The Beauty Underneath

Name: Love Never Dies
Date: 7th December 2010.
Venue: The Adelphi
Length of performance: Not long enough!

A while back we wrote a review about this musical, pretty much stating it might be a grower but didn't exactly blow us away. You might remember we were quite taken by Ramin Karimloo, but even the best singer in the world couldn't single handedly turn a good score and a naff story into an overnight success. Without being exactly scathing, we were rather...scathing.

We take it all back.

Every single word. As last night we attended the new, improved 'Love Never Dies' and suddenly find ourselves thinking we might have discovered a new favourite. This show is now a gem and long may it stay in the West End! Maybe for the next decade or two or three...

An explanation is in order.

Our biggest gripe from the old incarnation of LND was the story. It didn't support the legend of the 'Phantom of the Opera' and had turned characters that were previously lovable and significant into shallow, self obsessed, insipid losers. Raoul and Meg in particular. And lets face it, only a mother could love a child like Gustave (she must have been wearing ear plugs). And even then, given half the chance, we have no doubt Christine would have traded the old Gustave in the blink of an eye for a new frock or a record deal, no amount of simpering and pretending to be the pure little woman could disguise the freaky willpower of a woman who belts out half an hours worth of arias on her death bed. The freaks did little more than remind us that Phantasma was a freaky place and Madam Giry was all 'me, me, me'. Overall the characters were hollow husks, slightly supercilious and just a medium for delivering some rather beautiful songs. All very good, but not enough to sustain a musical.

The direction was a bit off in our opinion as well. Remember the old death scene? The beauty underneath? Man-eating tart-with-no-heart Meg who suddenly despised her former bezzie mate? And not forgetting that the magnificent Phantom was now just a slightly bitter but vastly mellowed and not even remotely mysterious Mr Y. You could have bumped into him in a supermarket and not batted an eye lid.  Love Lord ALW though we do, having been practically brought up on his music thanks to both our fathers who are huge fanboys, on our first viewing of his latest we exchanged many, MANY quizzical "what the hell???" type glances... punctuated by suppressed giggles at some very questionably trite lyrics and the frankly bizarre and ludicrous plot.

By all accounts critics were not saying favourable things about the show ergo something had to change -  and change it did.  They closed the show, the theatre went "dark"  - while various important people no doubt huddled around copious cups of non-decaf skinny cappuccinos & re-thought the whole thing.  Boy, were they right to do so.  The shows emotional heart has begun to beat, and instead of being slightly quizzical bystanders, we are swept straight back into the love story between Christine and the Phantom. 



The show now starts with captions of the demise of the Opera House and a sad, wistful, passionate phantom singing 'Til I hear you sing'. In our view, the best song in the show.  And the fairies stopped breathing. Talk about setting the scene...! 'Coney Island Waltz' followed and this had been completely revamped and was mysterious, a bit creepy and menacing and it drew you in. Our two favourite elements from the previous version remained; the shadow horses and the peacock lady. This scene just...works. It's mesmerising and seems to show case the music, the costumes, the lighting and the staging so much better. And is an integral part of the story. 

The Christine doll no longer is a scene stealer (and previously made the phantom seem a bit pervy) and suddenly, with Madam Giry and Meg singing the confrontation song to each other rather than having a go at the phantom makes much more sense. We are reminded of the fact that Meg really is quite a naive, gentle girl who sincerely loves and misses her friend but just wants a break. Madam Giry deserves to feel a bit frustrated over her apparent invisibility...now we understand it, whereas in the previous version she was merely a battle axe and came across as not just a bit hormonal. She really does have every right to feel sidelined.  The fact that their contact with the Phantom is now minimal reinstates his air of mystery - whereas previously it started to feel like Madame G was simply his rather bad tempered housekeeper.  The Phantom surrounds himself with the  freaks, who protect him, encourage his obsession and do his bidding.  There is a point to them after all!! Yay!!

Christine, Raoul and Gustave are now a proper family unit. They have their problems, but you can see the love is there. And Gustave is less annoying. Still a dweeb, but you can't have everything.  Perhaps if he was slightly less cherubic/choirboy and slightly more pull-the-legs-off-spiders-sociopath, his willingness to cross to the dark side and embrace the Phantoms world so readily might be less odd.  OK, so he is his son, but break us in gently??  But that's just a thought.... Roping in Hammerstein makes it all the more believable that this wee family would cross the ocean blindly in the hope of something solid and concrete like the promise of big moula. Lets face it, who wouldn't...?





Which brings us to the man himself.  The big P.  Oh deep joy - he is truly back! In all his finger twitching, angst-ridden, heart of music, bitter, lovesick glory.  Back at his mysterious sexy best.  And watch him work the scene that previously left us speechless in it's tackyness...'The Beauty Underneath'. The Phantom owns this. His freaks turn this scene into magic and the changes to the staging, the props and the special effects have made a song, which previously just didn't fit in, come alive as a sinister lure into a dark underworld.

The addition of the extra refrains from the original Phantom of the Opera punctuate the story like memories, like deja vu, and draw us into Christine's eternal dilemma.  The man or the music, or the man and the music? Desire or duty? Twisted every way she is, and we feel it once more.  Indeed, her final choice - to sing or not to sing - is the ultimate manipulation - not a simple choice.  She sings because she has to - to save her son, not realising her mentor has cut a deal that will seal the fate of her marriage.  A double deal, a masterful stroke, the Phantom back to his wicked best, but with his heart in the right place.  Because he loves her.  Oh he does. 
Ramin left us in no doubt of that.The entire cast is magnificent and quite possibly one if the strongest casts in the West End at the moment. Summer Strallen, under this new direction, is particularly eye catching and has 'star quality' written all over her. Sierra Boggess is the perfect choice for Christine, as her voice is unique, high and clear and she hits those notes with ease. But far be it that anyone think us predictable, but we do need to bring up the issue of Ramin Karimloo. Ramin has recreated the role of the Phantom and given it so much depth and vaguely hidden menace you want him and fear him at the same time. Add to that that no matter how uglified he is, he remains one of the best looking men to ever grace the west end stage. Top it off with a voice that you wish could sing you into the land of nod every night, and you have the perfect package. Oh Ramin and our pitter pattering little fairy hearts...

Our previous encounter with this musical left us feeling that only the surface had been scratched. It was lacking. And as the biggest fans of ALW in the world (did you not know Evita was written with us in mind, only we were too young to be considered for the role?) we were disappointed that a composer as accomplished and talented as ALW had not managed to recapture the magic of the original Phantom. Who would have thought that the beauty and magic was there all along, only it was so hidden by things that didn't make much sense that it wasn't being appreciated for what it was and is; a stroke of pure, beautiful genius and every bit as haunting and evocative as the best of anything he has composed prior to this. ALW, we salute you. The beauty of this piece is now plain for all to see.