Archive for Musicals.Net Musicals.Net |
| RainbowJude |
LOVE NEVER DIES Production DetailsIt's official. Playbill reports that Sierra Boggess and Ramin Karimloo will open the first productions of Love Never Dies.
So that, as they as, is that... |
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| music is my life!!! |
i hope it comes to london. and that there are open casting calls 
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| Yakko |
I feel so sorry for them....Let's hope that their careers will not be ruined by this show. | ||||
| Pastiche |
Here is the original story by Baz, the Brit show biz writer and sometime drama critic. He is the sole media person ALW is using to let out bits of information about the sequel.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1197158/BAZ-BAMIGBOYE-Beyonce-wants-soul-sister.html The article contains quite a lot of information, including "...He works with former Paris Opera ballet mistress Madame Giry (sung on the album by Sally Dexter) and her daughter Meg (now famous as bathing beauty the Ooh La La girl), sung by Summer Strallen. AND.....The Christine automaton IS in the show. |
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| operafantomet |
And surprise, surprise - our friend Baz is very enthusiastic about the project and its content.... |
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| RainbowJude |
Baz Bamigboye
I don't know what to make of Bamigboye's rapturous reaction to the concept album. But I wouldn't be surprised if his name appeared on the Really Useful payroll. Later days David |
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| Pastiche |
Not necessary. His payback is being the unofficial source of all of the real information about the sequel. He gets the scoop, and all of the other media reports just have to use his articles as a source.
----prestige, respect, etc. |
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| RainbowJude |
Any prestige and respect he gets based on the quality of his writing will be from a bunch of half-wits. His attempts at journalism is a joke and he clearly has a rather limited a reference base for musical theatre based on what he's written here. If selling his voice for exclusive Love Never Dies news is the best he can do, he doesn't deserve any proper kudos for his work. Later days David |
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| Pastiche |
--Didn't say I liked him---just saying what I think he might consider a payback.
Someone on another forum defended him by saying Baz WAS a drama critic. I'm an American, and I had the impression that he was mostly a show biz gossip columnist and an entertainment columnist at best. ---But I read his column only when it has something in it about POTO or ALW or the sequel. Is his reputation as bad as David says? |
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| Pastiche |
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/2009/08/01/andrew-lloyd-webber-i-m-a-quality-control-freak-91466-24280490/
...While he’s still working out his plans for The Wizard Of Oz, when it comes to Love Never Dies everything has been completed. He’s now counting down the days to the London premiere next March, which he says will be one of the biggest nights of his career. “It’s finished and recorded and done and dusted from my point of view. I have to keep it under wraps now. It’s odd to have something this far ahead finished. “The next stage is the production. We will announce the cast in a few weeks’ time. The album’s finished and I’m very pleased with it. The cast are well-known in theatre terms. Someone has played the Phantom before and the girl has played a lead on Broadway. I think there will be quite a lot of people who would like to record the songs before the show opens.” Andrew says plans to resurrect his beloved Phantom – which opened in the West End in 1986, with his then wife Sarah Brightman as Christine, and had grossed more than $5bn worldwide by 2007 – have been in the pipeline for a long time. “I thought about it a long, long time ago and couldn’t make it so abandoned it. I started thinking about it again two years ago. “I was working on something completely different with Ben Elton and explained to him what the problem was. “He said, ‘I can give you an outline which I think will unlock it completely.’ Ben and I put together a synopsis which showed promise.” Even hugely successful people suffer with nerves it seems, and Andrew admits he will be nervous about the reaction to Love Never Dies. “This one is unlike anything I’ve done before. It’s the continuing story of something that’s not only been the biggest thing in my career but the biggest thing there’s been in entertainment in the last 20 years. To that extent there will be a huge spotlight on it. I’m slightly relieved to have recorded the album first. People will have the chance to see what they think of the music in advance of everything else.” While he’s not revealing the names of the cast, one person who’s definitely not in it is Katherine Jenkins. “I know her very well,” he says of the Neath-born singer. “We have never worked together. She’s a very interesting girl – very beautiful and a wonderful personality with a great voice. It’s just that everything happens at different times. “She would not be quite right for me for Love Never Dies – she’s a mezzo soprano, not a soprano. ... |
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| dolbinau |
When is the concept album actually being released? | ||||
| RainbowJude |
LOVE NEVER DIES Production Details
Only on the 9th of March. Meanwhile.... Previews begin tonight! |
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| Yakko |
http://www.stagetalk.co.uk/reviews/review-you-will-believe-love-never-dies-after-seeing-this/
