Almost 25 years after the hit musical The Phantom of the Opera opened on London's West End stage, Andrew Lloyd-Webber raised the curtain on the equally lavish sequel, Love Never Dies. Critics offered mixed reviews, and "Phans" either loved or reviled the hyper-dramatic twists and turns of the show's plot and characters.
Even for those who dislike the story, the show contains some fine tunes from the pen of the composer who gave musical theater shows such as Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita and Aspects of Love.
Love Never Dies, Act I: Songs
After a haunting prologue, the audience is introduced to the main setting of the show--New York's Coney Island at the turn of the twentieth century. "The Coney Island Waltz" is an orchestral number that captures the frenzied excitement of the resort as well as its dark undertones. In "That's the Place You Ruined, You Fool!", Madame Giry is reminded of the ignoble end of Phantasma, the Phantom's Coney Island palace of amusements, entertainment and circus curiosities. "Heaven by the Sea" is a chorus number that takes the audience back to the resort's heyday.
In "Only for Him / Only for You", Meg Giry contemplates stardom as she takes to the stage--only for "Mr Y," aka the Phantom.
"The Ayrie" is a short instrumental piece with a simplicity and serenity that gives way to dissonance and jarring disharmonies as the Phantom is revealed in his lair. The Phantom sings "Till I Hear You Sing", the musical's first true show-stopper, in which he expresses his longing to see Christine Daaé again.
Soon, Christine arrives on the island with her husband, Raoul de Chagny, and their son, Gustave. They disembark, and a trio of circus freaks--Fleck, Squelch and Gangle--welcomes them to the bizarre world of Phantasma with the song "Are You Ready to Begin?"
The vicomte Raoul immediately dislikes the place immediately, singing "What a Dreadful Town!" His bitterness is not lost on Gustave, who asks his mother why his father won't play with him--doesn't he love him? In response, Christine explains the nature of love in the waltz "Look with Your Heart".
The next musical number is another show-stopper, a passionate duet between the Phantom and Christine. In "Beneath a Moonless Sky", they reminisce about the night they spent together 10 years previously, before the Phantom was forced to flee Paris. This segues into "Once upon Another Time", a lament for the choices that kept them apart.
Later, after singing "Bathing Beauty" – a saucy Vaudeville-style chorus number – Meg meets her old friend Christine. Their reunion is unexpected and awkward. Meanwhile, Raoul is also unaware that he and Christine are in New York at the invitation of the Phantom, until he too has an unexpected encounter with Madame Giry. "My Dear Old Friend" follows. The song is a dramatic, irony-laden ensemble piece reminiscent of Prima Donna in the original Phantom of the Opera. The song establishes a rivalry, with Meg jealous of Christine, worried that she will replace her in the Phantom's affections.
In "Beautiful", 10-year-old Gustave visits the Phantom's lair and wonders at its surreal beauty. Here, in "The Beauty Underneath", the Phantom educates the boy about the charms of darkness. This is a radical change of pace, a loud rock song with electric guitars, synthesizers and heavy percussion. Gustave and the Phantom discover a connection--the boy too is beguiled by the attractions of the darker side of life. Gustave also reveals he has musical gifts, and as "The Phantom Confronts Christine", the truth dawns on the Phantom: Gustave is his son, the result of the night he and Christine spent together a decade earlier.
Love Never Dies, Act II: Songs
The "Entr'acte" opens Act II, a stirring orchestral medley of melodies from the first act. When the curtain opens, Raoul sits in a bar, drunk, depressed and ruing the way his life with Christine has turned out. He confesses his failures in the song "Why Does She Love Me?"
The Phantom appears to taunt Raoul about Gustave's paternity. There follows a tense confrontation and the song "Devil Take the Hindmost", in which the two agree to a bet, with Christine's affections as the prize. Christine must choose whether to sing for the Phantom on the final night of the summer season or to leave with Raoul and Gustave.
As the Coney Island season draws to a close, there are reprises of "Heaven by the Sea", "Coney Island Waltz" and "Bathing Beauty". Finally, a reprise of "Devil Take the Hindmost" as a quartet sets the stage for the finale. Who will Christine choose?
Christine sings. The number is the title song, "Love Never Dies", a deceptively simple melody that ascends into grandeur. The lyrics express the main theme: "Life may be fleeting; love lives on."
The remainder of the show is mostly through-sung lyrics, rather than songs, per se. The Phantom is enraged when Gustave goes missing; however, his abductor is not Raoul, who has already left for France. Meg Giry, fearful that the boy will now get the inheritance she believes is hers, has taken him and is ready to drown him at a point known as "Suicide Hall."
When the Phantom and Christine find her, a dangerous confrontation ensues. Meg has a gun; a shot is accidentally fired; the victim is Christine. She reprises "Love Never Dies" as she passes away in the Phantom's arms.
The show ends as it began, with a lone flute playing by the calm waters of Coney Island.
Love Never Dies: Soundtrack Album
The Love Never Dies album contains all of these tracks, as well as through-sung dialogue. It is performed by the original London cast, which includes Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom, Sierra Bogess as Christine Daae, Joseph Millson as Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, Liz Robertson as Madame Giry and Summer Strallen as Meg Giry.
The "Deluxe Edition" includes a bonus DVD, with footage of the show, interviews with Andrew Lloyd Webber and the cast of Love Never Dies, and a booklet containing the libretto, with book by Ben Elton and lyrics by Glenn Slater.
Love Never Dies opened on 9 March 2010 at the Adelphi Theatre, London, and opens on Broadway in 2011.
More on Love Never Dies: Love Never Dies: Story Synopsis of the Phantom Sequel, by the same author
