The world's a stage

Based on Charles Addams's cartoons and the extremely popular 1960s TV show The Addams Family, this new musical is still as spooky but with plenty of catchy tunes and good entertainment for the whole family. With the original characters in place, including Morticia, Gomez, Wednesday and Uncle Fester, this musical, which has a staggering budget of $17 million (Dh62 million), is a laugh a minute.

Magnificently macabre

Starring Tony Award winners Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth as the loveable Gomez and his sinister-looking but adorable wife Morticia, this magnificently macabre new show, created by Jersey Boys authors Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, is a winner on all levels.

But perhaps it's Nathan Lane who steals the show with his performance as the romantic husband Gomez.

Lane won the hearts of theatre audiences around the world with his portrayal of Max Bialystock in the Broadway musical The Producers and its subsequent film version.

For fans of this quirky family, which now has a cult following worldwide, this onstage portrait brings the characters to flamboyant life — Gomez, all mad impetuosity; Morticia, equal parts fire and ice; Fester, restless and romantic; Pugsley, who insists that his sister keep torturing him; and Wednesday, 18 years old and finally feeling what it means to be a woman and fall in love.

A family that's shocking and endearing at the same time and just like yours in more ways than one.

Writer Marshall Brickman explains how the script took shape: "Once the decision was made to focus only on the original drawings by Charles Addams, The Addams Family gained a crucial advantage over most other musicals." The source material comes from just 150 drawing by Addams, all based on the premise of a family of social misfits, where all the members love each other a lot.

"We weren't committed to a story and were able to come up with fresh ideas," Brickman adds.

But the plot is hilarious and heartwarmingly touching. It centres on the eldest child of Gomez and Morticia, Wednesday, finding first love.

The ensuing adolescent escapades and often-contradictory situations are a cross between La Cage Aux Folles and Meet the Parents.

Stage glimpse

One of the highlights of the show is when Wednesday invites her new boyfriend to dinner and introduces him to her unorthodox family. Storm clouds gather during the meal and the ensuing situations mean that this family will never be the same again.

But of course, a musical isn't a musical without songs, and composer and lyricist Andrew Lippa has brought a musical mayhem to the stage. Lippa is best remembered for his work in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and A Little Princess but the score for The Addams Family made him break out of his mould.

"We want feet a-tapping and fingers a-clicking," he says with a smile. "My orchestrator Larry Hochman and I wanted a great Broadway score but infused the musical language with dark, gothic elements," he explains.

Both composer and orchestrator agree that there are elements of Mahler and Richard Straus there but also tango tempos for Gomez to perform to, sliding gracefully around the stage with Morticia, complete with a rose between his teeth.

In London's Adelphi Theatre, the audience watching Love Never Dies expressed exclamations of surprise and wonder that escalated over the two-and-a-half-hour show, as they were treated to music, illusions, sets and costumes so grand that words of adequate praise were difficult for many to find. "I feel like I've been waiting for this moment since I first saw the original Phantom 20 years ago," explains Susan Moore, an enthusiastic fan of musicals who had flown in from San Francisco for the opening night. "It has taken the majesty and perfection of the original, The Phantom of the Opera, and moved it one step ahead," she continues excitedly.

The story continues

On the opening night, composer Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the mastermind behind other musical successes such as Joseph and his Amazing Coloured Dreamcoat, Cats, Sunset Boulevard and Aspects of Love, was probably breathing a sigh of relief as his work of the past two years saw fruition. The multimillion-dollar show, the first West End musical sequel, continues the story of The Phantom of the Opera and his beautiful soprano protégé Christine Daaé.

Love Never Dies began life as a vague idea back in 1998 and went through a number of metamorphoses before finally taking on its present form. Although Lloyd-Webber wrote the all-important score, he is quick to point out that it is very much a team effort and the work of four great talents. The haunting lyrics were written by Glenn Slater, who has also worked for Disney's The Little Mermaid and, more recently, Sister Act on Broadway. The script was conceived by novelist and scriptwriter Ben Elton, who previously worked with Lloyd-Webber on The Beautiful Game. Finally, the man who has brought it all together on stage is director Jack O'Brien.

The heat has been on for the 70-year-old director since he was chosen for the difficult task of bringing Love Never Dies to the London stage. "I'm under a lot of pressure on all fronts," he confides. "This isn't just the sequel to the most successful musical yet penned by Andrew Lloyd-Webber. It's also the follow-up to the most successful musical ever written. It has been seen by more than 100 million people in more than 25 countries," he adds. O'Brian believes that what Lloyd-Webber has achieved is pure genius. "I don't think there's any question about the importance of the musical," he says. He'll swear "Lloyd-Webber, along with lyricist Glenn Slater, has trumped the original 1980s show".

Lloyd-Webber refers to Love Never Dies as a "rollercoaster ride of obsession and intrigue". The plot picks up again in 1907, some ten years after the mysterious disappearance of the Phantom from the Paris opera house. The beautiful soprano Christine Daaé accepts an invitation from an unknown entrepreneur to perform in a new attraction, Phantasma, on Coney Island, New York's famed amusement park. But soon after her arrival, she discovers that the man behind the invitation is also the man behind the mask; the obsessive but alluring Phantom.

Character study

While the original Phantom was based on the 1911 Gothic novel by Frenchman Gaston Leroux, this time the plot has been conceived from scratch but uses the same main characters to move the plot forward. "I really feel I've been able to develop the characters in more depth," Lloyd-Webber says. "They are also older and more worldly wise."

The stunning Daaé is played by the American Sierra Boggess while Iranian heart-throb baritone Ramin Karimloo sings the role of the Phantom, one he has also played in the original show. In the haunting song Till I Hear You Sing, Phantom's pent-up anguish and love for Daaé are evident and moving. Karimloo is outstanding and the rich timbre of his voice is full of emotion.

While London basks in the success of Love Never Dies, plans are on to open in New York and Sydney later this year and in Asia in early 2011.