Love Never Dies
Apr. 29th, 2012 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meteordustThe Phantom of the Opera doesn't make it into my top five favourite musicals, because while the songs are pretty awesome, the story is a bit too stalkery for my tastes. But I decided to see the Phantom sequel anyway, for the same reason I saw Revenge of the Sith: completeness. Also, I was hoping for spectacular songs, or at least spectacular staging.
The version I saw was the original reworked Australian production. And it was visually spectacular, with fantastic sets that brought Coney Island to life, and gorgeous costumes that evoked the turn of the century.
The songs, however, weren't at the same level. The only ones that grabbed my attention were "The Beauty Underneath" and "Devil Take the Hindmost". Even the title song, "Love Never Dies", didn't stand out the way the climactic song should. But then again, maybe you only get one "Phantom of the Opera" in your life.
It probably didn't help that I felt little emotional connection to the characters, and the story frequently annoyed me, with headbanging cliches and possibly retconning.
On the other hand, the singing was top-notch. The Phantom and Christine were both magnificent, and fully deserved the star roles. The rest of the cast were likewise excellent. I only wish they had better material to work with.
While I don't think I would recommend this musical to anyone, if you do decide to see it, I would recommend going in unspoiled, as the suspense of how it would turn out was one of its few redeeming features. (Whether you will be satisfied at how it turns out is another question.)
The version I saw was the original reworked Australian production. And it was visually spectacular, with fantastic sets that brought Coney Island to life, and gorgeous costumes that evoked the turn of the century.
The songs, however, weren't at the same level. The only ones that grabbed my attention were "The Beauty Underneath" and "Devil Take the Hindmost". Even the title song, "Love Never Dies", didn't stand out the way the climactic song should. But then again, maybe you only get one "Phantom of the Opera" in your life.
It probably didn't help that I felt little emotional connection to the characters, and the story frequently annoyed me, with headbanging cliches and possibly retconning.
On the other hand, the singing was top-notch. The Phantom and Christine were both magnificent, and fully deserved the star roles. The rest of the cast were likewise excellent. I only wish they had better material to work with.
While I don't think I would recommend this musical to anyone, if you do decide to see it, I would recommend going in unspoiled, as the suspense of how it would turn out was one of its few redeeming features. (Whether you will be satisfied at how it turns out is another question.)
