Riedel: 'Love Never Dies' delayed until next Spring?

Possibly. But one problem: the delay could prevent 'Catch Me If You Can' from opening during the same time.

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/love_labors_linger_on_gYqRU6tWCjhnogPG6lamcI

Updated On: 4/2/10 at 02:45 AM

I'm not sure if waiting till spring is long enough either, do you think this might be a ploy to just can the New York run of the show all together?

Webber really has not had a hit in years, maybe he needs to bring Cam Mac back!

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God, I hope that isn't true. I've been dying to see it, I'd hate to have to wait another year. Why can't he just fix the problems now over the enxt few months

Boy Webber can write a show, but clueless in pulling a show together.

Well, technically, that should be a director's job. But I do know what you mean. Many shows are so well-written that the director's job isn't so difficult. Such is not often the case with Sir Webber's concoctions, though.

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If it were just a matter of fixing problems, that would be one thing. When the problem is at the very core of the show -- namely, that the characters have been altered beyond recognition and the story stretches belief way past the breaking point -- how can you fix it without throwing out everything you've got and starting over?

I think to say the entire plot is unsalvageable is unrealistic and obviously shows a bias to "the original characters" and all that nonsense, people change and 10 years is a long time. Get Over It.

They just have to get through some of the plot holes, fix the beginning and ending, maybe tweak some sets and add a song here or there to fix the pacing.

The core of the piece is fine.

Personally aside from the obvious plot holes, the use of the freaks. My main gripe now is the look of the piece, sets aside, the costumes and look of the Phantom need work, they are just too ordinary looking.

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What CTOD said. When your plot depends on the heroine yelling "DO OVER!" after the tragic ending of the original, and going back to do something she wouldn't do with someone she wouldn't do it with, then yeah, you've got a major problem.

Updated On: 4/2/10 at 02:03 PM

If that's your example, then I maintain the plot has insurmountable problems. This is supposed to be a young woman with integrity, courage, and love for her fiance, not a Springer guest.

Heck, while we're at it, why don't we have Lucie Manette cheat with Sydney Carton? Or Marius with Eponine? There's a reason things are bittersweet (though that's not my favorite word) in these stories -- because sometimes a person in love just doesn't get what he or she wants. ALW is trying to have his cake and eat it too, and as usual in such cases, it's not working too well.

. . . and ran off with Cosette!

The most disappointing element to me is how the "mystery" of the Phantom has completely dissolved from the 1st show. In the 1st show he's hiding in mirrors, drop set pieces, killing, sending threatening notes, throwing his voice around the theatre and shooting fireballs.

The next time we see him in LND he's not controlling or manipulating anything. He's playing out a fantasy with a doll, and then saying (not singing) things like, "You’re forgetting yourself”. There is no threat to the Phantom at all. He is a complete bore. Listen to the way Giry disrespects him.

Raoul shouldn't have been written so obviously abusive in the show. They should have written him as someone who is "trying" to be more sensitive but is defeated by alcohol and haunted by debt. The way it is currently written there was no doubt in my mind she was going to pick the Phantom when I was listening to the CD. He was too much of a jerk.

What happens to Meg at the end of the show? Does anyone know? It does not say in the CD liner notes.

My last thought: They need to bring in Charles Hart to help get the language right. Charles may not have been the greatest lyricist but he’s got a better handle on these characters than Slater.

Actually, Hal Prince's interpretation of the original show is totally dishonored by this sequel. Christine, no matter how a specific actress plays her journey, grows up by the end of that final scene, and makes a choice for herself. Sometimes, in order to grow up, we move on from the things that drag us down. The Phantom did not want to let her grow as a person, and he was a pitiful, obsessive man whom she pitied in the end.

(Jennifer Hope Wills, currently on Broadway as Christine, gives one of the most mature and moving performances as Christine)

Hal Prince has been quoted as saying that it's very nice that people want her to be with the Phantom, but...

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Updated On: 4/3/10 at 02:31 AM

Adam Chris - What happens to Meg at the end of the show? Does anyone know? It does not say in the CD liner notes.

She is executed for murder I expect. In the prologue, Giry says everything is 'gone, all gone'.

Aww come on, surely you can give him "Cats"?

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