In the third, and final, instalment of our dressing room interview with Summer – who plays Meg Giry – she tells us where her future plans lie, who her career role model is and talks of the pressures of coming from a show biz family…

And find out what she thinks of Meg ..

Do you ever think video blogs are a bit like buses?  You wait ages for one to turn up and then two or three come along in rapid succession….?

We have delved into our archives – in actual fact only a couple of weeks ago but so much has happened along the Love Never Dies production process that it seems like AGES – to bring you a clip of the landmark day when Ramin Karimloo, our Phantom, met his make up, wig and mask for the first time.  We were there to capture the moment on our trusty Flip camera to try and give you a little teaser into what the Phantom now looks like.

So let’s go back to the end of January as the cast near the end of their stint in the rehearsal space and prepare to move into the Adelphi… and in another West End theatre a specialist team gather to create the Phantom’s look…

In our previous Disfiguring the Phantom blog post you will have seen the first stage in the process to create the make up and prosthetics which will transform Ramin into the Phantom.

This week saw the culmination of all the effort by Neill Girton, who made the prosthetics,  Naomi Donne, who has created the make up, Campbell Young, the Wigs Supervisor for the show and Ivo Coveney who has created the Phantom’s iconic mask.  For the first time all the team gathered in a dressing room at The Palace Theatre with Ramin, to apply their handiwork for the first time.  Neill prepared Ramin and began applying the prosthetics.  For Love Never Dies the prosthetics will be made in silicone rather than the foam used for The Phantom of the Opera.  This material – although slightly heavier than foam – allows the actor much more freedom for facial expression and also looks much more “skin like” in texture.

As Neill worked he gave a running commentary on the process so that Sandra O’Brien (Biddie) who will be Wigs Mistress on Love Never Dies and Debbie Goodship (Lolly) her Deputy, could take notes and photographs.   The process at this early stage takes well over an hour, but Biddie and Lolly are confident that over time they will be able to complete the make up in around 45 minutes.  Before Naomi took over to put the finishing touches to the make up, Campbell stepped in to apply the wig and complete the transformation.  Then Ramin was helped into his costume and led to the stage so the final look could be tested under the lighting.  Oh… and sitting in the auditorium to witness this was Andrew Lloyd Webber, Director Jack O’Brien and key members of the creative and production team

Obviously it was a time of great excitement for all, as the months of hard work became a reality.  It is safe to say that everyone involved was thrilled by the result.

Check out our exclusive video clip for a little teaser of the make up process and a few words from Naomi and Campbell…

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…

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…

So.. it has been a long time coming but as you are already aware, Monday marked another landmark day for Love Never Dies.

As Adam reports below, it was the first time all those who will be working together (and many who have already been working on the show for a considerable time) got together in the rehearsal spaces in London.

The word on most people’s lips was “exciting” and there was a real buzz of electricity in the room as we all “Meeted and Greeted” each other and put names to faces for the first time. Jack O’Brien welcomed everyone and, after sharing his horoscope prediction for the coming month, suggested everyone look around the room and appreciate the fantastic array of talent that had been gathered together for the occasion.  There was then the short welcome from Andrew which Adam describes above.  Jack (despite a very husky sore throat) then took centre stage again and talked about the  phenomenonal impact of the original production of  The Phantom of the Opera. He emphasised how important it was to remember the unprecedented success of this show meant that to many people the story no longer belonged to Andrew as the composer, but that so many hundreds of thousands of people had invested so much emotion into the show that they felt Phantom in some way belonged to them.  It was essential to all these people that  Love Never Dies honoured this investment and that everyone should recognise that this piece would be the object of great scrutiny worldwide.

Jack told all those present that this was potentially the start of something truly great and that all those taking part should have fun and thoroughly enjoy the experience.  Finally, niceties over, he then made it clear that anyone who was not participating in the first full rehearsal that morning should “get the hell out of here!”…

Before we complied with Jack’s instruction we managed to seize a couple of moments to chat to our leading lady, Sierra Boggess, who had arrived in the UK on New Year’s Eve.  She has spent the last week in a flurry of “gorgeous” costume fittings.  Sierra wasn’t giving too much away but did say that her (already enviously slim) frame would be squeezed into “lots of corsets!”.  She has also faced the trauma of having her full head encased in plaster (mysterious, huh?) having undergone the same experience as Ramin Karimloo in our previous “Disfiguring the Phantom” blog entry.

Ramin also talked about his costume fittings.  He joked that the costumes are so amazing he asked if they could make two of each of them so he could get to keep one for himself!  Ramin himself is eager to begin the rehearsal process.  Although he has thoroughly appreciated a couple of months break from performing as The Phantom, having finished his run in the original production on November 7th, he can’t wait to continue the Phantom story and build on the character he knows so well.

Away from the “glamour” of the rehearsal rooms, at the Adelphi Theatre the set is being loaded in and constructed.  Steve Rebbeck, the Production Manager, had taken a couple of hours out of his gruelling technical production timetable to attend the Meet and Greet and confirmed that all is on schedule and that a key piece of set was being put together the following day (more from the Adelphi soon).

Despite the recent spell of adverse weather across the UK everyone who had been invited had managed to make the event, but there was one casualty.  Scott Penrose, the consultant who is creating the stunning Coney Island illusions for Love Never Dies confided that he was supposed to be delivering a load of props to the rehearsal room that day but had had to abandon his car on the journey in… so if anyone comes across a carload of very bizarre items which look like they belong in a freak show do let us know!

Before leaving we also took the opportunity to recruit a couple of additional potential “bloggers” who will be doing their utmost throughout the rehearsal period to keep us informed of what is happening in the build up to the big day.  More about them very soon…

Hi I’m Niamh Perry and I have also been asked to write a few blogs for the Love Never Dies website to give you all an insight into what is going on behind the scenes. I am delighted to be creating the role of ‘Fleck’ and have been anxiously waiting for rehearsals to begin.

I was lucky to be involved in the Love Never Dies workshops and Concept Album over the past 18 months and can’t believe that the time has finally come…. 11 days  18 hours and 2 minutes… not that I’m counting

Although we are sworn to secrecy about the show, I think I can divulge a few details about my recent costume fitting. Oh. My. God. The creative team on the show have excelled themselves, and I only saw a sketch of my costume- I can’t imagine how incredible it will be when I get to put it on for the first time.

I recently finished playing Sophie in Mamma Mia and I have to admit that my costumes weren’t the most flattering. Let’s hope my Love Never Dies costume makes up for that.

So Adam Pearce has been running all over the place to get extra fit before the gruelling rehearsal period begins. I on the other hand have been eating loads preparing myself for Christmas. However my new years resolution is to get back to the gym and get cracking on my abs- I’ve met some of the other females in the cast and they’re all fit!

Well, there is not much more that I can say before rehearsals begin on the 4th of January. Maybe then I can share a few secrets…..

Have an amazing Christmas

love Niamh xx