Well folks.......What I read just disgusted me so much.....that I can't even listen to music it's self any longer. This is just how upset I am about this. In fact this is FAR worse then The Phantom of Manhattan! And if you ask me this is a bad miracle! |
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| ~Masquerade Dancer~ |
AGREED. I still can't believe it. The ending is horrible, MUCH worse than Phantom of Manhattan. |
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| Mungojerrie_rt |
Yep. Just as cheesy and slap-bang ending as POTO. | ||||
| EponineBarker |
*shakes head* Leroux must be rolling in his grave right now...that ending was terrible! |
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| fender_outta_hock |
That is so horrible. that makes it harder to enjoy the original and be satisfied by the ending knowing that this ridiculousness happens afterward. |
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| Mistress |
WTF?! I'm more pissed off about the butchering of Raoul than the ridiculous ending, but I seriously hope it crashes and burns horribly.
BUT being ALW, it be unnaturally long-lived 
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| operafantomet |
According to "Love Should Die" on Facebook, his grandchildren aren't thrilled about the sequel at all... |
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| SomeoneLikeYou |
I feel the exact same way. Leroux's grandchildren have every right to be pulling their hair out...THERE'S NOTHING MORE TO THE STORY, DAMNIT! This atrocity completely destroys the Phantom's character. At the end of PotO, he accepts that he and Christine cannot be together and is finally willing to let go so she can be happy with Raoul. The sequel just makes him unsympathetic. Now he comes off as really selfish and unconcerned with anyone's (including Christine's) happiness but his own. What kind of message is that? |
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| Hans |
I must admit I'm a little disappointed. I kind of wished it would tiurn out to be a little more scandalous. Sex dolls and insanity. Which I now realise would make a GREAT title:
Sex Dolls and Insanity HAHAHA |
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| MyTrueLove |
It´s so sad. There are so many possibilties to tell the story, but not this way. There many ways to tell the sequel with depth and a great story. | ||||
| Pastiche |
I haven't seen LND and probably won't, but ever since the first preview, I've been reading reports from people who have seen it .
Some things fans guessed about aren't there. The Phantom isn't a rapist (although some might call Christine a tart since she looks for and finds him the night before she marries Raoul), and the Phantom doesn't get it on with the Christine bot although it does appear in the show. The earliest reports were mostly negative, some saying the show is a complete mess and others pointing mainly to the end of the show as being very weak. Since then, reports have been much more mixed. Some people who have seen it like it a lot, and others think it is really bad! The cast, especially Ramin, are pretty much praised by everyone. The music gets praise although some people don't like the mixture of different styles which to them jar rather than work well together. One number is a flat-out rock song, others are typical ALW ballads, and there is tacky sounding burlesque music for a couple of scenes involving tacky, burlesque situations. Meg's "Bathing Beauty" song is an example of this last. There is a significant amount of recitative. Some early attendees thought the music was great, and others thought it was OK but nothing special. Several people who went to the very first previews commented that the first big scene with loads of special effects is terrific, but that scenery and effects go downhill as the show proceeds. The very first scene, "Prologue," which precedes the effects-laden scene, is very reminiscent of the Prologue scene of the original show. Some people said that although they enjoyed the show as a whole, they just didn't care much about any of the characters, and there was a lack of tension in places where there should have been tension. Several commented that once past the first scene, not much was made of the possibilities of Coney Island. Even some of those who didn't like the show a lot said they would like to see it again. The creative team are sure to be making some changes, but theater fans say that although the ending and some other things will be changed, there will probably be no major changes in scenery or the story or the characterizations in this fairly short preview time. |
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| Jester-Jester Johnson |
Despite all of this, I'll still listen to the album and probably go see it. | ||||
| operafantomet |
I find it more appalling that she sneaks out to have sex with him, and is ready to follow him wherever he goes (so say the lyrics), but when he leaves her she crawls back to Raoul. Not only that, she marries him knowing her heart lies elsewhere, and apparently pretends the Phantom's son is Raoul's. It seems very out-of-character. And how she can tell whose son it is is beyond me... So he has a musical ear. But why wouldn't he, he has a musical mother, he has a musical grandfather... Actually, they're both hailed as exceptional talents. Why would her son's musical gifts automatically be seen as a proof of him being the Phantom's son? But I agree about your write-up. Except I think the lyrics should have a honourable mention of being some of the worst dribble to ever hit the London stage. |
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| Yakko |
The Beauty Underneth is the whole reason why I now hate anything Phantom related. | ||||
| Mistress |
I think the whole reason why the plot and characters are so awful is that they totally ignore the original concept/musical/novel.
