Speaking from the Majestic Theatre stage after the 9,000th performance of The Phantom of the Opera, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber told the audience that he expects to debut the show’s eagerly awaited sequel, Love Never Dies, in London in March 2010 with a Broadway debut to follow in November.

As previously reported, Love Never Dies features a book by Ben Elton and songs by Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater, who also wrote songs for The Little Mermaid. Jack O’Brien will direct. In the show, the Phantom is now based in New York City’s Coney Island, where he lures old love Christine, now a famous singer married to a broken-down Raoul, with her teenage son Gustave in tow. (Guess who’s the father?)

Lloyd Webber has previously announced that Little Mermaid star Sierra Boggess and London Phantom vet Ramin Karimloo will star as Christine and the Phantom in Love Never Dies.