LOVE NEVER DIES to Open at Melbourne's Regent Theatre, May 2011; PRISCILLA's Simon Phillips Directs- Page 2

[Sally]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 6:03pm

The logo is rather cringe-worthy, but I think it is half a step up from the ghastly death mask that they started out with.

I wonder what's the deal---every time they make a change in the show they change the logo in some way?

[brettystar]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 7:42am

I don't think there is any way it will be Warlow. David Campbell's name has been bandied about a lot - with some of the Really Useful crew attending his recent concert - which he made mention of before he sang one of the songs from LND.
I was given an audition sheet and from reading the breakdown of the character list and synopsis - it does not sound like they are changing a hell of a lot plot wise.
I am still looking forward to seeing what they try to do to salvage it anyway.

[Sally]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 6:55pm

Warlow will not be in LND. He is in Dr Zhivago.

[brettystar]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 7:50pm

Ah yes, I was forgetting he was still in that when LND starts - sorry.

[alterego]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 9:52pm

Melbourne Herald-Sun has already listed favourites for the role as David Campbell and Mitchel Butel (!@#?).

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 10:05pm

Here's the link: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/search-for-australian-phantom-begins/story-e6frf96f-1225938513903

Who is this according to, though, anyway?

[noplain]

Posted: 10/16/10 at 10:39pm

With the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June, I can't imagine Campbell could take on this role.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 12:03am

Please keep in mind that the Hun is possibly the worst newspaper in the world. The majority of their articles are literally full page photos with captions, usually of animals.

[Urban]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 6:56am

Totally agreed with Chewy about the Hun.

If you want legimate opinion and cultural in a newspaper in Melbourne and not the latest scandal involving a WAG or stupid bogan, you read 'The Age'.

[alawhat]

Posted: 10/17/10 at 7:17am

Mitchell Butel - LOL! That would actually be awful.
He was alright in Avenue Q, but I saw him as Booth in Assassins and he was tragic.

[MlleDaae]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 12:41am

It's pretty hard to keep my thoughts to myself right now about this, but I'll try.

All I have to say (lol) is that they canceled their Broadway engagement. *sigh of relief* They can work that book until it's in pieces. It's not going to change the way it's been received unless they rewrite the whole damn thing. I'm sorry, but come on! He tried to mount this thing YEARS ago and they all told him not to go with Forsyth's book. I mean, come on... it was horrible. We're talking worse than Twilight. You can find better written pieces from a 15 year old. Honestly.

Anywho... my heart goes out to the actors, but come on. Trying to say this has nothing to do with Phantom? Come with an open mind? They (Andrew) could have done it right the first time. *sigh*

And that ends my rant. For now.

Updated On: 10/18/10 at 12:41 AM

[alterego]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 1:58am

Urban, The Age is pretty poor these days too. Let's face it there isn't a paper in Melbourne that does decent Arts coverage. Occasionally The Australian is worth a look.

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 2:31am

Not sure if any of the Australian papers are worth reading for the arts.

The creative team should make this worth a look, but this will do a Sunset. Over blown will start out great, limp along and than it will be put slowly and painfully to death.

But the thing that will make it really interesting is how group bookings go, Warlow around the corner in a beloved novel/film. with group bookings in Sydney, making it the hottest ticket in town.

Can Love Dies, take the group bookings away from Warlow in Melbourne?

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 12:47pm

SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO NOT SEEN THE SHOW:
















Do you think they should change's Christine's fate at the end of the musical?
Updated On: 10/18/10 at 12:47 PM

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 3:57pm

The would be a radical change, but I doubt it because (not to sound crappy but) she is the best character to die in terms of a dramatic ending.

I;ve thought about different endings:
Just her dying,
The Phantom dying,
Meg and Christine dying (with a struggle with meg and the Phantom and the gun goes off and she falls/is pushed off the pier)

Gustave dying

They thinking Gustave is dead and all hell breaks loose and people get killed, only to find after all he is still alive.

But it all comes back to Christine dying being the better choice.

The trick is to gain the audience's sympathy, having Raoul absent for a convincing reason, and getting Meg and Giry out of that scene at the end.

[Proper Villain]

Posted: 10/18/10 at 5:19pm

The trick is to tell a story. LND as it stands does not tell a story, it barely has a plot. (Ok, not that the original has that much of a story in the first place, but I digress..)

