Grand theater on North Bund opens with Andrew Lloyd Webber musical

The brand-new AIA Grand Theater on the North Bund officially opened to the public with Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Love Never Dies" on Thursday evening.

It was also the world premiere for the revived version of the musical, which is jointly presented by Britain's The Really Useful Group, Crossroads Live and Poly Theaters, and is considered the sequel to "The Phantom of the Opera."

With a floor space of 14,000 square meters and a capacity of 1,715 people, the AIA Grand Theater, located on Dongdaming Road, is expected to become a new cultural landmark in Hongkou District, proving a varied choice of stage performances, especially musicals and dance in its newly announced season.

The musical "Love Never Dies" is based on Frederick Forsyth's "The Phantom of Manhattan," with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Glenn Slater, and the plot from a book by Ben Elton.

With original direction by Simon Phillips, the revived version is brought to the stage by associate director Gavin Mitford and associate choreographer Simone Sault.

Luke McCall from Wales takes the role of the Phantom, while French actress Manon Taris plays Christine. The performance includes a live band led by musical supervisor Simon Lee.

Ti Gong

As a bonus to the premiere show, the three major actors met audience members and signed autographs for them after the performance.

"Love Never Dies" will be performed at AIA Grand Theater through October 29, with a total of 38 performances.

Other performances to be staged in the new theater will include the Russian musical "Anna Karenina", French musical "Mozart L'Opera Rock," original Broadway musical "Chicago," and Russian drama "Slava's Snowshow," which is suitable for both young and adult audiences.

Performance info:

Love Never Dies

Date: Through October 29, 2pm, 7:30pm

Tickets: 80-1,280 yuan

Venue: AIA Grand Theater 北外滩友邦大剧院

Address: 889 Dongdaming Road

东大名路889号

Ti Gong