It has seemed like a very long haul for all concerned, but last night saw the first public performance of Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre.  The show is now in preview until the official opening night on March 9th which is when the press get in to see the show and give their verdicts.

There was a small technical hitch after the first number, and then director Jack O’Brien took to the stage to assure the audience “that’s not it… !” and ”that has NEVER happened before” before he asked for a little patience as the crew worked behind the curtain to fix the issue.  After only a few minutes the show was ready to restart (it had all gone so swimmingly in the afternoon’s dress rehearsal too!).

With the show back in full swing the audience reaction was, on the whole, positive with many people rising to their feet to give the cast a standing ovation at the end.  Not bad at all for a first preview!  We obviously don’t want to give anything away but we did ask a few audience members for their initial reactions during the interval and at the end of the show, see the clip below.

After the final curtain we asked the two leads for their views.  Ramin Karimloo, who plays the Phantom, was ecstatic about performing in front of an audience at last.  “We were so ready for that”, he grinned, “you can work through the scenes systematically, but there is nothing like getting the sense of pace you gain from audience reactions.”  He added that “it was great to get a few laughs too”.  With typical gallantry he referred to his leading lady’s performance (ignoring the fact that his rendition of ‘Til I Hear You Sing’ in the first act had also provoked a rapturous reception) “Did you hear the reaction Sierra got for her aria (Love Never Dies)?  God, it was amazing, they couldn’t get enough…insatiable!”.

And indeed she did both look and sound fabulous.  Sierra herself was unable to stop grinning widely… “Wow, I am in the West End!” reality was hitting clearly hitting home.  I asked how she was feeling, having missed the first dress rehearsal on Saturday. “I feel great, it was so weird, it literally came from nowhere and just knocked me out, I suddenly developed a temperature of 103″, but clearly Sierra is right back on top form having been given a thorough check up from the doctor “he was stunned by how quickly I had recovered, the fever disappeared as quickly as it arrived, he had never seen anything like it!”

If you are lucky enough to be one of the first to see the new show, share your review with us here!

This afternoon we popped down to the Adelphi to track down a few more members of the Love Never Dies cast for our weekly video blog and in the meantime thought we’d share a few observations from our seats in the Dress Circle – and below is another little video blog of exactly what is going on behind the scenes as rehearsals are now well into their final week…

We arrived as the cast and crew were about to begin the technical rehearsal of Act Two’s ‘Bathing Beauty’ as the track ends and runs into the next scene.  After making our way along a maze of corridors (backstage at the Adelphi, like lots of London theatres, is a bit of a labyrinth) with the smell of varnish hanging in the air as members the finishing touches are put to vital props and costumes, we found our way to auditorium where members of the cast including Summer Strallen (Meg Giry) were running through the scene as the rest of the cast, crew and creative team watched from the seats in the stalls.  As Jack O’Brien and Jerry Mitchell joined the actors onstage to physically walk through and “block”   the scene, the team of swings and understudies (check out our latest rehearsal update for more about them) took notes on the scene from the Dress Circle before sharing their thoughts on the process with us in our latest video blog (which you can see here).

We moved to another vantage point in order to witness Musical Supervisor Simon Lee going through some very unusual limbering-up techniques, which you can see in our video clip below…!

Having watched various stages of the rehearsal process, the show is now really coming together as the cast are now virtually all fully costumed, wigged and made up in order to fully test the effect of the lighting.  The lighting team under the close scrutiny of Paule Constable, the Lighting Designer, were running through some of the astounding and innovative illuminations that will really bring this already fantastic set to life.  The lighting looked so beautiful as it struck the gorgeous colours of the ensemble’s costumes that it prompted Jack to declare that they looked “good enough to eat.”

As we’re less than a week away from the first preview now the excitement is truly building. With an extra day of rehearsal now available to them, the cast and crew are working flat-out to make sure this will be one hell of a show.  And from where we were sitting – it certainly will be.

Our video clip gives you some idea of what’s going on at the theatre offstage as the crew gear up for the show…

A couple of days later than usual, but here is the latest instalment in our weekly rehearsal update.

As the cast get ready for their first ever performance of Love Never Dies in front of an audience next week, we caught up with the often unsung heroes of the show – the understudies and swings – as they wait in the wings (or in this case, the auditorium!) for their moment in the spotlight…

As you know from our previous blog entry, a majority of the cast arrived at the Adelphi from the rehearsal rooms last week.  But our Phantom and Christine made their entrance a couple of days later and we were there to capture their initial reaction on camera – as they saw the stage and set for the first time.

After they were both taken aside for a Health and Safety induction, we popped up to visit them in their palatial dressing rooms (more about those a bit later) where we learnt about microphones, found out what was in store for them on the first day of rehearsals in their new home and witnessed how Sierra helps Ramin with his preparations…  

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…

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

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!

Ever mindful of your insatiable appetite for all things Love Never Dies, we popped down to the rehearsal studios on Friday with our trusty Flip camera.

