ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER - LLOYD WEBBER CONFIRMS PHANTOM SEQUEL

British theatre mogul ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER has confirmed he's writing a sequel to his hit musical THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. The award-winning composer and impresario has announced the new production will be set in New York on a recent video blog. He says, "I will do The Phantom of the Opera sequel, and have met with a couple of people... who persuaded me to do it, who I will not reveal... I can reveal it will be set in New York." But Lloyd Webber has more pressing immediate matters on his hands before revisiting the story of CHRISTINE and THE PHANTOM - his son NICK gets married later today (10MAR07). The composer adds, "It's a very exciting day for me." According to theatrical news website BroadwayWorld.com, Webber previously noted the Phantom sequel would follow ideas developed with writer FREDERICK FORSYTH, who released a sequel to the show in novel form with The Phantom of Manhattan in 1999. It's not the only new musical Lloyd Webber is working on - the prolific mogul is also planning a theatrical adaptation of MIKHAIL BULGAKOV's novel THE MASTER + MARGARITA.