Review: Love Never Dies

Hey readers!
It's time for my review of Love Never Dies.
The reason as to why I ended up seeing the US touring production of Love Never Dies is a result of a set of rather bizarre circumstances. I was visiting Kansas City, where I had tickets to see Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper perform in concert. However, Stewart cancelled several hours before the performance due to strep throat, leaving me dressed up with nowhere to go. I then had my heart set on seeing Love Never Dies, however I was unsure as to whether the performance would still go ahead as a result of the large amount of rain that occurred during that day, due to the fact that the venue it was playing at is an outdoor theatre. Luckily, the rain stopped half an hour before curtain and I made my way to the Starlight Theatre, arriving a total of five minutes before the show began. Thankfully, tickets were still available. I am aware that Love Never Dies has received a mixed reception since it first premiered in the West End in 2010, however I was personally pleasantly surprised. Additionally, I was quite taken with the Kansas City Starlight Theatre, which contains almost 8,000 seats. It was truly like no over venue.

Love Never Dies takes place 10 years after The Phantom of the Opera. After fleeing from the Paris Opera House, the Phantom has fled to New York, where he lives amongst the screaming joy rides and freak-shows of Coney Island. In this new electrically-charged world, he has finally found a place for his music to soar. The only thing missing is his life-long love Christine Daaé.


The strongest aspect of Love Never Dies is undoubtedly its score, which has been composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Glenn Slater. There are dozens of tremendously powerful ballads throughout the show, with each and every song being equally as beautiful as it is stunning. Each musical number is faultlessly carried out by an excellent cast, all of whom have good operatic voices suited to this genre of music. Whilst I wouldn't name Andrew Lloyd Webber as my favourite composer, I simply cannot deny that the music which he creates is beyond phenomenal. My personal highlights from the score of Love Never Dies are 'Til I Hear You Sing', 'Once Upon Another Time' and 'The Beauty Underneath'.

In the leading role of The Phantom stars Bronson Norris Murphy, who excels in this role. It is clear that Murphy completely immerses himself into this role and is utterly perfect for The Phantom. His operative voice is superlative and his rendition of 'Til I Hear You Sing' was really something quite special. Appearing opposite Murphy as Christine Daaé is Meghan Pricerno, who has a background in opera singing. Picerno has created a good characterisation for Christine, making the changes that the character has gone through since The Phantom of the Opera crystal clear. As Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, Sean Thompson is perfectly cast. Thompson truly captures the essence of a broken man who has lost his way, believably showing us Raoul's pain. In the role of Christine's child Gustave was Jake Heston Miller, who alternates the role wit h Christian Harmston. Miller may very well be one of the best child actors that I have ever witnessed perform onstage; he is a very skilled actor and a talented singer. In addition to this, he creates a flawless British accent. I am sure has a great career ahead of him!

The grand sets, created by Gabriela Tylesova, were utterly incredible. Filled with glistening lights, this astounding set design left me awestruck. As a result of this stunning set, 1907 Coney Island springs to life. The costumes, also designed by Gabriela Tylesova, are equally lavish and were perfectly matched to the time period of the early 1900's. The sound design, crafted by Mick Potter, was also very impressive. The Starlight Theatre is gigantic, and occasionally with such large theatres it can be difficult to correctly amplify the sound. However, every word was completely clear, which is accredited to Potter's marvellous sound design.

The featured star of Love Never Dies is, drum roll please... BRONSON NORRIS MURPHY!

Murphy's performance is captivating. He gives an excellent all-round performance and provides the audience with the perfect Phantom. I imagine it is quite a difficult role to play, but Murphy is faultless.

Now for my final verdict on Love Never Dies. I give Love Never Dies...

Whilst I understand Love Never Dies will not be everybody's cup of tea, I for one thoroughly enjoyed it. With a phenomenal score, a talented cast and some impressive designs, this was an easy four star rating.

Think it should have got a higher rating? Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.

Thanks for reading!

-The Reviewer