Andrew Lloyd Webber’s LOVE NEVER DIES continues the “Phantom” story at the Fox
– By Cate Marquis –
Andrew Lloyd Webber continues his THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with sequel LOVE NEVER DIES at the Fabulous Fox, Sept. 18-30, 2018. The production is the opener for the Fox’s 2018-2019 and that timing couldn’t be better, as the Fox hosted PHANTOM OF THE OPERA just this past spring.
Many might wonder whether THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA really needs a sequel. In fact, Lloyd Webber does not consider it a sequel, and the story is based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel “The Phantom of Manhattan.” The composer has worked for about ten years to get this musical on stage. The book is by Ben Elton, with lyrics by Glenn Slater and Charles Hart set to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s music.
LOVE NEVER DIES brings an early touch of Halloween, with this new chapter of the Phantom story set in the sideshow world of Coney Island in the early 20th century. Coney Island delights kids with roller coasters, cotton candy and beaches, but the amusement park has a darker side, offering stranger, titillating delights like circus sideshow attractions, hoochie-coochie dancers, and bathing beauty reviews.
The story takes place ten years later, when the Phantom (Bronson Norris Murphy) is hiding out as Mr. Y, the owner of Coney Island show. The show is managed by Madame Giry (Karen Mason) from the Paris opera and features her daughter Meg (Mary Michael Patterson) as the star of the vaudeville-style Bathing Beauty Revue. When the newspapers announce that Christine Daaé (Meghan Picerno), now a world-famous opera star, is coming to New York to open the new Manhattan Opera House for an important impresario, old feelings rush back for the Phantom.
Christine is now married to Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny (Sean Thompson) and they have a son, Gustave (Christian Harmston and Jake Heston Miller and in alternating performances). Although Christine is now a big star, her marriage is troubled. Her husband drinks and gambles, and has run through all his money. They are broke and need this job but Raoul grumbles about everything, and is bad-tempered, even abusive to Christine. She looks pretty miserable but focuses on her beloved son Gustave.
A trio of wonderfully strange figures, the Phantom’s henchmen, introduce the story and serve as a kind of chorus and narrators, and the colorful trio just about steal the show. Katrina Kemp plays Fleck, Richard Koons is Squelch and Stephen Petrovich appears as Gangle. Much of the entertainment delight of the show is in these characters, who imbue the production with a sense of sinister circus and Halloween mood. If you are afraid of clowns, this show won’t help.
The colorful carnival aspect of the show is heightened by the eye-popping sets, dazzling beaded costumes, and sparkling circus-like production numbers. Red and gold, sequins and feathers, and a profusion of mirrors transform the stage into a magical version of Coney Island. The amusement park’s famous roller coaster and piers are suggested by large rotating sets. For staging, the production delivers delights, and the visual fantasy is the main appeal of the production.
The story is really rehashes the rivalries of the original in many ways, but the villain role is shared by Madame Giry, resentful at the return of Christine. The music is familiar as well, referencing but not completely reprising some tunes from the original like “Angel of Music,” although not the big hits “Masquerade” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” The new songs are tuneful but not as memorable as the ones in the original.
The singing and acting are wonderful, with both Bronson Norris Murphy as the Phantom and Meghan Picerno as Christine having the big showy voices the roles call for. The supporting cast are all very good, both acting and singing, with young Christian Harmston as Gustave a vocal standout, who got some of the biggest applause on opening night.
The carnival trio were so entertaining, they nearly stole the show. They were called on to dance, perform acrobatics, sing and act, often on moving sets, and add the biggest entertainment highlights. Mary Michael Patterson, as Meg Giry, the vaudeville singer/dancer who longs for the Phantom’s attention and has ambitions to sing opera, is excellent in her saucy vaudeville numbers.
LOVE NEVER DIES is an entertaining Halloween-themed production as it revisits themes of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom.
© Cate Marquis
