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operaghostnocturne · 4 years

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The Problem with ‘Love Never Dies.’

“Love Never Dies,” 2012 Starring Ben Lewis as The Phantom, Anna O'Byrne as Christine, watched on Youtube, 4/24/2020 SPOILERS. I would like to note: I enjoyed the set design, costume design, some of the music, and production of this version of Love Never Dies. I also really liked the actor’s performances. They did a good job. I especially loved Ben Lewis’s singing voice. (Derrick Davis ((US Restaged Tour)) is still my favorite.) The problem with Love Never Dies is its a sequel to Phantom of the Opera, the characterization, and writing. ALW’s Phantom of the Opera stands alone. It was never meant to have a sequel. It really doesn’t need one. I do feel there is a big disconnect between POTO and LND. I think LND could be rewritten to have nothing to do with the original POTO and would not suffer for it. To me, LND feels like someone’s fixit fanfic that doesn’t actually fix anything. POTO is also insanely iconic. It is hard to follow it up. While LND’s music is pretty good, I don’t think its nearly as memorable nor iconic as POTO’s. I also don’t feel it balanced original POTO music with new material. Honestly, it needs to pick one. Something ALW does in his musicals is reuses the notes of a song, mixed in a different pattern to make a new one. “The Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You” are like this (look at sheet music if you don’t believe me.) This is not a complaint. This helps with cohesion of a musical. It also makes refrains, duets with battling music, and sometimes even story, clearer. When its done well, its unnoticeable. In fact, I got to play a POTO compilation in a semi-professional concert orchestra in high school. I never noticed ALW does this until when someone pointed it out to me like a month ago. In LND, I can constantly hear the rifts from the first musical, to the point where I think one of those songs is about to start, or it gets super distracting. I noticed this especially in ‘Why Does She Love Me?’ I’m 80% sure it was based of POTO’s main theme (like the song ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ or the ‘Overture.’) Again, I liked most of the music in LND. But it doesn’t hold a candle to POTO. oh look I made a pun. Having said that all that: LND feels like a sequel mostly to 2004. In my opinion, 2004 has the most sympathetic version of the Phantom, and the one that could most likely end up with Christine in the end. Especially compared to the US Restaged Tour. In 04, I also feel like the Phantom and Christine (not their actors) feel closer in age than other productions of the musical, other Phantom adaptations, and even the book. (For those who don’t know: Erik is 50-60 in the book, Christine is like, 16.) LND’s writing is not great. First of all: THE PHANTOM’S NAME IS ERIK. I know they were trying to have a MYSTERY pun. Mister Y does not work for that, especially in a format that ISN’T BEING. READ. I can understand why its left out in POTO, as it lends the Phantom some mystery (though I do not like it.) There is LITERALLY no reason not to have the Phantom called Erik it LND. Granted, this is a complaint I have from POTO too. I kinda feel like the Phantom not having a name dehumanizes him. That is a discussion for another day. I absolutely HATE that the Phantom runs a circus company. A big part of Erik’s trauma comes from being in a freak show. I don’t believe Erik would be willing to go back to that. I also don’t think it would be his scene. The Phantom of the Opera belongs in an Opera house, or at the very least a music all. I don’t know why he couldn’t have started something like that instead of a freak show. Or perhaps be an eccentric composer. Especially if he is getting help from the Giry’s. I do think its fitting that he’s working with/employing disabled, or deformed people, and other societal outcasts. However, being the owner of the VERY THING that treated him horribly is pretty bad, especially since we don’t know if he treats these people any better than he was treated. Also, every time the music switched to ‘show tunes,’ I felt Erik’s soul dying. On that note, when LND shifts from a musical to addressing the audience directly in its ‘show tunes’ sections, its jarring. It breaks the fourth wall way too much and really pulls the audience out of whats going on. The way Erik is in POTO, chased away from the world and the light, is why he is like he is. He became fascinated with the night, the macabre and darkness because of his experiences with the world. That’s a pretty big point in POTO. Its one of the things that make him sympathetic. After all “THE WORLD SHOWED NO COMPASSION TO ME!” is the Phantom’s excuse in the final lair. LND tramples over that. Gustave seems to be interested in the same darkness his biological father is, as seen in “The Beauty Beneath.” Erik’s obsession with the dark, night, and macabre is turned into genetics. Which is pretty bad for Gustave if you think too hard about it. Erik is a serial killer. I do believe talent can be passed in genetics. I also think the way we view said talent and how we use it is shaped by personal experiences and preferences. On that note, Gustave could have gotten his musical abilities from his mother, or his grandfather, both of whom are also talented musicians. Another thing LND suffers from, is making Christine a prize again. Raoul and Erik do not see her as a person. ‘Devil Take the Hindmost’ is literally the boys having a dick measuring contest, with Christine as the prize. That is not okay. I hated the ending. For several reasons. First of all, the Phantom is still abusive. He is a puppet master. He is still not capable of having a healthy relationship with Christine. Secondly, Christine dies. ALW, if you are gonna write a fixit fic the LEAST you could do is let Erik be happy. Plus, Christine is killed by a cliche ‘I just wanted you to notice me’ subplot. One that wasn’t entirely well set up or thought out. Which is disappointing and frustrating. Last two things I hated: when Christine kisses Erik for the last time, she doesn’t take off his mask. I feel like they missed a good opportunity to show Christine being completely accepting of who Erik is, including what he looks like (again, would be better if Erik wasn’t abusive.) I also NEVER like it when we don’t get to see Erik’s deformity in any version of Phantom. The only other one that doesn’t I’ve seen/read is Dance. (Which I dislike greatly. Its at the bottom of my list.) I’m kinda good either way if Gustave goes with Erik or Raoul (preferably neither, if I get a choice, which I don’t.) Erik and Gustave can connect over music in a way Raoul and Gustave cannot. Erik can teach Gustave about music and the beauty beneath. Raoul did raise Gustave. Raoul might also have a serious heart change after the events of LND that we are not shown. Or we can do that one AU where Raoul and Erik become Gustave’s two dad’s (either gay or not, whatever floats your boat.)

