Love Never Dies tour

Gosh was I so disappointed, this really is the worst national tour I've seen. Saw it last night.

I didn't think it was great, but I did stay for the entire show, which is more than I can say for the Newsies tour. But yeah, there's been countless touring shows over the years worse than this one. If you think this is the worst, consider yourself extremely lucky.

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We just got out of the matinee in Dallas. We all thought the show was fantastic. The actors playing the Phantom and Christine both had PHENOMENAL voices. The boy playing Gustav was super cute. The music is gorgeous. It reminded me of Sunset Boulevard.

I’ve seen various incarnations of this live and filmed and I think there is a show there. I just think it needs some editing and restructuring.

‘Til I hear you sing at the top of the show is bizzare and personally I loved the mimicking of the original when it’s the Giry’s looking back.

I think the show suffers from whether it wants to be a spectacle or intimate and hasn’t found the balance the original found.

The story is the Giry’s and that just wasn’t developed enough. While I understand the juxtaposition of Daee the star vs Giry as a side show girl Giry’s songs didn’t work for me in the show.

I think having the child was the wrong idea there was too many sub-plots. It should be Christine coming back to get her man because she is unhappy and Meg not taking it well that Christine just slots back in.

Just my thoughts.

Gizmo6 said: "Til I hear you sing at the top of the show is bizzare and personally I loved the mimicking of the original when it’s the Giry’s looking back."

I totally agree with this; it's like starting the original Phantom with "Music of the Night". I think the opening in the London production was much better.

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Updated On: 8/6/18 at 01:14 PM

CATSNYrevival said: "I'd like to see how it would play without a prologue."

Did you see the original London prologue, with Giry out on the boardwalk at night? I thought it was breathtaking when it came to life.

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CATSNYrevival said: "I did not see it. Just listened on the album."

It wasn't particularly striking to me when I first listened to the album, but seeing it was a very different experience.

Similar to the original Phantom prologue, it was a flash-forward scene that began in what was essentially black and white. The stage was completely bare and black, backed by a black curtain with only dim outlines of billboards created by small points of off-white light to suggest strings of light bulbs.

When Fleck appeared and urged Giry to "Remember how it was?", the orchestra began "The Coney Island Waltz" (the original, slow-building arrangement) and the billboards and posters on the boardwalk began to colorize, one by one. Various sideshow characters and carnival performers then stepped through the signs and onto the stage, each bowing to Giry, as the audience (similar to the original Phantom prologue) was transported back in time to the era of Phantasma. My favorite part was a projection of a carousel at stage left, which turned slowly as the horses leapt off and into the projected surf. It was surreal, ghostly, and gorgeous.

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The PRODUCTION is great. The cast is excellent and the show looks beautiful. The actual script and score are absolute trash.

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Did you see the original London prologue, with Giry out on the boardwalk at night?

I did. It was visually stunning and one of the best things about that production. I also loved the sets for Christine's hotel room and the final performance stage. I actually liked those designs more than the current designs. And the original production really did make good use of the cyclorama screen (much more so than the overuse of them with Woman in White). It was effective without feeling intrusive.

The actual script and score are absolute trash.

I'm not a fan of the book, but the score is mostly lovely. The biggest offense is The Beauty Underneath. Both versions of that particular number are garbage. Forcing another "Phantom of the Opera" number into this show is transparently trite and unnecessary.

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Mister Matt said: "I also loved the sets for Christine's hotel room and the final performance stage. I actually liked those designs more than the current designs."

I also liked the London hotel room set better, and I thought the final pier scene in London looked and felt more desolate and forlorn than in the touring production.

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chernjam said: "So - any news at all about LND? Continued US Tour (a year ago they were touting how it was a hit on the road?) Ever coming to NYC?"

I'm dying for some word, but there hasn't been any. I follow several of the touring production cast members on social media, and while they all seem to truly love what they're doing and the audience response to it, none have even hinted at Broadway so far.

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"The PRODUCTION is great. The cast is excellent and the show looks beautiful. The actual script and score are absolute trash. "

I almost totally agree, think the score was better than "trash", saw it in Charlotte NC. Actually won tickets in a contest which included dinner at nice restaurant in Charlotte.

chernjam said: "So - any news at all about LND? Continued US Tour (a year ago they were touting how it was a hit on the road?) Ever coming to NYC?"

On Stage: Don’t call it a Phantom sequel, but…

Sean Thompson (Raoul): “We’ll be out for a little more than a year and close on December 2 in Austin, Texas. The producers are looking at Broadway. That’s no secret. They’re also looking at Asia and another National Tour. This tour has put the numbers up. I don’t think they expected it to do as well as it’s done."

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Updated On: 10/3/18 at 08:55 AM