Continuation of Phantom? I think not.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has decided to continue milking the success of his biggest show in Love Never Dies, a continuation on the story of Phantom of the Opera. First of all, it is loosely based on the novel he worked on with Frederick Forsyth which is complete rubbish, and it raises so many questions. The thought of the characters from the first show is preposterous and much of the music is terrible, definitely not up to par with the original, and like the book, ruins the redemption in the first one. It contradicts Phantom and ALW should have left it alone. Phantom was a success because he wrote it for love. This fails because he wrote it for money. Webber himself said that he "doesn't look at it as a sequel, but rather a continuation" which is the same bloody thing, and also called Phantom "the biggest load of hokum ever written" when it's his biggest show ever and 'doesn't understand why people keep coming back" but thinks this 'masterpiece" will be bigger than Phantom and that it will draw a better crowd.
Positives: It has six songs I enjoy, and the ones that are good are really good, the costumes and effects of the show when you see it, really are brilliant, the actors do a fantastic job with what they are given, and the voices are absolutely amazing, especially Ramin Karimloo who plays the Phantom in here. The actors do very well with what they are given. However, the plot and the script are terrible. In fact, the one you see on stage will be different from this recording because the show recieved so many bad reviews they needed to change it, and it's a little better but not much. The plot is the most important part to me. The story would be very good if it wasn't Phantom related but it is and that turns it into a load of rubbish. It is more entertaining than Phantom of Manhattan, hence the two stars, simply because of the effects and acting and the voices, but you scrap all those and it isn't much better. Worth taking a look at? Uh... well... maybe, if you're a Phantom phan and you want to form an accurate opinion. I actually love Ramin Karimloo and his voice is amazing in here... but in truth? This show should never have been conceived.