitals would use when you break a bone in your leg or arm) and start placing and moulding the strips to the back of my head. Once the back is done, they leave it for around 5 minutes and it starts to get warm; this is part of the setting process!!

Now comes the part I have been excited/frightened about, my actual face!! Gulp…!!! I place a large bowl on my lap filled with wet plaster, my eyelids and eyebrows are covered in moisturiser and the plaster starts to get slapped on. Now, I am trying my hardest not to move and not to make any facial expressions and for anyone who knows me, this is so hard!!

The final part is placing the plaster strips over the wet plaster to really make set. Once it is set they start to pull off the mould, starting with the back then the front. It’s the most bizarre thing, my eyes have only been in darkness for 20mins, but as soon as the lights hit me it’s so hard to open my eyes, they are so sensitive!!

After 5 minutes everything is back to normal, all washed up and ready to head back to rehearsals. Its 10am, my car arrives and off I go.

10.30 – get into rehearsals.
13.15 – lunch!! Today on the menu, paella!!!!
14.30 – the cast head back up to studio 7, but me and Miss Fleck aren’t called till 1530, hhoorraahh, so we sit down and have a little tea and biscuits!
15.25 – head up to the studio to join the others
17.30 – rehearsal over, great work today. On our way to an Equity meeting, Equity is the UK Actor’s Union. As we are a new show, they come in and just make sure we are ok and everything is going well!
18.30 – making my way home. Must look through the score tonight and learn the harmonies!

For now bloggers, take care

Squelch

Adam Pearce's plaster cast

This week we bring you Kathryn’s fan blog…

As a child and growing up, various aspects of The Phantom of the Opera musical entered my consciousness, drip by drip – long before I had any concept of what it actually was. From someone catching my eye, wearing a sweatshirt with a glow-in-the-dark mask on it – a memento from them having just seen the production, of which at that time, I had no knowledge of; to hearing a boy sing “Phantom of the Opera” on a Saturday morning TV programme; and a girl on children’s Stars In Their Eyes singing “Think of Me” in the style of Sarah Brightman; to adoring listening to Michael Crawford tapes with my Mum, which had “Music of the Night” on them. I was a Phan even before I realised it!

In May 2008 I saw the London production of the show for the very first time, on an excited whim. Hooked from the off, this show encapsulates everything I love – a wonderful, emotive musical piece of love and passion, the balance of light & dark, set against an enchanting backdrop of Gothic marvellousness, candlelight and the world of ballet and theatre. Since then, I have been fortunate to see the show a further four times. Every performance leaves you mesmerized & euphoric; but with that slight ‘if only’ feeling at the end of the show; wondering what became of the Phantom, Christine and Raoul. Like finishing a good book & wishing there was just one more chapter; one more scene in your favourite film…but knowing that sadly, that was all; consoling yourself with the memories and imaginings.

But now, we get a chance to spoil ourselves, continue living that dream, indulge once more in pure decadence and fill up on almost ‘too much perfection’. Love Never Dies has arrived! We WILL know what has transpired in the 10 years since Erik flew from his cavernous lair; what became of our characters with which we are so enamoured. We again get to hold our breath and submerge ourselves in the spectacular and magical realm of the Maestro, the Phantom.

I simply cannot wait until the show! The excerpts that we have been treated to already conjure up a heady maelstrom of rapturous intrigue; not least the exquisite “Til I Hear You Sing” brought to life by the supremely talented and charismatic Ramin Karimloo. The drudgery of menial daily tasks and normal day to day life must carry on, but at the moment, my head is in the clouds, thinking ahead to the 3rd March, when I will blissfully take my seat for the new show. (The question is, how soon is too soon to book another ticket?! ). Adelphi here I come!

No special birthdays to celebrate in the rehearsal room today, but even without the lure of cake we called in to see how the cast were feeling at the end of another gruelling week. We arrived just as the cast were breaking for lunch and asked them how things were going and for their highlights of the week so far!

This is Miss Fleck again reporting for blog duty. I thought I would fill you in on my recent make-up session with the amazing team here at the LND rehearsal space. Basically, like many girls I am obsessed with make-up. On my last job I wore very little so when I read the call sheet for Monday and saw that I was scheduled to be in make-up for 2 hours I got ridiculously over-excited! I was greeted by Naomi (Make Up Designer) who was holding eyebrow glue. I was a bit worried. I sat down in front of three huge tables of every type of make-up you could possibly think of. It was like Christmas! On the wall opposite were hundreds of inspirational photos and I was drawn to a black and white picture of a gorgeous French model. Lucky for me that was Naomi’s idea for my Fleck makeover!

So basically we tried the eyebrow glue to make my eyebrows look thinner and higher but (thankfully) it didn’t look quite right so we had to stick to my own! After 15 minutes of trying to find a foundation that is pale enough (I am so pale there is a hint of blue to my skin, what can I say I’m Irish!) we got down to work. 10 eyeshadow shades and 45 minutes later, I had the most amazing eye make-up I have ever seen. They’re estimating that it will take me 45 minutes to apply my make-up before every show. Aaagggghhh! Fake eyelashes and a gorgeous lipstick colour later and I have turned into Miss Fleck. No-one recognized me!

Let’s hope I can take it off quickly or else I will be getting some funny looks on the train home every night!

Everything is going swimmingly in rehearsals. We’re working on one of the final scenes and it looks stunning! Believe me, you will not be expecting this!

We’ve had so many birthdays over the past few weeks and therefore have had a constant supply of birthday cake. Unfortunately there don’t seem to be any more in the foreseeable future and I am a bit gutted. Probably best for my waistline!

Anyway until next time,

Niamh xx

Hello again! So we’re part way through week two of the main rehearsals for Love Never Dies. I’ve been working on the new show for nearly three weeks now and am still not used to the early starts! Things will only get harder though as when we move to the theatre we can expect to be doing 14 hour days to open the show. Showbiz is glamorous isn’t it?!

We ended last week by running the opening 25 minutes of the show which was a great achievement considering the short time we’ve been working. We’re progressing steadily through the first half – working on staging, choreography and vocal elements separately and then joining them together in our main rehearsal studio. Fittings are still taking place for costume, wigs and make-up – who now have their own room (taking our total room count outside the theatre to 6).

As a team, we started looking at how we will achieve the scene changes when we arrive at the Adelphi in 2 weeks. Some of the set elements are quite simply massive, so planning how everything will fit and be used will take a while. As it’s a new show, we’re not even sure how big some things will be as they are still being designed. The coffee runs continue and occasionally include full lunch orders while creative meetings are taking place – fortunately, there’s an M&S close by!

It’s not only the cast who are learning new things while mounting the show. As I’m sure you’re now aware, the show involves circus skills which for many of us are new elements to be putting on stage. Throughout, it is part of the stage management teams’ job to ensure that all of these skills are learnt and executed safely, along with our Circus Skills Consultant Armando. Without giving too much away, there’s been plenty of ensuring that none of the cast unceremoniously crash to the floor.

Our props team have been steadily providing us with either rehearsal props to represent items on stage, or the actual show props which you will all see when we open. They are chasing an ever-moving target though as new props are required (or old ones cut) as each scene is rehearsed. Once in the rehearsal room, we can then get the actors used to using them and work out where each prop will be stored. By the end of the week, the aim is to be able to run the whole of the first half which will very exciting to see and be a part of.

I’ll let you know how we get on in my next blog. Until then, take care (and buy tickets!)

Duncan.