Love Never Dies - all views allowed

Funnily enough I am wearing black on Saturday to Her Majesty's:

1. To represent (to myself no one will know) that black is the classic colour of Her Majesty's not the Adelphi.
2. Because it was supposed to be LND's opening.

I'll be wearing black anyway because I'm crewing a show...but now it'll also be for mourning.

I hope LSD creates some T-Shirts. Because then we could wear those.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/7244026/Andrew-Lloyd-Webber-interview.html


With the exception of Cats, which is an oddball, it is always the story that is the most important aspect and when they haven’t worked, as with Woman in White, it was because the story wasn’t right.’
ALW has a tendency to talk up his current projects, presenting them as the hottest thing ever, and then talk them down some years later. I wonder why?


If you looked at the logic of the original, the whole thing falls apart. I remember Hal Prince saying we have to start one scene before the last has ended and let the music overlap – and then just go for it. We don’t need to explain all this because the audience will get it. The story of the Phantom is one of rock masquerading as opera. The passions in Love Never Dies are rock passions.’
Or rather "I always wanted it to be rocknroll, but my original team didn't let me. Now I can have it my way, and it will be soooo much better! Booo y'all!"


All I can say is that I think the story is strong and the lyrics are the best I’ve had since Tim, if you take TS Eliot out of the equation.’
HAHAHAHAHA! This made me laugh so hard! The lyrics are to me the definite lowpoint of LND. They're at times appalling! And that's the hottest thing since Tim Rice?


Lloyd Webber had even been hoping that Sir Tim would come on board to write the lyrics for Love Never Dies. He was quoted as saying: ‘I have implied it and he knows perfectly well to phone me.’
So that last quote was a way of saying to Tim Rice that "Ah well, I didn't need you after all"?


Men over 50 should really have a prostate check regularly. It is the most common form of cancer in men and if you can get it before it angles off into other parts of the body, it’s not a problem.’
I admire him for saying this out loud and hence becoming a spokesman for this type of cancer. Kudos!


As it turned out, the songs from Chess are right up there with some of the very best ever written for musical theatre. If you audition in New York you will always hear four songs from Chess. But still, for me, there was a fundamental problem with the script. It never worked in the theatre, for me.’
I agree with that. The score for Chess is one of the best ever written, in my opinion. But they still struggle with the book. The Stockholm production should still be mentioned as a good piece of theatre, though. Good piece of theatre AND a fantastic score.

operafantomet wrote:
All I can say is that I think the story is strong and the lyrics are the best I’ve had since Tim, if you take TS Eliot out of the equation.’
HAHAHAHAHA! This made me laugh so hard! The lyrics are to me the definite lowpoint of LND. They're at times appalling! And that's the hottest thing since Tim Rice?

Oh dear.

On the plus side, I was delighted to wake up this morning to find that the critics have begun to realise that not all Phantom fans are looking forward to this (something we were complaining about earlier on this thread). Check out this article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2010/feb/17/love-never-dies-andrew-lloyd-webber

That is actually amazing, I can't believe the group made it into the paper. And here we were thinking we were being ignored.

Finally! Some press acknowledgement that NOT all Phantom fans are lining up 'round the block to see the show multiple times (or even one time).

Take that, ALW, and yer Press Machine, too!

~Madame~

They got the group name wrong though...

Thanks for the support folks... I feel a bit better....

And I must say I really loved the article from the Gaurdian! Yes, it got the group name wrong, but I was just sooo pleased to see our sentiments represented! Nice to read an article that actually reflects what I'm feeling instead of another round of RUG propoganda "...the Phans are just so excited about LND..."

I am all in for the Wearing of the Black. Which day should we un-celebrate this? Feb 20? March 9? I don't think it really matters that we won't all be marching in protest in front of the Adelphi wearing our 'I Hate LND' sandwich boards (though it would be cool!). It's the thought that counts, and the sending of our communal karma into the universe....

I personally think we've gotten our point through: not all phans have been awaiting the sequel since the dawn of time, and not all will run to buy tickets for it. I'm glad someone in the British press caught up on this.

Protesting outside the theatre would feel less in sync with the humoristic tone the "LSD campaign" have had. If anything, it would give the fans ammunition in the "you're not true fans, you're all haters" thing they have going. Those who want to see the musical, should definitely be free to do so, and to enjoy it. I personally have been so repulsed with the stuff I've heard that I feel like ignoring it in total. I might change my mind later on, but as of now it's just not a part of my Phantom world.

Yay! Finally a nice article to read

Would it even be worth demonstrating outside the Adelphi? I hope this goes off the radar in a year or two with not too much attention. Maybe I'll be completely wrong and this will be a hugh success, but with ALW:s latest track record and what we've heard so far it doesn't seem very likely. How did The Woman in White do? A year and half in London and only a few months on Broadway? And I even liked that one despite its flaws. This has boring music, mediocre lyrics and a silly story, though admittedly the general audience might not care too much about the inconsistencies of the story. But even if you don't care enough to think it's weird that all characters from the original have completely gone bananas in this, I think that the story doesn't come across as very good anyway.

