Times Online: "The phantom of the opera is to change his tune. In a long-awaited sequel to the record-breaking musical, he will be haunting America’s famous fairground, at Coney Island.
Andrew Lloyd Webber unveiled a glimpse of the new work, Love Never Dies, yesterday in the same West End theatre where the original show began its relentless assault on the box-office record books 23 years ago today."
7 comments:
this is so exciting! I'm always really skeptical about sequels because really great productions tend to disappoint in their sequels, but Love Never Dies seems like its going to be great as a theatrical sequel since the story still evokes the same mood of Phantom of the Opera which has a mysterious, dark and twisted tone about it except with a circus like appeal with the aspect of coney island in the early 20th century, it sounds amazing and whether its good or bad, it will definitely be well known and publicized since its already creating so much media attention
If you want to see video of the press launch, which contains a performance of a song from Love Never Dies, go to http://www.loveneverdies.com/. After watching the video I still feel that this show is going to do well initially because of the popularity of the original. Once everyone sees it realizes it is the original then they are going to stop caring. It will just be another flop and everyone will forget about later. The plot, as far as I have heard so far, is just too ridiculous. The great part about the phantom is that he just disappears at the end never to seen again. This musical is now taking away his mysterious appeal.
I am very skeptical about this. I really feel that this could taint the original Phantom, which clearly is still doing incredibly well and doesn't need something tacked on to it to renew interest or anything. I am really unsure about the Coney Island setting, it seems to just be a gimmick with a lot of potential visual appeal. I do agree about the point made in the article that the original seems a bit unfinished, that there is maybe a bit more to tell. But, I don't think that a sequel is the appropriate way to do that. Sometimes things might be better left to the imagination.
Somehow it's not surprising to see a sequel to a show as profitable as Phantom of the Opera. It makes me wonder if it's a show that would have been produced if it wasn't for the tie-in - will it be good enough to be a show in its own right or will it rely on the name and connection to be profitable? And is the goal to produce a new work or will it just be to make more money on a franchise that is seeing more and more competition from other shows?
If this isnt a money making scheme I don't know what it. Not only is it based off a book that Andrew Lloyd Weber didn't really like, but he had trouble hatching it into music until his "genius moment". It scares me that someone who is so talented is gonna throw it all away for money.
My dad is a big fan of Phantom and cannot wait for this to premiere. I just hope it isn't a mess. A "circusesque" theme is planned. Maybe it will take a risk like the other article mentioned. I hope it does. I really hope it does.
As someone who has read the original Phantom, and had listened to the music long before ever seeing the musical live, I have high hopes for Love Never Dies.
Though most might claim that this is just a publicity stunt, for money, kicks, what have you, I don't think Lloyd-Weber could ever ask for more than he has achieved. You don't top the best selling production in history because you want a few extra bucks--you do it because you love it so much you can't let go quite yet. What I really respect is that the music is entirely new, and the interesting scenic shift to one of the most bizarre places I can think of.
WHAT?! What a gimmick! Really?! That's all I can say when I hear about this new show. I think Mr. Lloyd Weber is banking too much on his previous success with this show... I'd see it for the sole purpose of seeing what the heck it's about--how they can possibly continue that story. I think the end of Phantom was perfectly acceptable. Why does this story need to go on?
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