Lo
ve Never Dies (The SOB Review) – Adelphi Theatre, London, United Kingdom
*1/2 (out of ****) Eternal optimists often say, “Never say never.”
Legions of optimistic
Phantom Of The Opera fans aside,
Andrew Lloyd Webber would have been well-served not only to say “no,” but “never again” after his
cat reportedly destroyed his first draft of his score for this deadly dull sequel with not much to love, including its ridiculous opera meets vaudeville vibe. While the
show has been dubbed "Paint Never Dries," I dare say I've had more fun watching paint dry -- and it's faster, too.
That
Love Never Dies is merely a shameless rip-off of the original becomes painfully clear after Christine (
Sierra Boggess) arrives at New York’s Coney Island to perform a new aria she and Raoul (
Joseph Millson) discover has been written by her rejected and disfigured suitor (
Ramin Karimloo) from the Paris Opera House. When the words, “We’re just in this for the money” is spoken, the jig is up for all involved.
To
Love Never Dies’ credit, both Karimloo and Boggess are in exceptional voice. And there’s a visually arresting projection design from
Jon Driscoll. But with the exception of a first act tune “Beauty Underneath” in which director
Jack O’Brien must have decided that the time had come to show at least a little money up on the stage,
Love Never Dies comes up short in terms of spectacle for which the first show is known.
Instead, this sequel is mostly overwrought that's overdone. (Also overdone the night I attended was the incessant fog machine, which obscured all action on the stage for at least three or four minutes of the climax, making the unintended disembodied voices seem like the true phantoms. It left me thinking "Fog Never Dies.")
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jack O'Brien, Jon Driscoll, Joseph Millson, Love Never Dies, Musical, Ramin Karimloo, Sequel, Sierra Boggess, The Phantom Of The Opera, The SOB Review
Phantom 2In revealing that the long gestating sequel to
The Phantom Of The Opera will be entitled
Love Never Dies, Sir
Andrew Lloyd Webber lamented to
Playbill.com:
Everyone is going to call it Phantom 2, whether we like it or not.
So, dear readers, who among you plans to see
Phantom 2?
Personally, as I've said countless times before, I'm not really looking forward to
Phantom 2.
In fact, I don't really care if I ever see
Phantom 2 at all.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Broadway, Musical, Sequel, The Phantom Of The Opera
Phantom Sequel: So Much For Writing On Otto-Pilot?Did you hear the one about
Andrew Lloyd Webber's
cat destroying his entire score to the sequel of
The Phantom Of The Opera? There's no punch line, but that hasn't stopped the, ahem, catterati over the possibly exaggerated antics of
Otto the cat (pictured)
here,
here and
here.
You may have thought the cat had my tongue in not writing about this earlier, but alas,
Webber's spokesperson Peter Brown has subsequently stated that there really isn't a there there: "It was nothing significant...It was said in jest.''
I'm certainly glad I refrained from making catty comments that could only come back to haunt me.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for The Phantom Of The Opera tickets.Related Stories:The Phantom Of Manhattan? (March 12, 2007)
The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Is It Just Me, Or...(Part II) (February 21, 2007)
Labels: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Blogs, Cats, Otto, Sequel, The Phantom Of The Opera
The Phantom Of Manhattan?It looks like the world will have another phantom to kick around. That’s right, just as
I raised that specter a few weeks ago,
Andrew Lloyd Webber is now officially set to resume writing a sequel to Broadway’s longest running show,
The Phantom Of The Opera.
According to Sir ALW himself, the action will move from Paris to Gotham City. Maybe instead of a plummeting chandelier, he’ll simulate a drop of the New Year’s Eve ball.
Years ago, the knight was collaborating with
Frederick Forsyth on a sequel. But after that effort failed, Forsyth published a novel called “
The Phantom Of Manhattan.” No word on whether the new stage sequel will be based on said book.
The Phantom Of The Opera is perhaps the last of a certain dying breed of European mega-musicals where spectacle and song thrill audiences the world over. I remember seeing the original London production back in what seems a lifetime ago, and I even admit that I enjoyed it, despite having undoubtedly the worst seat in the house.
But I hardly consider
Phantom to be Lloyd Webber’s best work. Personally, my favorite from his canon is
Evita. I also much prefer both
Jesus Christ Superstar and
Sunset Boulevard over
Phantom. Still,
Phantom is much better than
Starlight Express or my least favorite of his, the interminable
Cats.
While
Chris Caggiano reminds us that there have indeed been decent sequels to big, beloved musicals, it’s hard to believe the odds favor lightning striking twice on something so universally loved (or reviled) as
The Phantom Of The Opera. When I put my SOB Poll question -- “Do you think Andrew Lloyd Webber should move forward with a stage sequel to
The Phantom Of The Opera?” -- to you just a couple weeks ago, the overwhelming majority (85.7%) of you voted thumbs down.
I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether Sir Andrew can triumph again. You can bet I’ll be watching developments closely.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Hits From Coast To Coast (March 8, 2007)
Is It Just Me, Or...(Part II) (February 21, 2007)
SOB Readers Produce Results For Pulling Plug (November 7, 2006)
Labels: Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cats, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, Sequel, SOB Poll, Starlight Express, The Phantom Of The Opera