The worst thing about LND is it completely ignores the character growth in its predecessor. Characters completely regress into who they were before the ending of POTO. This is annoying and bad writing. Lets start with Meg and Madame Giry. I don’t like that Madame Giry is helping Erik. Yes, she helped him escape the freak show in 2004 (and possibly other versions.) BUT, she was also absolutely TERRIFIED of the Phantom in POTO. She helped Raoul find the Phantom’s Lair, with the full knowledge that Raoul intended to put a stop to Erik’s madness. I think it would be more likely that Madame Giry would stay as far away as Erik as she possibly could. Madame Giry also feels like a secondary greedy villain in LND, and that feels WAY off base for her. Maybe Erik being manipulative has rubbed off on her? Again, I don’t think she would be in this position in the first place (nor would Erik be manipulative, because I see him as realizing he DUN HECKED UP at the end of POTO). Meg, I could see wanting to help the Phantom (she even does in some versions.) I see this as her being enthralled by the legend of the Phantom, and less that they actually know each other. As for her loss of innocence, I don’t think it was set up well, nor was it executed well. Also, Meg wanting the Phantom to see her is a cliche. Cliches can be okay, if they are handled well. I don’t think LND wrote it well. The only person I feel that has consistent characterization from POTO is Raoul (well, a specific version of it.) I have always been of the opinion that Raoul is a jerk. Having him spiral into gambling and drinking after a traumatic event is not surprising. Could be something that was always there, could be PTSD. Who knows, it wasn’t really talked about beyond Raoul feeling sorry for himself, and him being frustrated that he can’t connect to Christine on a musical level. Christine’s arc in POTO was about taking back her own power and becoming her own person. Of letting go of the past and moving forward. This is thrown out. She is once again caught between two men in a dick measuring contest, both of which are trying to manipulate her to one side or the other, completely powerless. This time, there really wasn’t a way for her to get it back. I feel like she felt obligated to sing for the Phantom, even without Gustave’s life being threatened, and the Phantom’s manipulation is what made Raoul leave (Granted, I think Raoul leaving makes sense in the context of LND.) Christine has no agency in LND. Finally, the ending of POTO is what redeems Erik. He is the one with the biggest character arc and character growth. He learns the most. I do believe he had a genuine heart change at the end of POTO. What happened wasn’t what he wanted, but it was what he needed to become a better person, and start moving past his trauma. Ignoring that is a big mistake. Yet, in LND, he is back to being an arrogant, abusive, manipulative, puppet master. Sometimes, I can see small pieces of character growth. He seems less bothered by his appearance, and maybe slightly more mature. Though, even these glimpses are often overshadowed or ignored in the next scene. LND is NOT continuation of the characters we met in POTO. Much of the writing that connects LND with POTO is meh. Honestly, in some ways it feels like less a sequel and more its very own adaption of Phantom. Which is half its problem.

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