In Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s surprising sequel to his epic hit, The Phantom of the Opera, the time is 1907; the place, New York City; and the Phantom (formerly of the Opera), having escaped the furious mob in Paris, has done well for himself. As the mysterious impresario behind Mr. Y’s Phantasma, a popular circus and vaudeville theatre on rough and tumble Coney Island, the Phantom enjoys fame, fortune, and a measure of mobility of which his past self could never have dreamed. Aided by the tenacious bargaining of Madame Giry, and the many charms of her dancing daughter Meg, the Phantom has almost everything he could wish for -- except the presence of his beloved muse, Christine Daae. Now an opera superstar, Christine arrives in New York to sing at the opening of Oscar Hammerstein’s new theatre -- but is lured to Coney Island by the Phantom, who sends his circus minions to waylay her at the docks. Accompanying Christine are her husband Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny, whose bad luck at gambling has reduced him to a bitter alcoholic, and her son Gustave, a bright and sensitive young musical prodigy who bears more resemblance to her Angel of Music than to her worldly husband. Filled with the frenetic energy of carnival and vaudeville, the pain of love lost, bitter rivalries, murderous madness, and the unavoidable subterranean splendors of the Phantom’s new kingdom, Love Never Dies is a sensational spectacle, featuring the smoldering duet “Beneath a Moonless Sky,” the hopeful and haunting “Beauty Underneath,” and the triumphant show-stopper “Love Never Dies.”
Love Never Dies guide sections
