Love Never Dies in Concert - Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Alright, I was at yesterdays matinee and am one of the biggest fans of the original production. Much has been said already, but I'd like to add my own thoughts.

Firstly, let's get out of the way what I thought about Norm Lewis. I have been such a big fan of his after hearing him sing Stars in les miz. Saw him a couple of times in other things, such as Little Mermaid on Broadway. Always a solid singer and performer. I hyped him up to my brother before the show and was so excited to hear him sing the score. But man, did he disappoint. I could not believe it. After the gazillionth line flub, off key note and blackout I felt offended. I know the score by heart, the original version as well as the new one. Saw the show multiple times on the west end and the new productions in Hamburg and US tour. I know what the lines are supposed to be and he made so many mistakes. He was standing, as the star, before a full Drury Lane and even got billing on the poster.. This was not good enough. It was just bad.

Celinde was perfection as always. Saw her in Phantom a few years ago, so seeing her in this show was a lovely experience. She's beautiful and touched my heart during Love Never Dies. I do prefer Sierra's voice and performance. Totally fell in love with her in the original show, but Celinde did something special with Love Never Dies (the song) which I won't soon forget. No one has been able to replicate Sierra and Ramin's chemistry though. In LND or any other romantic production. Also big credit to the direction of the original for that. I know the show gets lots of hate, but man, was it something special.

In my opinion all the changes to the original are making it worse. Like others have said, the original opening was magical. I was blown away by the effects and music of the Coney Island Waltz. Now it's a number I can't wait to be over. Putting Till I Hear You Sing at the start of the show just takes the whole flow out of the piece and feels like a desperate attempt to give the audience what they came for: the phantom. Him revealing himself later in the story works so much better though.

Raoul and Meg were standouts yesterday.

Was also super excited to hear Sally Dexter live after all these years on the album. She's spot on in the recording for me, but left a bit to be desired yesterday. Felt like the score was a bit too much to ask of her voice nowadays.

The orchestra was superb. The only thing which was weird was how The Beauty Underneath started on a track and everyone in the orchestra, except the 2nd keys, were just sitting there. It's a concert! But I can say nothing else but good things about the music.

The one who stole the show for me was the little guy playing Gustave. What a star. Never seen another kid this good in the role. Sang like an angel, acted well and was just so cute.

Impressed how Nic Greenshields as Squelch managed to miss every single note, Charles Brunton as Gangle was stronger in the original. In the new version he is required to sing very low parts (used to be Squelch) and it just did not suit him like his original character in my opinion. Fleck was okay.

All in all had a great time. I am afraid there's been so much tinkering with the show that it just does not work as well as it did. Let alone work better than it did originally. It used to feel more coherent and now feels like a lot of exposition on familiar phantom tunes to try holding the audiences attention. But the new music is strong enough on it's own and they should just trust in that. However, they still do manage to hit the bullseye emotionally at the end so what can I say. Sorry for the long post.

12 years, this week ...   but - you are right!  I've found an Unhappy Eric on YouTube who was, in 2010, very naughty ...   

What an absolute privilege to see one of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s most beautiful scores performed by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra.

It may have only been a short run of concerts but this stellar cast has certainly left a lasting impression. Celinde Schoenmaker was entirely deserving of the mid-show standing ovation she received for the title number. Breathtaking stuff.

Norm Lewis was fine as the Phantom, I must have missed all the mistakes others have mentioned! Courtney Stapleton as Meg Giry was inspired casting and what a pleasure to see Sally Dexter in all her glory as Madame Giry.

If the audience response is anything to go by, surely a limited run at the very least is on the cards sometime in the future.

Guaranteed flop!

Perhaps this concert version, highly staged (apparently; I wasn't there) is the absolute best - and most - this should be. ALW being buoyed up by its mainly rapturous reaction could lead to another mistake. Bring it back like this for a special season. An unusual gorgeously scored adjunct to the original is enough.

Well I have to say I loved the West End production, loved this staged concert version and I would love to see it back. It’s amazing how so many people have hated this show since it’s conception.

Why?

I don’t think it’s hate, its more confusion in that it was marketed as a sequel to Phantom but has a completely different vibe to the original, both with regard to the book and score.

Furthermore, many of the characters, beloved by many from the original seemed to have suffered personality transplants (maybe twas the phantom in his bonkers lair!). So audiences tended to be bewildered.

Also it wasn’t great the title song is a complete rip off of the apartment theme from the 1960s…. Such a shame.

Also Im interested to know why it’s amazing that people don’t love this show which has a woeful plot and a truly dreadful script. Care to elaborate ?

Is a decent score enough? I don’t think so.

I think you are confused. The amazing comment was about the show since conception. Not this 3 day concert.

First off, I’d like to say that this board is the nicest I’ve been on. I’ve attempted to post some on boards like broadwayworld, but got some very nasty replies. So thank you all for making this space so wonderful.

Secondly, I think one of the things that hurt the original the most was the promotional poster. Of course me and my dark little heart loved it, but I distinctly remember having to drag my parents to what they thought would be a horror show.

I mean I don't drink alcohol and I thought Norm was pretty good so...there goes that theory!