1) The Phantom was Christine's stalker-he was obsessively in love with her, BUT IT WAS NEVER MUTUAL. 2) Said love wasn't mutual because Christine was MORTALLY TERRIFIED of the Phantom, at least until the end when she grew to pity him. Again, PITY, not love (although phangirls would have you believe otherwise). The closest Christine ever came to loving the Phantom besides the pity, was the kind of erotic curiosity she experienced in the musical. He was mysterious, and thus kinda sexy, especially to a hormonal teenage girl, but ultimately far to frightening to inspire romantic love. 3) Raoul is/was the ROMANTIC HERO. Not a fop (although sometimes he does look like one in certain incarnations), not an idiot, and certainly not a alcoholic jerk. He loved Chrisitne, and she loved him. He took care of her. Nowhere was there a hint of him being an asshole, which is why I hate what happened to him in the sequel so much. It's totally out of character for him. Out of character for everyone else too actually, Meg especially. That's really why (IMO) the plot feels so contrived and so much like a really bad fanfiction. It pulls out plotlines and character formations out of thin air. POM is actually not bad compared to it. It at least stayed true to Meg as the loyal friend, and Raoul as the hero, lover and protector. Hell, even the Christine/Phantom relationship was fairly faithful. Yes they had sex, but it's hinted that it's not really 100% mutual (once again IMO). I don't want to say outright rape, but pity sex seems like a good bet. And Christine still loves, and is loyal to, Raoul. She's kind to the Phantom, allows him to see his child, kind of cares for him, in a pitying, motherly sort of way, but is nonetheless still frightened of him. The plot's not exceptional, but the characters haven't been butchered, and that helps it a lot... Any way, that's my two cents on the whole matter. |
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| Alexia Dark |
*applauds*
Well said. My thoughts exactly. |
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| EponineBarker |
I second that, it was very well-said, Mistress. 
I agree...and I thought Christine was kinda whore-ish in the first one (in the movie moreso than the stage production) but this really takes the cake for ruining one's character. After hearing this, I could care less if Christine dies in the end. I typically don't like wishing death on other people, but I'll definately make an exception for Christine because: 1. She's a fictional character and 2. She totally deserved it for screwing (but literally and figuretively) with both men. As for her son having a musical ear, I think it could come from both sides of the family, because in the original book, (if I remember correctly) Raoul could play the violin (he was taught by Christine's father.) |
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| LoveShouldDie |
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/1 ... ebber-I-still-take-risks-
http://blogs.thestage.co.uk/shenton/2 ... h-a-sequel-as-a-backlash/ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comm ... rticle/article7050417.ece http://entertainment.timesonline.co.u ... /stage/article7050528.ece LSD |
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| Pastiche |
I don't like what they have done to Raoul because they need a foil to the Phantom (or "Mister Y") or to Meg. It's necessary for the story, but then....I don't like the story. It has been argued that they *must* have changed in ten years, and that there is nothing in the original show to rule out Meg idolizing the Phantom to the point she will prostitute herself to help him or Raoul becoming a compulsive gambler and a drunk. Using that argument, they could have made Meg a serial killer and Raoul a policeman in Boston. I still don't like Phantom of Manhattan. It's a very mediocre book and a bad Phantom seque. |
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| superwickedfan33 |
Ok so let me get this straight. Basically ALW made Raoul a big jerk and Christine goes to the phantom because of it?!? You have got to be kidding me. Or maybe I mis-interpreted? | ||||
| ~Masquerade Dancer~ |
I'm under that impression also. I think it's right 
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| MyTrueLove |
I´ve read many opinions/reviews about people who visited the previews. Some like it and some not.
