The film Love Never Dies finds the characters of
the Phantom of the Opera ten years
later, against the backdrop of Coney Island, New York. Carnival lights, clowns,
broken roller coasters, and fallen signboards set the atmosphere as viewers
witness the bizarre and Gothic macabre that is the Phantoms Aerie. Christine Daée,
now an accomplished Prima Donna, returns to the story by way of Australian born
Soprano Sarah O’Byrne whose voice successfully encompasses the role of the
original character audiences remembered her by at the end of Phantom. O’Byrne’s character finds
herself on the other side of the Atlantic with her husband Raoul, played by Simon
Gleeson, and their ten year old son Gustave, played beautifully by Kurtis
Papadinis. Christine is once more lured into the Phantom’s hands, portrayed by
accomplished baritone Ben Lewis.
Love never dies is
a beautiful new piece by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber that stands more as a
musical of its own than it does the sequel to Webber’s 1986 hit Phantom of the Opera. The musical
portrays distinct aspects of each character and focuses on the alter-egos of
the original characters from the original show. The setting is no longer a
nightmarish opera house but instead an outlandish replica of New York’s Coney
Isle. Unlike many sequels, Webber successfully avoids mooching off of his
previous work and instead develops new themes, new settings, and in a sense,
new characters. Love never dies has
entirely new music; however, Webber cleverly and meticulously articulates segue
and major musical interludes from his original work such as opening chords to
the overture and hints of Twisted Every Way
and Think of Me, into this new work
that both Phantom “Phans” and laypersons can easily recognize and enjoy. 
Dissimilar
to its predecessor, this sequel does not draw deep emotions nor does it achieve
the sense of peril, awe, mystery, and sadness from its audience. Nonetheless it
contains worthwhile new insight into a potential ending to the story of the
Phantom and satisfies the need for an ending for those who despise cliffhangers.
This new work lacks the thrill, pyrotechnics, and illusory props of the Phantom:
there are no crashing, plunging chandeliers on fire, foggy boat rides on
fantastical underwater caverns are also not employed in this new work, flaming
staffs that spew fire are apparently passé and floating candelabras on wires
are replaced with well-stabilized carnival lights.
