LONDON – White Light is supplying the lighting gear for Love Never Dies, the sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, The Phantom of the Opera. Since its 1986 debut at Her Majesty's Theatre, where it continues to play, The Phantom of the Opera has been seen in more than 25 countries and by more than 100 million people. Love Never Dies continues the story of the Phantom, following his move across the Atlantic to haunt the fairgrounds of Coney Island.
The LD for the new production, Paule Constable, who had relied upon White Light to supply gear for Evita, War Horse and the current touring production of Les Misérables, sought out the lighting supplier once again.
White Light is supplying the show moving lights, LEDs, conventional gear and control. The rig includes ETC Revolutions, Vari-Lite VL1000AS, VL3500Q and VL3500 Washes, Martin TW1s, Coemar Infinity ACL-M, an automated version of the I-Pix BB7 LED fixture, ETC Source Fours and Thomas PAR64 Cans, some fitted with Rainbow Pro color scrollers. Followspots from Robert Juliat include Aramis, Korrigan and Manon units.
White Light is also supplying custom rigging to the show, including curved ladder beam and roving sidelight booms.
Constable is turning once again to the EvenLED LED cyc lighting system, which she also chose for Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. White Light first supplied that gear for the tour of Mary Poppins in 2008.
Love Never Dies will be the first show to use the new half-width EvenLED panel alongside the standard 1m panel. The EvenLED will be controlled using Green Hippo's Hippotizer and Critter media servers via ArtNET and ELC's dmXLAN Node8 interfaces.
The Phantom sequel also calls for a wide range of atmospheric effects, which will be created with MDG Atmosphere hazers and a selection of smoke machines from Look Solutions (Viper, Power Tiny and Tiny Fogger) and Le Maitre (the Freeze Fog Pro low smoke system).
Control for the rig as a whole will be from an ETC Eos control system, including an Eos console and Eos RPU backup together with an RVI remote video interface complete with X-Keys keyboard, providing console video to the lighting designer.
Love Never Dies will also use Stage Technologies' F:Light system, allowing the moving lights to follow automated scenery and flown performers, and City Theatrical's ShowDMX wireless DMX system for remote control of lighting in some scenic pieces.
Along with a creative team that includes lyricist Glenn Slater, director Jack O'Brien, designer Bob Crowley, Constable is working her associate Beky Stoddart, programmer Nick Simmons, production electrician Gerry Amies and his team including Chris Dunford and Ian Moulds, with David Draude and Michael Scott working on the show's many scenic practicals. The show's production manager is Steve Rebbeck.
"We are delighted to be chosen to supply this show," said White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven. "It is a pleasure to be working with Paule and her team again, having collaborated so successfully on the new tour of Les Misérables at the end of last year.
"The rig for Love Never Dies is being installed in the theatre now, and we look forward to supporting the show as it moves towards its opening – and then on through a run that is hopefully as long and successful as that of the original Phantom."
Produced by The Really Useful Group, Love Never Dies is at London's Adelphi Theatre, where White Light previously supplied RUG's production of Evita and the first 10 years of the musical Chicago.
Previews are scheduled to begin on Feb. 20, with a first night on March 9, 2010. Subsequent productions already planned for New York, opening in November 2010, and Australia, opening in 2011.
For more information, please visit www.loveneverdies.com , www.pauleconstable.com and www.whitelight.ltd.uk.
Photo Courtesy of the Really Useful Group
