Love Never Dies -Adelphi Theatre, London 2010 — Page 15

What's Stockholm syndrome?

Sod Christine, I think *I* have Stockholm Syndrome, with the show itself! I can see the many ways it is terrible, but I can also see the several ways it's good, and whether it ultimately leans towards the wondrous or the monstrous, I had a damn fine evening in that theatre and - for my sins - would definitely see it again.

This apple juice smells like yoghurt. That's not normal, is it?

---

Weez, what juice are you on dear???? lol

So, ALW can't travel to New York to be part of auditions and pre production for the New York original opening of 2011. They now say the show will open Spring 2011.
The good Lord is on TV at the moment auditioning for a Dorothy and her dog for the upcoming, not-much-wanted, London production of 'The Wizard Of Oz'. That production, announced last week, is now to open in Spring 2011 and not the originally planned December 2010.
The doctors have demanded he slow down his work schedule for the foreseeable future but I cant see any let up in his work load before next summer- can you?

Personally, I cant see 'Love Never Dies' opening on Broadway ever and as he has to be based in the UK, 'Wizard' will open early/mid/spring of next year.

The only winner at the moment, if 'Wizard' is delayed, will be 'Sister Act' which maybe go on past its closing date of 1st or 8th of January.

This all seems terrible muddled now that 'Love Never Dies' isn't what everyone expected it to be. Excuses, Excuses is all I see here.

Updated On: 4/6/10 at 09:15 PM

Agents are calling back large amounts of their allocations nightly.

I saw the show last week (Friday 2nd) and it was pretty much as I anticipated. You can't really fault the performances or the way it is staged as I think it comes across as a good piece of theatre in those terms. Charlie Manton was very good as Gustave (I usually get annoyed by child actors as they tend to either be rubbish or overact)
However, the "story" was not gripping, believable or inventful enough. I did expect this after I knew Ben Elton was involved as I despised We Will Rock You!
The show could and should have been a lot better but as it stands, I don't see it lasting too long and agree that a Broadway transfer looks less likely as each day passes.

---

I didn't mean my post to sound like I hated it and I also think it doesn't deserve the slating many are giving it. I enjoyed the show overall and like you say the performances from the leads were mostly excellent. I agree that there are loads of shows out there that are not as good but people will be comparing it to the original Phantom and it certainly doesn't measure up to that, which I think will lead to its early demise.

---

"With the show itself! I can see the many ways it is terrible, but I can also see the several ways it's good, and whether it ultimately leans towards the wondrous or the monstrous, I had a damn fine evening in that theatre and - for my sins - would definitely see it again."

I have thought for a long time now, what is the best way to describe Love Never Dies. Weez has just hit the nail right on the head.

ALW is so brave to keep appearing on TV every week, looking perfectly well, and producing Oz on schedule. I guess he must have some "can't cross the ocean" condition.

What a shame, because he was so certain the show would be rapturously received in New York.

And I guess it's absolutely impossible to prep the US show from London. After all, the director couldn't do preliminary auditions, use technology to link auditions to London or anything else like that. Plus I guess it must be a brand new staging, since designers, productions managers etc all need ALW actually in New York to proceed...

As ever, there are more holes in ALW's press releases than in his plots!

I forgot to mention how engineered the standing ovation was in my comments earlier. Nobody was standing even after Ramin and Sierra came out until Sierra did this weird courtsey thing where she moved her arms in a way which was leading the audience to stand up (as if she was saying, "well get to your feet then" with her arms!) - just a bit strange I thought.

---

Ohhh, when I saw it, they did that thing where they all stand in a line, hold hands, then run downstage and raise their arms. 'Cos that's TOTALLY not a move engineered to encourage the audience to rise to their feet, nooooo.

---

Hilarious piece, reproduced from Mark Shenton's 'Stage Online':

Still, the negative press seems to have had at least one positive result: as Barbara Ellen hilariously wrote in an open letter to the Adelphi Theatre in her Observer column the Sunday before last, “Dear Mr Adelphi, Regarding the performance I viewed last week of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom sequel, Love Never Dies, ridiculed as Paint Never Dries. With regret, I must demand my money back; it simply wasn’t bad or boring enough. My companions and I paid our money and went along in good faith, expecting a right old disaster. Imagine our disappointment when it was good. The phantom bore an eerie resemblance to Martin Amis sulking after his tiff with Anna Ford, but, sir, this was not enough. A catastrophe we were promised and a catastrophe we expected to see. One concedes that it is not all the production’s fault. Negative reviews, the dark art of anti-hype, are a dangerous business. However, do fine feelings pay my babysitter? I feel that I, and several innocent coach parties, were tricked into going to Paint Never Dries, and, against our will, forced to endure an enjoyable evening. I’m sure I speak for many when I say I left your theatre wholly dissatisfied with how incredibly satisfied I felt. Yours ever, Barbara. PS: Your seats are too small.”