I like the pic I´ve seen, I like the music I´ve heard. I am very curious about the show. I was skeptical, but now I am only a little bit. I think we should give them a chance. That´s my opinion. Phantom was everytime a theme what people discussed. I wanna say something after seeing the show and hearing the CD. |
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| High-baritonne |
Well, isn't Love Never Dies set 10 years or so after The Phantom of the Opera? If so, then it is more than plausible enough that Characters have changed! Pity can turn to love in 10 years, a hero can turn to a fop in ten years, and the phantom can certainly have changed in 10 years, seeing his recently social "activities".
So I think that it is rather stupid to just jump to a conclusion and say that Love Never Dies doesn't fit it's characters, because for all we know, this story mat be more plausible than the last one! And I really can't imagine Andrew Lloyd Webber screwing up to make an even worse musical than The Phantom of the Opera. |
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| Pastiche |
Plausible or implausible, the "last one" has been pleasing theater goers for quite a while. I can imagine Lloyd Webber screwing up to make an even worse musical than the Phantom of the Opera. He might well have done it. |
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| Pastiche |
Raoul doesn't become a jerk until after their marriage, assumedly. I don't think a time frame is given. I am going by the lyrics and by comments from people who have seen the show (I haven't), but I believe that Christine seeks out the Phantom, wherever it is he is hiding, some time after the events of the Final Lair. It's the night before her wedding to Raoul. She doesn't go with the *conscious* intention of having sex with him, but get real. When she kissed him the second time in The Lair, there was a hint that she was more than sorry for him. It's obvious in the LND scene, that she doesn't exactly put up a fight. Part of the lyrics: Christine: I strode to your side to tell you I must go I couldn’t see your face, but sensed you even so And I touched you, P: And I felt you Both: And I heard those ravishing refrains C: The music of the past P: The singing of your veins C: And I held you P: And I touched you C: And embraced you P: And I felt you B: And with every breath and every sigh C: I felt no longer scared P: I felt no longer shy Both: At last our feelings bared beneath a moonless sky. |
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| Mistress |
The meaning behind the kiss is a matter of opinion (I guess I was being a tad forceful with my last coment". After Gerry!Phantom obsession died down, my opinion went more to the "pity kiss" theory, especially after catching a glimpse, in the film (of all places!), of Emmy Rossum mouthing "I love you" to Raoul before kissing the Phantom. I suppose thatb the choice to change the kiss from a peck on the forhead to passionate mouth kiss adds a romantic touch to the relationship..
Yes people can change, but it's a little ridiculously bipolar to have a heroic foil turn around and become a gambling, drinking, abusive jerk. It's possible I suppose, but for me, it's too extreme a change in character, and thus feels forced and contrived... |
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| High-baritonne |
really, so all people who on the surface leads good lives will never turn bad, and a gambling drunk will never turn sober and successful?
