"[7] In the Evening Standard, Nicholas De Jongh wrote, "I came out humming with boredom: there is just one catchy song - the lovely I Believe My Heart.

"[8] However, Quentin Letts argued that Lloyd Webber's music, "never before so classical and operatic, becomes hypnotic and slowly unveils its melodies.

"[8] In his three-star review for The Guardian, Michael Billington praised David Zippel's "deft and neat" lyrics but, like De Jongh, took issue with Jones' book.

He said, "I don't object to Jones excising minor characters or altering the story's structure: that inevitably happens when you turn a novel into a musical.

What I find objectionable is that, in trying to give the story a modern spin and show all Victorian women as social victims, she actually deprives Marian of much of her odd, independent quirkiness that makes her one of the most original characters in fiction.

"[5] At the end of 2004 Michael Crawford was taken ill, as a result of oversweating in the fat suit he wore to play the grossly obese character Count Fosco (originally reported as having the flu).

Nick Curtis, in his review for The Evening Standard, wrote: "If Ball's Fosco lacks the extravagant comic flair of Crawford's original, there is a commensurate gain in menace.

The "second" version opened on 11 July 2005, with an almost completely new cast including Ruthie Henshall (Marian),[15] Alexandra Silber (Laura), Damian Humbley (Hartwright), and Michael Cormick (Glyde).

[17] According to Really Useful, "Trevor Nunn and Andrew Lloyd Webber initiated creative changes during rehearsals for the new West End cast.

The show reportedly received some cutting, but still took roughly as long because of an extended ending which almost filled in the time saved earlier.

[citation needed] Ian Shuttleworth noted that "I can identify no specific instances of revision... but in general Trevor Nunn's production now feels tighter and more narratively driven...Ruthie Henshall as Marian is appealing as ever,...she is almost equalled by Alexandra Silber, who makes a magnificent debut as her sister Laura....[Simon Callow] eschews the wild prosthetic jowls of his predecessors in the role, ...using only a slightly exaggerated nose and a little padding, and makes up in immense brio what he lacks (sometimes sorely) in tunefulness.

"[19] On 20 January 2006, it was officially announced by producer Sonia Friedman and Really Useful that the show would close in London on 25 February 2006 after a run of 19 months.

William Dudley's curved walls were no longer perfectly round, but oval shaped (it made the images feel more encompassing).

"[23] Howard Kissel (New York Daily News) wrote: "The use of projections, stunningly designed by William Dudley, enables the scenes to fly by.

In the early scenes, in which there are a few duets and trios, there is a shimmering delicacy to the music... What gives Woman its dramatic power is Maria Friedman's shattering performance as the sister of the unlucky bride... " David Rooney, reviewing for Variety, wrote: "the melodrama feels sadly hollow... Lloyd Webber's music, while it tempers the syrupy romanticism of his melodies by weaving more complex, discordant textures that echo the story's troubled moods, fires off almost its entire arsenal in the first act and then remains stuck in repetitive overdrive.

"[24] This followed much publicity after the show's star, Maria Friedman, who had created the role of Marian Halcombe in the original London production, was diagnosed with breast cancer during previews.

It was directed by Thom Southerland, and starred Anna O'Byrne as Laura, Chris Peluso as Sir Percival Glyde, Carolyn Maitland as Marian, Ashley Stillburn as Walter Hartright, Greg Castiglioni as Fosco, and Sophie Reeves as Anne.

In her three-star review for The Guardian, Lyn Gardner praised the performances, describing them as "eye-catching and vocally impressive", adding that "They are the reason to see this show and serve as a reminder of the UK’s increasingly deep pool of talented musical theatre actors.

"[32] Tim Bano also gave the show three stars, saying "as enjoyable as Southerland’s production is, it feels like this cast and creative team are wasted on this mediocre material.

"[33] However Mark Valencia, writing for What's On Stage, gave the show four stars and said: "The Woman in White was always an intimate musical trapped in an overblown production by Trevor Nunn.

On a midnight train trip on the way to Limmeridge House as a drawing teacher, Walter Hartright sees a strange woman dressed entirely in white, apparently fleeing from someone and desperate to share a terrible secret with him.

The signalman is scared because although he saw no-one, it was predicted a year earlier that in a 'year to this day', someone would be found dead on the railway track ("Prologue").

Walter meets his new students: Marian Halcombe and her pretty half-sister Laura Fairlie, who is heir to the estate which includes Limmeridge House ("I Hope You Like It Here").

Walter receives all this news angrily and leaves for London, but not before Laura returns a picture he drew of her ("Gift For Living Well").

Laura becomes angry and distrustful of Marian because her advice led her to marry a man whom she discovers to be a physically abusive husband; he only wants her for her money, to pay off his debt ("The Holy and the Ivy").

In a show of grief Glyde tries to shake Marian's hand but she ignores him, but vowing revenge for her sister she heads to find Walter.

Having heard the news through the grapevine of Laura's death, Walter expresses his grief at losing the love of his life ("Evermore Without You").

Marian is dressed specifically with the intent to use her feminine wiles against Fosco, which makes Walter suddenly realize his true feelings for her ("If Not For Me For Her").