love never dies phantom of the opera book

The choreography was well danced but lacked drive and sparkle for my tastes. And if you're struggling to believe that they actually hooked up, I don't blame you. It doesn't help that the drama is so overly-melodramatic, dull and emotionally cold, or that the relationship between Phantom and Christine is as tawdry as it is. Well Simon Gleeson does have flashes where he allows Raoul to be dashing, but there is strong emphasis on flashes. The rest of the cast aren't as effective, good voices but dull. Anna O'Byrne struggles with the title number- hardly surprising seeing as the song itself isn't that good anyway- but her voice is very angelic and rich with an unbelievable range, she also does elegant and diva-ish very well. Ben Lewis has a magnificent voice, and does his best making Phantom charismatic, edgy and tortured, it's not his fault that Phantom in Love Never Dies is too much of an obsessive businessman with a dark past, a much watered-down version of his former self really. The orchestral playing, chorus and conducting are also first-rate. The production is certainly not bad, the costume and set designs are just exquisite with beautiful lighting. This production is a slight improvement by excising that one plot strand, but other than that it does nothing to change my perception of the musical. The characters seem off, especially Raoul, and one plot strand(the one revealing when Gustave was conceived) actually distorts them, while the ending is ridiculously anti-climatic. The story is also a mess, it is nowhere near as cohesive as Phantom of the Opera, is very bad soap-opera-ish and didn't engage me emotionally.

Two or three of the songs are nice, Til I Hear You Sing Once More, The Beauty Underneath and Look With Your Heart, but the rest are completely forgettable. I am one of those who has appreciated Andrew Lloyd Webber overtime, especially as Phantom of the Opera is so good, but Love Never Dies is my least favourite musical of his by quite some way. Much of the problem that I had watching this was to do with Love Never Dies itself.

Love never dies phantom of the opera book