Because that is the interpretation I get from you right now. |
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| Mistress |
Don't you think the change was rather abrupt and out of the blue? At least show the downward spiral, or explain it in a monologue or something, don't just make it like "Oh BTW, Raoul's really a jackass, so it's actually ok that Christine went and did the nasty with the Phantom". To me, the charcater change, just feels like a rationalization for Chrisitne's infidelity. I much preferred Loyal!Raoul from POM and the inferred pity sex/rape. At least Forsythe came you with a story (fanfic-ey and sloppy though it may be) that didn't require that kind of silly rationalization. I intially had not problem with Raoul being a drunk. I thought it might even be able to flesh out his charcater a little-you know, he drinks because he knows/suspects Christine's infedility and it hurts him etc. hell, he could even get a solo for it. It would hopefully bring some love back to him, to get the fangirls to pity him a little and see as "human" rather just a silly fop. But with LND, the problems just seem like they were designed as an excuse for Christine rather than a decent character arc. | ||||
| SomeoneLikeYou |
I agree with Mistress wholeheartedly, although I won't even exercise the idea that Christine and the Phantom could've copulated in any manner, under any pretenses. | ||||
| High-baritonne |
Fair enough, I see where you are coming from. I haven't seen the show, and therefor I was not aware about the lack of explanation to the characters. | ||||
| Mistress |
I guess I could say the same...I haven't seen it myself (  ). Everyhting I know comes from news spoilers and Youtube spoilers from people who have seen it...so I guess you could very well be write and they do deal with the whole drunk thing better than I thought. We'll see, I guess...
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| Mungojerrie_rt |
But Raoul already is a bit of a prick in Phantom.
He tells Christine that she doesn't have to sing in Notes II, before prompty discussing using her as bait, and then guilting her into singing. He ignores what she has to say just before the mirror scene. He either comes across as a fop or a jerk in the original, so it would be quite in character for him to slowly get worse over ten years, as Christine would likely make no effort to keep him in line. The bit I don't like is that Meg seems to have gone from being the only one with a semi-level head to a screaming Phantom fangirl. |
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| superwickedfan33 |
Wow. How quickly we forget these details!!
Well that puts up a good case for Roul's actions between POTO and LND. This ends the debate on how good the show is plot wise for me. |
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| operafantomet |
Then you must have seen some horrible Raouls in your time! I agree about the first point, but the two others are definitely up to interpretation, and depends a lot of whoever plays Raoul. |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
I like Raoul in this one. I do believe 10 years can bring someone to this, but keep in mind...he isn't like this for the whole show. He does fight to be the guy Christine fell in love with.
SPOILER Unfortunately he makes a bet with the Phantom, loses and therefore has to leave her. |
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| Peritombry |
I've been reading an ebook that someone sent me - Phantom by Susan Kay. And I just got to this part. I thought perhaps it might interest some of you. This is about three weeks, I think, after Erik let them go.
I've always hated Raoul. However strange the story seemed at first, The Phantom of Manhattan did make me snicker a little. 
Meg... well her Phantom-worship... thing, I think is based more on the books than on the first musical. Erik had the managers promote Meg to leader of her ballet line as a favour to Madame Giry for "working" for him. And in this Susan Kay book (perhaps also in the original though I'm not sure as it's a few years since I read it) she was boasting to Christine about her mother and herself being very close to him and knowing more about him than anyone else and doing favours for them and so on. And honestly she does seem a little unbalanced already and that's set a few weeks before the beginning of the first musical. More than one person wears a mask, apparently.
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
I've read Phantom by Susan Kay...it's great and I enjoy it more than the original except for the mirror room scene with raoul and the persian was handled better in the original story. | ||||
| SomeoneLikeYou |
There was a bit about Love Never Dies on my local news channel...apparently it's coming to Broadway in November...