It was a very significant day for a certain US choreographer who has reached the end of a very memorable week!

Aside from a chat with the birthday boy himself, we also managed to catch up with Pip Jordan (Dance captain), our “chubby funster” blogger Adam Pearce, who is reunited with his former Joseph colleague Jonathan Stewart, Ramin Karimloo (The Phantom), and rounded the clip off with a few succinct words from our director Jack O’Brien.

Hi, I’m Richard Linnell and I’m 12. I am one of the 6 boys who are playing the part of Gustave in Love Never Dies. Welcome to my first blog.

My first full cast rehearsal

10:00AM start at the rehearsal studio. This is the first day all the cast have met to run through so I was pretty nervous! I arrived and went up to the fourth floor. The first thing that I saw as I got out of the lift was a huge pile of pastries and cake, Yum! After watching everyone swam around the pastries we all went into the studio and sat down in the chairs that were set out and Andrew Lloyd Webber started to talk to us all. He introduced himself, Jack (our director), Simon (our musical director) and then we went around the room saying who we are and what we do. When it got to me I was quite nervous but once we had started all the nerves disappeared. Then Andrew told us how Love Never Dies came to be and then I met up with all the people that I knew from previous shows I have been in: Summer Strallen who is playing Meg Giry, who I knew from the Sound of Music where she played Maria and I played Kurt , Dean Chisnall who is in the ensemble, who played Prince Charming in my local Panto 2 years ago, where I was a juvenile dancer and Patrick Stanier one of our SMs here, who was the DSM at Waiting for Godot, where I played the boy earlier this year.

After the break we all sat down at tables to start the run through. I was sitting at the top table next to Joe (Raoul) with Sierra (Christine), Ramin (Phantom), Summer (Meg) and Liz (Madame Giry) on my right, Wow what a line up! As we went through the music I heard all the parts together for the first time and listened to all the scenes. We saw Bob Crowley’s brilliant set designs projected onto the big screen behind us and I realised how incredible, sophisticated, complex and beautiful the show is going to be. I sang my parts with the rest of the cast, which was very nerve racking but I think I did OK, and really enjoyed it. We had a break for lunch and I chatted with the other cast members, they are all so lovely. Funny thing, everyone seemed to have brought tuna fish and cucumber sandwiches to eat. After lunch we continued the run to the end of the show and finished at about 3:15pm.

I can’t say much as the plot, as it is a closely guarded secret, but I will say this, the press are right, this is Andrew’s best musical to date! To all you avid Phantom fans out there waiting for the twentieth of February with your tickets and wondering if it will be as good as The Phantom of the Opera, I can tell you this, it is even better. So hang in there because boy is this one is going to be a doosy!!

Until next time

Richard

Hello!

I’m Duncan and I am an Assistant Stage Manager on Love Never Dies. I’ve been asked to blog and tell you about what is happening backstage to mount ‘The Lord’s’ latest show. As the cast blogs are telling you, we are currently in the early stages of rehearsals.

In order to get the show rehearsed in time, we currently have three rehearsal studios and two production offices. Our main rehearsal studio matches the dimensions of the Adelphi stage and has a purpose-built stage area so that cast can get used to where the main set pieces are and see how the action and choreography will fit on the stage. Our second studio is mainly used for choreography sessions while the third studio is where the vocal calls take place to teach the cast the stunning new music for the show.

The stage management team is currently five-strong.  Our role during this early stage encompasses many different areas. Our main priority is to learn the show inside-out so that when we move to the theatre in February we can transfer the work done in the rehearsal studios onto the Adelphi stage. We also look after the creative team (who, being American, require a lot of coffee), the production teams (wardrobe & wigs, sound & lighting etc) and of course the actors.

As well as being present for the main rehearsals, the cast are also currently needed by the wardrobe and wigs departments so that they have time to finely-tune the fitting of all the magnificent costumes and wigs that are used in the show. These fittings, while essential, need to cause minimum disruption to the main creation process of the show. As such, daily scheduling meetings take place to work out who will be required where and when. The stage management team then co-ordinate the movement of the actors according to the schedule which (fingers crossed) allows everyone to carry on undisturbed.

The team also runs all of the rehearsal spaces which includes checking actors’ hours to ensure that they don’t work too long without a break, and setting any props that are required in each scene. During the early stages of the creation process we have to make notes on any new props that will be required and work out timings for scene transitions as well as teaching the cast how the set will be changing around them.

To say much more about what we are currently doing would start to reveal details about the show and therefore potentially spoil the surprise that our audiences will experience. However, in future posts I will say whatever I can about what the stage management team are doing to mount this new show.  I can guarantee that this show will be exciting, challenging and – most of all – fun for us to put on… as well as stunning for you to watch.

Hopefully, my next update will not be too far away. By my next post, I will have seen the set taking shape in the theatre and we should be progressing well with staging the show in the rehearsal studios. Until then, take care (and buy tickets!)

Duncan