And I also think there is something desperate about the marketing campaign. As soon as someone tries to market their product like there is no tomorrow I get suspicious. When people are screaming in my face that I have to love this, this is the best show ever, the music is ALW:s best in decades, the lyrics are the best ALW has had since Tim Rice etc etc, it always seems to me as if the thing isn't that good. If it was they wouldn't have to shout so loudly about it. And besides, I can easily for myself see that the music, the lyrics and the story lacks a lot and that is quite a big part of the show.

Phantomlove wrote:And I also think there is something desperate about the marketing campaign. As soon as someone tries to market their product like there is no tomorrow I get suspicious. When people are screaming in my face that I have to love this, this is the best show ever, the music is ALW:s best in decades, the lyrics are the best ALW has had since Tim Rice etc etc, it always seems to me as if the thing isn't that good. If it was they wouldn't have to shout so loudly about it. And besides, I can easily for myself see that the music, the lyrics and the story lacks a lot and that is quite a big part of the show.

Agreed, it's like those kitschy mail-order catalogues you get in the mail, where they stick comments like "Great quality!", "Big hit in the US!" and "Luxurious!" on every other product... The more such comments on a product, the lousier it is... Just sayin'....

ETA: From the article "The Phantom and the Chorus Girl", February 1988
“It’s the first show I’ve ever done that I go to often and with a notebook, even when the third understudy is on. I go expecting to nip out at halftime, but I find that I really do enjoy it. It’s probably a dangerous moment. It may mean I’m getting old,”

( http://www.early-sarah-brightman.com/1980s_newspaper_articles.htm#Chills,%20Thrills%20and%20Trapdoors - scroll up an article)

So he seem to have loved it back in 1986/1987/1988, and now he thinks the story is nonsense? I don't get it.

I will be shocked to say the least if this so called dress rehearsal goes ahead tomorrow, ALW would be an idiot to premiere his new musical in an open rehearsal. So glad I didn't prepay that hotel room!

HerMajesty wrote:I will be shocked to say the least if this so called dress rehearsal goes ahead tomorrow, ALW would be an idiot to premiere his new musical in an open rehearsal. So glad I didn't prepay that hotel room!

Someone on WOS is now claiming that, astonishingly, the Lord IS going to premiere it as an open rehearsal.

dolly-ry...maybe I should bring my LSD LND tickets with me on Saturday? We could use them to sneak into the Adelphi if we can be bothered after seeing Phantom tomorrow...doubt I will want to but you never know!

Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote:If you looked at the logic of the original, the whole thing falls apart.

You keep on saying that, ALW, but I still don't know what you mean. How exactly does the original "fall apart"? What part of it doesn't make sense? With exceptions in the form of minute details that only hardcore phans ever notice (see the DP threads "The Timeline Issue" and "Don Juan and the Plotholes of Doom" for examples), the original is perfectly understandable, and far more logical than the load of crap you're peddling right now.

Scorp wrote:

HerMajesty wrote:I will be shocked to say the least if this so called dress rehearsal goes ahead tomorrow, ALW would be an idiot to premiere his new musical in an open rehearsal. So glad I didn't prepay that hotel room!

Someone on WOS is now claiming that, astonishingly, the Lord IS going to premiere it as an open rehearsal.

dolly-ry...maybe I should bring my LSD LND tickets with me on Saturday? We could use them to sneak into the Adelphi if we can be bothered after seeing Phantom tomorrow...doubt I will want to but you never know!

Really?! Oh I do hope not, I can't be bothered to go to London tomorrow but morbid curiousity may take over!

Oh Scorp this is intriguing. I say bring them... just in case. I've heard that everyone finds out tonight if it goes ahead so I am sure we will hear what happens there.

The new phantom has curly, wavy hair.







although in some photos of Colm, his wig was not as straight and slicked down as others, he has a slight wave at times.

It also seems they dont plan to have him as bald as in part one, rather just a piece of the wig comes off over the cracked skull.

Again a reference to the Movie version over the stage version

justin-from-barbados wrote:The new phantom has curly, wavy hair.





although in some photos of Colm, his wig was not as straight and slicked down as others, he has a slight wave at times.

It also seems they dont plan to have him as bald as in part one, rather just a piece of the wig comes off over the cracked skull.

Again a reference to the Movie version over the stage version

WTFawg[ajwaewpjhaew[hwe][i3qwkwy[g4ehretrymyt23ewgy-hrfdewgaogagpjapwgtjwapgtuwa-pgapehjepghea w3tu0gyhrjte;wa3tyyhjnmfthisissoshiteseghs[0se-u0[whjer.

Picture? Report it to LSD, I'm sure they'll love exploiting that.