They showed clips from the show and it looked really weird...almost minimalistic when compared to the original show... |
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| Yakko |
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/mar/10/love-never-dies-review
Is it me or did Ramin stained on the B-flat. |
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| jackissensational |
I'm listening to the recording and only just realizing how substantial the role Niamh Perry ("I'd Do Anything") plays is. She's got a really weird tone and she looks kinda strange too, but it fits this score and her character. I'm so proud of her! | ||||
| Jekkienumber24601 |
Yes he did. I'm sure after rehearsing for so long that B-flat would get tiring. |
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| starmelace |
I just listened to the music on the official site...it's even worse than I thought. It's unspeakably awful....I keep cringing. What the heck happened to the characters we knew? | ||||
| Mistress |
I think we all need some cheering up:
Feel better yet? |
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| RainbowJude |
LOVE NEVER DIES Production DetailsSo although there were some rumours that bad reviews would stop the show from transferring to Broadway, it's been confirmed that the show will still make the crossing, although Andrew Lloyd Webber has made it clear there will be some changes made to the show. |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Why are people complaining about "Beauty Underneath?" It's a rock song! So what? The first one has a rock song! We're talking about a the guy who made JCS! Let there be a song that doesn't match the score that's what makes it awesome! It's a great song and one of my favorites. | ||||
| Yakko |
Well it makes Erik sound like a pedophile! Like the way he says "You've no fear of the beauty underneath" to his ten year old son.......It's REALLY creepy! |
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| Mistress |
I finally listened to the song yesterday after getting sick of not understanding the jokes about it from a Youtube LND rant. To be honest, it is kind of enjoyable to listen to, although it's far to rock n'roll to fit properly with the rest of the score. It' sticks out like a sore thumb when you compare to the title track and Till I Hear You Sing (Of course this is an uneducated opinion as I haven't heard much else from the score besides those 3 numbers). My biggest issue is that Gustav needs to stop sounding like he's having an orgasm everytime he says "yes". O_o
THAT is what makes it creepy, IMO... |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Well actually the first time I heard it alone I thought that. But in context with Beautiful (the song before it) it doesn't come across that way at all. |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Agreed! It's not he Phantom that makes it sound like he's a pedophile....Gustav makes the Phantom sound like one. lol |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
But it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb...sticks out like a ruby among diamonds. | ||||
| Mistress |
So you like score, or just the one song?
BTW, I'm listening to it again, and I must say, whichever of the 7 or whatever Gustavs this is, his voice is beautiful. One more thing...I've looking at pictures and footage of Karimloo in LND, and they seem to have reduced the makeup. The lips and bottom half of the face no longer look mangled. Is that just for the promo footage, or have they actually altered the makeup for the show? And the comments are ridiculous...someone apparently saw the show and somehow managed to deduce that Christine got raped
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
I like the whole score! Nothing wrong with it at all...I like 80% of the lyrics...a couple of cringers....for example I hate it when people use the word "stuff"....especially the Phantom...."he can see you're made of finer stuff" wow...is that the best word you could pick Erik?
The story I like up until the end...now don't get me wrong....I'm ok with the concept of the end...I just don't like Meg kinda standing in the background doing nothing after Christine is shot....she should be dealt with. And I think "why does she love me" needs one more verse. That's all. |
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| EponineBarker |
I second that! I just listened to the song twice (I love the song, but not when the Phantom's singing it to Gustave; Gustave's responses make the whole thing sound too creepy) and I tried to imagine the Phantom singing it to Christine and it worked a whole lot better in my mind. |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Seriously if he changed the yes to be in wonderment than in orgasmic...ment....it wouldn't be creepy. | ||||
| Peritombry |
Yeah.. the first "YES!" did make me go  but I really like the song itself. And "stuff" kind of stuck out for me a little as I wasn't entirely sure that someone in 1907 or 1891 or whenever it was would have actually said that. And Meg definately needs shoving into the sea or something. But overall I really like the show. Especially the score.
