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    Divine diva proves that Love Never Dies in Phantom sequel's Dallas premiere

    Tarra Gaines
    Jul 23, 2018 | 9:16 am

    Broadway’s longest running musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, has enthralled audiences for 30 years, but Dallas will soon discover that the Phantom story didn’t end with the crashing of the giant chandelier. In the new musical Love Never Dies, that ultimate bizarre love triangle between the Phantom, the angelic-voiced Christine Daaé, and her protector, Raoul, lives on as they all meet again — this time in the new, strange world of early 20th-century New York.

     

    As the Love Never Dies tour heads to Dallas Summer Musicals, CultureMap caught up with Meghan Picerno, who stars as Christine, to find out what it takes to bring new life to this iconic role. In this Phantom sequel, 10 years have past. While Christine married Raoul, had a child, and has sung her way into international diva acclaim, the Phantom has found refuge and a new freedom living among the performers, freaks, and geeks of Coney Island.

     

     A voice for two worlds
    While Picerno hasn’t experienced any theater-haunting, masked maestros in real life, she is a classically trained opera performer in her own right, who finds it easy to move back and forth between opera and musical productions.

     

    “I am one of those artists who lives in both worlds,” she says of her opera and musical theater experiences. “Both of the worlds really help each other. The colors and tools that I’m using and learning in one, I bring over to the other. They enrich each other.”

     

    Picerno believes that with her opera training, she brings “a flavor that perhaps wasn’t always there” when tackling a Broadway show, yet when she crosses back to opera, she believes her experience with musical theater helps her bring urgency, and sense of being in the moment in her characters’ development. For Picerno, Love Never Dies, in some ways, merges those two worlds together.

     

    “Andrew Lloyd Webber is an absolute musical genius of our day, and his music is not too far from the opera world. This score of Love Never Dies is extremely classical. It’s a difficult score to sing and beautiful one.”

     

     A 20th-century woman with 21st-century problems
    From the first notes to the last, the story in Phantom was always one of heightened emotions and drama, perhaps very like some classic opera, and Picerno finds Love Never Dies offers that same volume of intensity.

     

    “Particularly in this story and where we find them, to me it is very operatic in the most glorious way. Everything is heightened. Where the story finds them all is in the most insane, extraordinary circumstance, she describes, adding “I do find from my opera training, when you do have larger than life situations and emotions, in order for that to work the foundation has to be completely genuine.”

     

    At first glance Christine’s story set at the turn of the 20th century might seem very removed from our 21st-century relationship concerns, but Picerno says some of her character’s dilemmas feel somewhat familiar, comparing the situation a bit like being ghosted by a guy or that unsettled situation when an old boyfriend pops back into your life. Above all, she sees aspects of the story having contemporary relevance.

     

    “Christine is not the 18 years old that we see in Phantom, a little naive and just starting out to discover what life is. This woman has lived, traveled and seen things, and she’s in a marriage that’s not so great,” Picerno describes of Christine’s growth and struggles. “She is the one making the money in her family. Even today, what is it like in our society when a woman is working and has a child. This is still in 2018, in some areas, an issue. For a woman of that strength in 1907, I find her pretty incredible.”

     

     The new adventures of Christine
    When asked if she tries to find connection with all the previous Christines who have gone before her, including Sarah Brightman who originated the role, while making this older, hopefully wiser woman her own, Picerno says it was conversations with Webber that helped her find her own way.

     

    “Within the context and constraints of the directing and the flavor of the show, he basically gave permission to make it my own. And that’s really exciting. It’s an honor to portray an iconic role, but again, it’s 10 years later. I want to be true to the role and stay true to her roots but find where she can grow and mature.”

     

    Whether opera or musical theater, early 20th or 21st-century set situations, Picerno believes there are some aspects of love stories we can all understand.

     

    “I cry every day onstage. Maybe there’s something wrong with me,” she says with a laugh. “It’s because I’m using my own pain, experiences and joy and then I use the music that Andrew Lloyd Webber writes to communicate that to the audience. Especially in this day and age with everything that’s going on in the world, people need art. They need theater, the human connection and to feel the things on stage.”

