Love Never Dies - all views allowed

Why did you put quotes around human when referring to Andrew, do you consider him not human?      You FORGOT to answer my question.

I didn't forget.

I'm ignoring you.

Why?

I saw the movie, bought the movie, saw it again on PBS.  I just didn't get it.  And then I bought John Owens-Jones version of "Until I Hear You Sing Again".  I finally got it.  That song was the crux of the whole movie.  And had ALW starred JOJ in this version of LND he would have had another hit on his hands.  John sang the lead song with such passion and verve and he would have brought not only his glorious voice to the movie but would have brought his expert acting ability to bring the part of "Phantom" back to where it needs to be and then  LND would have deserved the recognition that was so lacking in ALW's casting.   Just my 2 cents.

I think anything with John Owen Jones in it would have been better, but I still think that the soap opera/ fan fiction plot and distorted characters would have kept the show second rate at best.

Christina Marie wrote:I saw the movie, bought the movie, saw it again on PBS.  I just didn't get it.  And then I bought John Owens-Jones version of "Until I Hear You Sing Again".  I finally got it.  That song was the crux of the whole movie.  And had ALW starred JOJ in this version of LND he would have had another hit on his hands.  John sang the lead song with such passion and verve and he would have brought not only his glorious voice to the movie but would have brought his expert acting ability to bring the part of "Phantom" back to where it needs to be and then  LND would have deserved the recognition that was so lacking in ALW's casting.   Just my 2 cents.

I saw the Copenhagen production, with a cast to die for. The directing was much tighter and much more romantic. The set design was divine, the costumes gorgeous. The orchestra rich. And parts of the show still made me wanna scream. The libretto is so-so-so bad - both lyrics and storyline. By the time we got to the end scene where Mr. Y sings "Give me the hurt and the pain and the gun, Meg" I was shaking with laughter.

I really don't see how John Owen-Jones could have saved this travesty, divine voice or not. As I wrote, the Copenhagen cast was absolutely fantastic, but it doesn't change the fact that they have to work with a meagre material. I honestly think the same goes for both the West End production, the Aussie ones and the Japanese one. Casting has been consistently good, and it's been parts of what has saved the show. Without stellar cast and good visuals it would have been a true stinker.

While we're at visuals, this Copenhagen set will forever be one of my favourites. A nice nod to the original lair scene, without copying it. Depicted here is Tomas Ambt Kofod and Louise Fribo.

Christina Marie wrote:And then I bought John Owens-Jones version of "Until I Hear You Sing Again".  I finally got it.  That song was the crux of the whole movie.

The original lyric was "'Til I hear you sing once more."  Did they change it to "again"?  I wish they'd written that to start with.

I saw the show (the "revised" version) in London, with few preconceptions, expecting to enjoy it.  That song came early in the show, and I couldn't make sense of the "hear you sing once more."  I kept thinking, 'You've heard her sing hundreds of times.  Just what difference will "once more" make?'  Eventually I realised that what the song really meant was "again."  (And again and again ad infinitum...).  But my puzzlement over that lyric rather spoiled my mood, and it made me more aware of other things in the show that I didn't like.  Although I like Ramin as Phantom, I left the theatre feeling unsatisfied, and the more I thought about it on the way home, the more I realised that LND just didn't work.

Mary

Indeed, Ben Lewis' Crazy Eyes (TM) notwithstanding, casting has never been a problem in this show (frankly, I admire the talent and fortitude of anybody who can get through "Beneath a Moonless Sky" with a straight face). But unlike PotO, which can be elevated above its structural flaws by strong performances, no amount of talent can cover up for LND's awful plot and unsympathetic characters.

~LCD