What I would like to see:
- Cut "The Beauty Underneath". This song sticks out worse than "Phantom of the Opera" in POTO. And it has a horrible, creepy (not in a spine-tingling way, but in a bad touch I-Need-An-Adult kinda way) lyric. Keep the melody, reorch to take out the faux 90s crap broadway "rock" sound. The melody is vague enough to work as recitative.

- Meg & Mrs. Giry gone.

- Squelch, Farts and Fatty gone (stupid singular names didn't work in Whistle Down the Wind and they don't work here).

-Rename "Phantasma" because this is not era-appropriate.

- I'll get flack for this, but get rid of Raoul. He doesn't have to be a drunk for their marriage to be falling apart. Or refer to him through flashback. Love Never Dies, but it's object doesn't always have to be present.

- keep this as a running note: THE PHANTOM UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD BE HANDSOME IN ANY WAY

- this story, as with the original should focus on Christine and her inner turmoil. She and the audience need to feel torn as they did in the original. the Phantom is not her ex boyfriend, he is a man who mentally enslaved her and forced her affections.

- new characters: introduce a version of "The Persian" from Leroux, this is still the age of American tycoons and the Phantom needs a keeper, there has to be a villain in the piece - might I suggest a gangster a la Boardwalk Empire who might want to expose the Phantom in the media unless large sums are paid to him... maybe the Persian really works for him? Hmmm add some mystery and/or intrigue?

- Gustave CANNOT be the Phantom's son. Christine & Raoul ran out of that lair underneath the Opera as fast as they could for a reason, she would not have come back for some booty call with a psychotic. The Phantom loves him because he is the purest expression of Christine's love (and not for him, but hey, he's always wanted her love).

Remember: this is melodrama.

And finally: FIX THE BLEEDING POSTERS AND LOGO.

There. How to fix the show in less than 5 minutes of typing time.

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 8:27am

I actually agree with alot of your suggestions. I guess, as I said before, the problem really is this story isnt based on anything so it is not tied down, therefore there are so many different ways to go and paths to follow.

[mallardo]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 11:12am

The one good thing about the plot as it stands is bringing Christine to America for a concert performance under the aegis of a mysterious showman/promoter who turns out to be the Phantom. Hence she's right back where she was in POTO - in danger - only in a very different setting.

Far from doing away with Raoul I would keep him as the drunken wastrel he has become but give him the chance to redeem himself by once again coming to Christine's rescue when the Phantom has taken her to his new lair. Raoul could die in the process after a final moment of reconciliation where he and Christine revisit their love. Then the Phantom, realizing that his feelings for Christine bring only death and destruction, slinks away into the darkness.

Other plot complications would be needed but I think that kind of framework would be viable.

[Proper Villain]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 11:35am

mallardo & justin, I agree with you.

I just think the role of Raoul is a thankless one, be it LND or POTO.

With a little demolition/construction this could be an incredible show. I honestly just can't believe that for all of ALW's money, Ben Elton & Glenn Slater were the best he could engage.

[Justin D]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:23pm

I actually love "Beauty underneath" the issue I have with it is it does not flow well on the CD from the rest of the show. On POTO, the title song merges nicely, this one just jumps in at you but once it gets going it is nice, particularly when "beautiful" comes in.

Phantasma, well what can I say, the fact that they actually used that for the name of the park is just the most stupid thing I've ever seen written.

But the deal with Raoul is he has to be there, then gone, another more morbid way to go is have Raoul realise that Gustave is indeed not his, seeing Christine happy again after all those years together now that she is with her music and her phantom so when she does the "little lotte" bit she could be reading his suicide note.

[Sally]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 1:33pm

With a little demolition/construction this could be an incredible show.
---------------------------------------------------------------

I vote for demolition...

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 3:17pm

I think we should start a Facebook page demanding that Lloyd Webber write the show the way WE want! If anything, it would give us a false sense of entitlement or at least make us look like petulant children.

[Proper Villain]

Posted: 10/19/10 at 3:43pm

Snarkedy snark snark...

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/25/10 at 5:09pm

According to this the ending is possibly going to change when the show resumes performances after it temporarily closes in London.

http://wwwmusicaltheatrenews.blogspot.com/2010/10/phantom-lyricist-charles-hart-involved.html
Updated On: 10/25/10 at 05:09 PM

[chewy5000]

Posted: 10/25/10 at 7:01pm

I don't mind that Christine dies, it's just that the way it happens is so undramatic and unfulfilling. I mean, an accident? ughh....