And apparently there is NO dress rehearsal tomorrow according to another poster on WOS. Which sounds more realistic to me. Good riddance. dolly-ry, maybe I should bring my LND tickets anyway and we can do a ritual burning of them in front of HM's. Do you have a lighter?

I don't smoke but my other half does, I'll steal his lighter ha ha ha. I say you bring them, we can do something with them anyway. And I am sure the decision is to be taken TONIGHT so everyone on WOS is speculating.

I just checked LSD after reading Justin's post and lo and behold...it's true. OH DEAR. Not that I was expecting any logical connection between the two deformities. The worse this gets the better, I say. I want this to have no connection with the original show what.so.ever.

dolly-ry wrote:I don't smoke but my other half does, I'll steal his lighter ha ha ha. I say you bring them, we can do something with them anyway. And I am sure the decision is to be taken TONIGHT so everyone on WOS is speculating.

We could burn them in front of the LND sign, LOL. Or walk to the Adelphi afterwards and burn them there. I was also thinking of bringing my camera so Gina can do her 'vote for Phantom' YouTube phenomenon vid to help Phantom win the Olivier, lol.

justin-from-barbados wrote:The new phantom has curly, wavy hair.







although in some photos of Colm, his wig was not as straight and slicked down as others, he has a slight wave at times.

It also seems they dont plan to have him as bald as in part one, rather just a piece of the wig comes off over the cracked skull.

Again a reference to the Movie version over the stage version

Oh my God, he's become Staller!Erik...only prettier, apparently.

And as for the plot of the original...well, some of it is kind of silly when you look at it. To that I say: your point is...? I mean, have you ever really looked at the plot of Oklahoma (the entire first act is about who takes who to a dance, fercrissake!)? Aida? Romeo and Juliet (or about half of Shakespeare's output, for that matter)? Not every show has to be Company or Cabaret--not if it finds a way of resonating with the audience. Which PotO, quite obviously, has done for some time now.

~LCD

I actually think that's a great idea on both counts, I am now going to check out this awful deformity, wavy hair etc.

Oh and I checked WOS one of the posters who says there isn't a dress run sort of "knows" Ramin, it is the composer of Bluebird (if it is really him posting since it is under guest, however it is in the same style as he has posted before.)

ETA: This was in response to Scorp by the way.

Just have to bring this back:

Looks like we're free to burn them:

I am so sorry, we are just not going to make a public dress rehearsal
tomorrow.

Surprise!

At one point we were optimistic, but we now have to accept that it
just cannot be done. Two particularly technical scenes were giving us trouble
at the beginning of the week. Now they are corrected we need every hour to
run the show before Monday.

The sexbot scenes?

If you haven't already done so, you will now want to re-book.

Haha! I don't think so!

We are holding
seats on March 5th and March 8th for this purpose but we will try and fit you
into another performance of your choice if they are not convenient, although
that might not be possible for some months.

Oh whatever, Andy, I know the show's not sold out.

When you do get to see the show,
please take your original tickets for the cancelled performance on February
20th to the box office where you will be given vouchers for complimentary
interval drinks and programmes with our apologies for inconveniencing you.

No thanks, I plan on ritually burning them.

Despite this obvious disappointment, I hope you will enjoy the show when you
eventually see it.

Well yes, the show IS a disappointment. I won't ever see it.

Yours,
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andre Ptaszynski
For Love Never Dies

Aw.

Re: the new deformity,
Neill Gorton does some amazing prosthetic work (I recognize him from his behind-the-scenes interviews on "Doctor Who") so that doesn't really concern me. He runs the company Millennium FX that does a lot of make-up effects for movies & TV. Plus we've already gotten a range of different looking deformities in just the various worldwide productions of Phantom, so for it not to match the Broadway one doesn't really mean anything. It's still being designed for the stage, so it will look more disfigured than the film. And as to the wigs, well, the Phantom wore a wig in the original anyway, so if he decided he wanted to change it up and put on one that was a bit wavier, that still doesn't really break character or anything.

I'll need to get the lighter off my other half then Scorp, as long as I get it back to him ha ha. I'm not surprised the dress rehearsal isn't going ahead but I know there will be people who were optimistic and will be disappointed that is a shame.

O/T but someone please convince me not to go to Legally Blonde matinee tomorrow to see the understudy Elle. I am trying to be good and not go to too many shows these days. HA!

We are holding
seats on March 5th and March 8th for this purpose but we will try and fit you
into another performance of your choice if they are not convenient, although
that might not be possible for some months.
When you do get to see the show,
please take your original tickets for the cancelled performance on February
20th to the box office where you will be given vouchers for complimentary
interval drinks and programmes with our apologies for inconveniencing you.

Wow. I have to say, that is extremely generous of them! I really have to commend them for this. First previews on Broadway are often delayed/canceled/pushed back, and there are never any concessions made to the audience beyond refunding the tickets (and usually not the Ticketmaster/Telecharge fees!) No one is given the choice to come back at specific performances, unless they want to simply book new seats on their own. And as for giving free drinks? Ha! That would never happen.