I know people have very mixed feelings about ALW, and I personally think he is a strange man...but I have really enjoyed a lot of his work. I love Phantom. I was willing to give Love Never Dies a chance...but not with this plot. I personally think this is a misstep. People might see it out of curiosity, but it won't keep bringing people back to the theater the way Phantom has--it just seems bizarre, like a not-that-great fanfiction someone made into a musical and put on stage. It lacks some sort of authenticity that makes you believe this is truly the continuation of what happens to these characters. I don't think people particularly want to see the Phantom be a hero or good guy--that's not what makes him an interesting character. And I really don't think people want to see characters they have become attached to behave in ways that seem off-putting and out of character. You can write a sequel to pretty much any musical and make the characters do whatever you see fit, but that doesn't mean people are going to buy into it if it doesn't flow naturally from the story you originally set up. I think it's a shame that he's attaching something that will doubtless be very polarizing to what a lot of people agree is his best achievement.
Dantes, I agree with you that with all the creatives involved it should not have been a train wreck. But it is. On SOOOOO many levels. If you check my postings on the Brit boards, you'll see my opening night reaction and, now back in NYC, I wrote a fuller review, a lot of it going into detail about what your post questioned.
Do we need spoiler space on this thread? I need to mention what I've heard about the plot of Love Never Dies, so anyone who doesn't want the show spoiled has been warned!
It's been a while since I saw the Phantom movie, and I sure as hell am not wasting two days of Netflix to see it again - were we seeing Christine's funeral at the end, or just the Phantom putting flowers on her grave? Did her tombstone give a date for her death?
I have a much bigger problem with how ALW reconciles the entire concept of the Phantom's character and his chaste love with Christine in the original musical with this idea of the Phantom being Christine's baby-daddy.
And anyone who saw the Washington DC run of "Whistle Down the Wind" knows what kind of wretched crap ALW and his esteemed team can turn out. It sounds like there are some interesting ideas in this new show, I hope all concerned will give some thought to what made "Phantom" so successful and do a bit of rewriting.
I have a problem with Raoul becoming a gambling, wife-abusing, drunk, Meg becoming psychotic, the Phantom suddenly becoming sane and losing his sociopathic and homicidal habits,and the fact that this even exists.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
To anyone with spoilers: Please do leave a note saying ... SPOILER.. so those of us can still read this board and not be totally unforgivable to those who ruin the excitement for us. Thanks
This is the most infurating piece of trash I have ever heard. The score isn't half bad (the lyrics are though), but I CANNOT get over this whole idea that Christine "wronged" Erik by choosing Raoul and that she only chose him because he is hot.
Jimmy, what are you doing here in the middle of the night? It's almost 9 PM!