     

    ---

     

    Love Never Dies runs July 24-August 5 at The Music Hall at Fair Park. For tickets, showtimes, and information, visit the official site.

    Meghan Picerno (Christine Daaé) and Gardar Thor Cortes (The Phantom) star in Love Never Dies.

    Love Never Dies
      
    Photo by Joan Marcus
    Meghan Picerno (Christine Daaé) and Gardar Thor Cortes (The Phantom) star in Love Never Dies.
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    From Wilde to 'The Wiz': 8 unmissable July shows in North Texas

    Lindsey Wilson
    Jul 2, 2025 | 10:18 am
    Second Thought Theatre presents Your Wife’s Dead Body
    Photo courtesy of Second Thought Theatre
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    Your instinct during the summer might be to hide out in an air-conditioned theater, and there are plenty of options to do exactly this month. But we would be remiss if we didn't remind you about a North Texas tradition: Shakespeare under the stars. Pack a picnic, bring a blanket, and watch The Bard (and this year Oscar Wilde) at Samuell-Grand Amphitheater with Shakespeare Dallas. Both shows opened in June, but continue through most of July.

    Here are eight shows local shows, listed in order of start date:

    The Importance of Being Earnest
    Shakespeare Dallas, through July 18 extended to July 26
    This witty romantic comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed in 1895, tells the story of two men who assume the identities of a fictional man named Ernest. This leads them to each fall in love and encounter an assortment of comical problems along the way.

    Othello
    Shakespeare Dallas, through July 20
    In this Shakespearean tragedy, Othello is at the peak of his powers: not only Venice's greatest general but also husband to the noble and beautiful Desdemona. But he does not know that in passing over his servant Iago for promotion, he has created a deadly but brilliant enemy. This production is set in an alternate-history version of the 1990s in which the Venetian empire is the predominant political, military, and economic power.

    King Kirby
    American Chronicle Theatre Co., July 4-12
    This is the story of Jack "King of Comics" Kirby. The play follows him from the tough Jewish ghetto of Hell’s Kitchen in New York, to the harrowing battlefields of Normandy during WWII, to tense Senate hearings in the 1950s. Watch as he creates some of the most iconic heroes in pop culture: Captain America, Thor, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Iron Man, the New Gods, and countless others.

    Your Wife’s Dead Body
    Second Thought Theatre, July 9-26
    Written by Second Though Theatre artistic associate Jenny Ledel in her playwriting premiere, the play takes place in the near future, as Jane takes advantage of a new AI technology that would extend her lifespan ... even if she's not around to see it for herself.

    The Wiz
    Broadway at the Bass, July 15-20
    This all-new production of the groundbreaking, Tony Award-winning musical returns “home” in an all-new pre-Broadway tour, the first one in 40 years. The groundbreaking twist on The Wizard of Oz changed the face of Broadway, from its iconic score packed with soul, gospel, rock, and finger-snapping '70s funk to its stirring tale of Dorothy’s journey to find her place in a contemporary world.

    Noises Off
    Mainstage Irving-Las Colinas, July 18-August 2
    This play-within-a-play captures a touring theater troupe’s production of Nothing On in three stages: dress rehearsal, the opening performance, and a performance towards the end of a debilitating run. Playwright Michael Frayn gives a window into the inner workings of theatre behind-the-scenes, progressing from flubbed lines and missed cues in the dress rehearsal to mounting friction between cast members in the final performance.

    Everybody's Talking About Jamie
    Uptown Players, July 18-August 3
    Inspired by true events, this musical tells the inspiring story of Jamie New, a 16-year-old boy from Sheffield who dreams of becoming a drag queen. His loving mom showers him with endless support but it's not all rainbows for Jamie as his deadbeat dad and some ignorant school kids attempt to rain on his sensational aspirations.

    Shucked
    Broadway at the Bass, July 29-August 3
    This Tony Award-winning musical comedy features a book by Tony Award winner Robert Horn, a score by the Grammy Award-winning songwriting team of Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, and direction by Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien. The corn-fed, corn-bred American musical is sure to satisfy an appetite for great musical theater.

    broadway at the bassmusicalsnational tourplayssecond thought theatreuptown playersshakespeare under starsshakespeare in the parktheater
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