The top twenty is always a good list. Top 20 restaurants. Top 20 London Walks. So many top 20's.
For sure the West End Show, Love Never Dies would be in my top 20 Musicals to see.
In fact it would be number 1 on the list.
For the next 24 hours you can see it online. Just type in youtube Love Never Dies and it will be yours.
It is the extension of the story of the Phantom of the Opera which ends with a big fire and nothing is found of the phantom, only his mask.
But he escaped to Coney Island, and 10 years later the story begins again ....
Watch for carnival performers from the past, those of the early 1920's. Listen to music that is slightly atonal.
Enjoy the thrill of beautiful voices. I saw this show first in London. Then I saw a revision of it in London. Then I saw another revision of the show performed in Australia, but seen by me on YouTube. Last night I viewed yet another revision. I will say that I have seen either the original or some of the revisions many times. More times than I can count on the fingers of both hands. I hope you take a chance to look at even the first 10 minutes of the show. There is no need to commit to seeing the whole show. Just say, oh I tried that. That is enough.
Here the Guardian reviews the reviews.
Arta
I just finished watching the 2011 Australian production. The costuming and staging for Love Never Dies was breathtaking. So hard to choose between that song and Devil Take Hindmost for my favorite song in the musical. That was two hours very well spent. I'm gonna try to get in one more viewing.
ReplyDeleteOh, and the Oo lah lah girls. And how the Bathing Beauty song keeps morphing.
Oh, and the sarcasm in the Just Two Friends sing. Too much. Too good.
My love for this musical will endure.
Richard saw it as well. He told me that he has the CD and listened to it so many times that he has it memorized. I am sure there are 4 versions of this show now. It continues to morph. In version 1, there is a lot of peacock imagery through the whole show which I just loved. Then that disappeared in other versions. Now it is back in the scene where Miss Daae does her concert. There is another enduring line, "Father come and play with me".
ReplyDeleteDuncan and Rebecca watched Phantom the day before. Unfortunately for Duncan he brought all of his intersectionality tools with him to the vewing and behaviours like stalking leaped out to him.
hahaha. it was great watching both Phantom and Love Never Dies with him. He agreed: music, staging, visuals all spectacular. He also said that both of the men were totally messed up, and what Christine really needed was for both of them to get lost. hahaha. He is so right. Doesn't change my love for either these musicals or the opera. Women just don't fare well in these bits of cultural musical storytelling.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were in London, Tonia had tickets for the second night of 'Love Never Dies'. Due to some technical issues the doors did not open on the first night, so our second night tickets became the first night! That version is the best of all four versions and Tonia and I were there. Probably that version will never be seen again.
ReplyDeleteI saw that first version, but not as you did, on its first night. I loved the sound of the sea, the gulls squawking, Madam Gerry coming out of the mist, learning the new word fo me, phantasmagorical -- that is what we were promised. The phantasmagorical. Amazing that we have seen all four versions in some form or another. It is my favourite musical.
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