Filming Ensures That 'Love Never Dies'

Anna O'Byrne as Christine Daae and Ben Lewis as The Phantom.

This month crews completed filming the Australian production of 'Love Never Dies,' Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical that continues the story of 'The Phantom of the Opera.' Though the Australian production will close at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne on December 18 and reopen at Sydney's Capitol Theatre in January 2012, the intention of the filming is for a global DVD release.

The release date has not been announced. The Australian version of 'Love Never Dies' is a completely new production and different than the version that opened in London in March 2010 to cool critical response and closed on August 27th. The London version went on hiatus to install changes to improve production but did not prove to extend the life of the production. The failure of the 'Love Never Dies' in London scuttled an announced Broadway production that was to open in November 2010.

The Australian 'Love Never Dies' is directed by Simon Phillips ('Priscilla Queen of the Desert') with a production design by Gabriela Tylesova which gave the show a darker, more brooding approach. The show also incorporated revisions to the script and score that were installed in the London production. Ben Lewis stars as the Phantom with Anna O'Byrne as Christine Daae. 'Love Never Dies' is set ten years after the original story and follows Christine to New York's Coney Island where she is invited to perform for the mysterious Mr. Y. Characters from her past begin to emerge, including one with whom she shares a dark secret.

Update: The U.S. release of 'Love Never Dies' is May 29, 2012 and will be available on DVD and Blu-ray and available on amazon.com.