“Love Never Dies”

Recommended *** Chicago was the place for a special theatrical presentation tonight. In particular, the Cadillac Palace Theatre where the Broadway In Chicago Series unveiled the Chicago Premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies”, the sequel to his monumental “Phantom Of The Opera”. I , for one, was among those who went to the theater tonight not anticipating much. Sequels in theater seldom do well, and in the case of a musical ( almost opera), how could they? The word from those who saw the production in London, was that Webber wasn’t comfy and kept changing and re-writing. Perhaps, after fiddling and fiddling he finally found the recipe for taking this story to the next level.

I am pretty sure that everyone knows the story of The “Phantom” and his love for Christine Daae’, the young singer who he coddled and taught to attain stardom. He fell in love with more than just her voice and talent and had to escape from Paris and the Opera House he haunted. In this continuation of the story, The Phantom ( a powerful performance by Gardar Thor Cortes) now resides in New York , and in fact, is the proprietor of a carnival on Coney Island. Many have followed him and while he appears to have found a new and stable life, when word comes that his former, protégé/love, Christine ( a solid performance by Meghan Picerno) and her “husband” Raul (Sean Thompson), now a heavy gambler, and their 10- year -old son, Gustave* ( tonight played by Casey Lyons, who has the voice of an angel and solid stage presence), who might be his own, is coming to New York to sing at the opening of one of the new Broadway Venues.

This sets the wheels spinning as we sit back and watch the thrilling roller-coaster-ride filled with romance, greed, jealousy, hate, revenge, obsession and yes, again, ROMANCE! The music is new and while it does not have the same magic in its story-telling as the original, Webber has added bits and pieces, melodies and sections of the original work to bring the old and new together. The melding of the two  does work and blends the story lines well. This does, in fact, become a continuation of probably the world’s greatest love story.

While there are not musical numbers such as there were in the original , that will stay with you, the haunting melodies, tunes and words are strong enough to hold you captive, wanting to know what happens next. Will The Phantom end up with Christine? Will Gustave learn who his father really is? And if so, will he love the right man? The songs that stand out, other than those which recall the original are” Mother, Please, I’m Scared”, “Ten Long Years” (Madame Giry played by Karen Mason), “Bathing Beauty ” ( an ensemble piece performed by Mary Michael Patterson as Meg),” Love Never Dies” and the opening number “Til I Hear You Sing” done with great skill and range by The Phantom, Cortes). The bits and pieces from the original do make this score much clearer and richer and of course tie up all the loose ends.

The music is very Webber, but the lyrics are written by  Glenn Slater and the book by Ben Elton (based on “The Phantom of Manhattan” written by Frederick Forsyth), so in reality it took many people to bring Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new show to the stage. Speaking of many, the ensemble of this production should get a great “tip-of-the-hat”. They were wonderful!Katrina Kemp, Richard Koons, Rachel Anne Moore, Bronson Norris Murphy, Stephen Petrovich, Chelsey Arce, Erin Chupinsky, Diana DiMarzio, Tyler Donahue, Yesy Garcia, Alyssa Giannetti, Michael Gillis, Tamar Greene, Natalia Lepore Hagan, Lauren Lukacek, Alyssa McAnany, Dave Schoonover, Arthur Wise, Correy West, Lucas Thompson, Kelly Swint ( quite the scene stealer) , John Swapshire IV and Adam Soniak- dynamite work.

*The alternate Gustave is played by Jake Heston Miller. I am sure as fine as the work of Casey Lyons.

By the way, I will not reveal any of the mystery involving the end of the play, which in the past was the hang-up in the original production(s) ( several attempts were made). I like the ending and can live with the outcome. Oh, yes, bring some tissues with you. They will come in handy!

This production is directed by Simon Phillips and choreographed by Graeme Murphy AO. The creative sets and costumes are by Gabriela Tylesova and the lighting ( Nick Schlieper) and sound (Mick Potter) were flawless. Dale Rieling is the musical director and conductor with live musicians in the pit. Many of these NE shows have taped or canned music. Not this one!

“Love Never Dies” will be here for a short period of time-Thru March 4th with performances as follows:

Tuesdays  7:30 p.m.

Wednesdays  2  and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  7:30 p.m.

Fridays  7:30 p.m.

Saturdays  2  and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

2/18 will also have a 7:30 additional performance

Tickets range from $35- $80 and are available at the box office of the Cadillac Palace ( 151 West Randolph Street) or any of the Broadway In Chicago box offices, by calling the Broadway In Chicago Ticketline at 800 775-2000 or online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Love Never Dies”