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Well if Meg dies than it is most certainly Madame Giry in the auction at the eginning...you know...when Raoul is all ancient and by all logical sense Madame Giry should have died from old age. | ||||
| Peritombry |
Wouldn't Meg have been called Madmoiselle though if she still had the same surname? | ||||
| Mistress |
I've been listenign to the score (someone's been putting it up track by track on youtube) and to be honest, there some pieces I really actually like. Beauty Underneath is, as I said, a pretty decent number when you block out Gustav and ignore the rest of the show and take it by itself. Till I Hear You Sing has a good Josh Grobany feel (yes, that is a good thing IMO), although I get sick of it pretty quickly. The Coney Island Waltz is an interesting tune. Curiously, by favourite song thus far is actual Beneath a Moonless Sky. The blending of the vocals is lovely and the climaxes are stunning. ...Don't stone me for blasphemy but...that song actually makes me enjoy and want to imagine the...event in question  Bad! Bad Mistress *banging head against computer*
I think my heart is actually melting...chances are that I'll see the show if a production opens to Toronto or some tour comes there...but I won't go anywhere out of my way for it...my heart hasn't melted that much XD |
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| Mungojerrie_rt |
I like the use of "Twisted Every Way"
It shows she's in basically the same situation again. |
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| LaGataNegra |
Yes. Which is why I'm always amazed at the confusion about who is at the auction. Unless Meg married a Giry, then she could be a Mme. Giry. But that's kinda creepy. |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Well now we know she goes psycho so maybe she did marry a Giry. lol, jk. I really like Dear Old Friend!!! And Why Does She Love Me is really nice....just needs another verse and an ending. I love the angel of music reference before Beauty Underneath
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
I actually think they paint a brilliant picture in BAMS. It's so much better than implying that they did during the first one. I disagree with Beauty Underneath not fitting. The theme is referenced a couple of times before the song even starts so by then you're already familiar with the tune...something ALW does alot. Like by the time Sunset Boulevard comes around you've already heard the entire melody. |
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| Mistress |
Yes, but musically, I think Webber should have put more orchestrations in it. As it is, it sounds like a heavy metal ballad, not a showtune. Even JCS sounds more show-tuny than Beauty Underneath.
But yes, it is a good song minus the Gustav orgasm bit... Why Does She Love Me makes everything okay with Raoul, IMO. Makes him less jackass-ey, and gives him some character, so he's not just the defacto jealous-husband villain, although the bet really ruins everything anyway-I hate how insincere it makes the sequence before Christine's performance. I think that whole bet subplot is uncessary. I mean, it leaves me thinking about Raoul sailing away by himself, not knowing that his wife-ex-wife just got shot by crazy burlesque dancer rather than what's actually happeneing in front of me, so to speak. I would have liked him to be there, like at the end of POM. Blending that with his emotional issues/drinking poblem (I would nix the gambling too, but that's just me, I'm part of the Save/Redeem Raoul Crowd XD) and get rid of the bet subplot, and we have at least a marginally better characterization of Raoul than in the original. He at least has some dort of emotional arc here. |
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| Jekkienumber24601 |
Yeah....or don't let him agree so readily to the bet...he kinda agrees before he hears what's in it for him. But the melody and orchestration for "Why Does She Love Me" is beautiful...kinda wish it kept going and wasn't ruined by Meg bursting in. | ||||
| Mistress |
I also wish that Mdme Giry hadn't been turned into Mama Rose. She never showed any sort of ambition for Meg in the original show...although ALW may well of got that from Leroux's novel...still, it's juist too overly dramatic, although I suppose something exciting has to happen. Perhaps instead of Meg and her mother, ALW could've just invented a new character. It would of worked better since it left him free to do exactly as he wanted without having to worry about making unrealistic changes to already existing characters. Meg's story could just as easily go to some random Phantasma chorus girl/headliner and it wouldn't feel so contrived. In fact, it would be very interesting to see said character interact with the mysterious Frenchwoman her boss seems so enamoured with, like "Who's this woman that he never pays any attention to ME. What makes her so special?" I dunno, maybe I'm just being blindly optimistic XD | ||||
| Hans |
I want to be fair.
I have only played the cast recording in the background a couple of times, and musically this seems to be ALW's first decent musicals in what seems like decades. I think it's perhaps less boring than Sunset Boulevard, which is the last musical of his of any considerable merit. |
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| superwickedfan33 |
I agree. As for the musical as a whole....... IDK. I really want to see it when it comes to NY. Hopefully ALW will make a few changes to the plot before it opens there. | ||||
| Jekkienumber24601 |
I don't find Sunset Boulevard boring at all, but to each their own. |
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| MyTrueLove |
I heard the album now two times and I like it, with every hearing I like it more. There are so many nice songs and scenes. I like the combination of melodies and songs from Phantom and the new music.
But every time I have to hear POTO again as well. I must do it. I need the combination. |