Love Never Dies

I have not-- yet!-- seen the Australian version of Love Never Dies (hereafter known as LND, and the suggested similarity to LSD is of course appropriate). But I saw the London version last year and was enthralled and disappointed in equal measure. It was not nearly as good as the first Phantom. And yet I had a lot of fun, something that has earned me disdain from several of my classically trained musician friends!! I didn’t think that it at all deserved the funny but cruel nickname bestowed on it by some London wit, ‘Paint Never Dries’. I found it spectacular, romantic and enjoyable, although sadly somewhat lacking in the gruesome gothic appeal of the original Phantom, which spawned a new species of late twentieth-century ‘grusicals’; and it is also somewhat lacking in the original’s string of really great songs. LND’s songs are good, but not great. There is a reason why we heard Karimloo singing ‘Til I Hear You Sing’ instead of Boggess delivering the title number in the 2009 pre-premiere taster concert hosted by Lloyd Webber. After all the build-up in the plot, ‘Love Never Dies’ (the song) is a bit of a disappointment and it takes a really good interpretation by Christine to make it hold our attention. Yes, ‘Bathing Beauty’ is good and fun. But ‘Til I Hear You Sing’ is the best song and it… well, it just comes a little too early in the show. I disagree with SMH reviewer Jason Blake on this; I think it is the plot and the polyphony (I love Lloyd Webber’s ensemble pieces), rather than the actual melodies, that ramp up the show towards the end. A great deal of the fun in the London show was down to the fabulous charisma and voice of Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom and the equally beautiful Sierra Boggess as Christine. These two followed in established ‘Phantom’ tradition of casting a male with an attractive rock tenor or high baritone and very little formal vocal training (Karimloo told me afterwards he can't read music... as if a woman would ever get the part of Christine without this ability!) and a more classically-trained soprano whose vocal chops are far superior. I hope that Ben Lewis does as well as Karimloo did. Anna O’Byrne is certainly just as beautiful as Boggess, and if she has ‘made it’ in the Australian musical scene as a woman at her tender age, she must be supremely talented, dedicated and thick-skinned. (Yes, you do detect a hint of feminist jealousy of men in the performing arts.) Also in keeping with Phantom tradition I suppose, several aspects of the plot and casting in LND simply do not make sense, such as the chronology: How can it be 1907 when the first show was set in 1881, and the characters have only aged 10 years? This becomes even sillier when you remember that the main action of the film version was set in 1870 to make the wheelchair-bound Raoul of the prologue (originally set in 1911, in the film 1919) seem less absurdly aged. So in this regard, LND fits in slightly better with the original stage Phantom than with the film. On the other hand, the plot of LND fits in with the film's prologue / epilogue much more so than with that of the original stage show.... I will say no more for fear of giving the game away! Another area that tends to test our capacity for suspension of disbelief is the casting; the Phantom must be at least 45 or 50 by 1907, and yet, as reviewer Jason Blake has pointed out, he is played by a young man. Youth seems to be a developing staple of the various Phantoms as their image gradually becomes sexier and sexier post-Gerard Butler, who was a great hit with the ladies in the film. The design in the London production provided much of the fun, though I found it a little too heavy on the lighting and a little too light on the ‘real’. Now, I know that this was a key thematic point in LND; phony Coney Island was all about bedazzlement and the new electric lights, just as the Phantom’s whole lifestyle is about trickery, while he longs for the realness of Christine’s love. But half the awesomeness of the original ‘Phantom’ was the grandeur of the sets, and when you do it all in light you lose some of the sense of sense of richness. However, Gabriela Tylesova is a mistress of colour and opulence, so I have faith in her ability to redesign the show. I assume Tylesova was responsible for the ‘imaginative kick in the rear’ that has semi-saved the show according to Jason Blake. So I will go and see this re-invented LND, as will all the Aussie ‘phans’. But if you haven’t seen the original Phantom, watch the film version first. I agree with Blake, Love Never Dies doesn’t quite make it as a stand-alone piece. Still, I don’t care what my classical friends say. Its damn good fun.