Since they just announced another Love Never Dies concert, I will use the occasion to finally post this 3 year-old rant I wrote after I saw the show when they put it on in London in 2023.
I'm sure all of this has been said before, but that was the first time I saw it, so bear with me, if you will. This is a long rant that I have put under the cut. Feel free to read it and talk to me about it, as long as you're being nice :) If you don't want to read any negative opinions about LND, keep scrolling.
What messes me up about this story is that, at the same time, some characters are completely unrecognizable (*cough* Meg Giry) while others are the exact same. Like Raoul for example. Christine must be on her second marriage already because who is that guy? There is no connection whatsoever between him and Raoul from PotO. And the Phantom? 10 years and he's still the exact same bitch (derogatory). Like, completely. He's still "in love" with Christine and hung up on her rejecting him and his plans for them together, as well as being the same entitled creep that makes outlandish bargains with people, that have them decide between him and the safety of the people they love. Like genuinely what the fuck.
I know full well that I am not the target audience for this story (tho I do question who even is) but wouldn't it be a much more compelling story if he HAD changed? What if 10 years after the fact, you met the guy again, who you connected with through music but ultimately left because of all the wild shit he put you through, and that connection still persisted/can be revived but he is different now? He isn't unhinged like before and has built his own performing venue that he writes music for and it's doing okay. And maybe your marriage didn't quite turn out as you expected. Not the weird neglect/abuse plotline they decided to run with and more like it was a reunion with a childhood love that burned brightly but not as long as you thought it would and he supports you but doesn't really get the music thing on a deeper level, but he's still a sweet guy who loves you and is a good father to your child (father being Raoul, FUCK that 'Beneath a Moonless Sky' bullshit) so you're doing fairly well on that front. But that man from before is still there and your connection could be rekindled, but should you upend your life of comfort and security for this untested variable, for a man who IS functionally still a stranger, despite your connection? Wouldn't that be a much juicier, more interesting conflict? (And more importantly one that could actually center Christine and her lived reality in a meaningful way.) But nay, unfortunately this musical operates under the truly wild idea that what the Phantom did 10 years ago wasn't that bad in the first place and that the choice Christine made was really between shallow beauty vs. deep artistry concealed by an ugly exterior, instead of between a man who is well-meaning and treats her well and someone who would use other people's lives as bargaining chips to get her to stay with him.
This musical feels like it's retconning all the points that PotO made, while still super heavily relying on it. I'd have to listen to another version of this to be able to tell how many musical references to PotO there are in LND or if it was something they put in for this concert specifically, but they were Abundant. And it's honestly not doing this story any favours that it's constantly reminding me of what I could be watching instead. Like I have thoughts about the discrepancy between how PotO is written and how it's marketed/perceived by people, but that show has like Mariana Trench levels of nuance in comparison to whatever is going on in this musical. The absolutely random and unfounded character assassination of Raoul is only the tip of the iceberg, because what the hell did they do to Christine? The only time she sings a song alone is "Love Never Dies" which is basically like "I happened to fall in love with this guy ten years ago... and that is obviously everlasting which means I can't move on and oh yeah I have no choice in the matter". There is not even a single "I" pronoun in the entire song. Also, if the Phantom is supposed to be her One True Love, why on god's green earth is that song so grim?! This is allegedly her soulmate that she's secretly still longing for or whatever and the best we can do is "life may be fleeting / love lives on" and various lines on involuntary submission and loss of agency?! Girl, this is prison! Whoever wrote this couldn't have come up with anything even remotely positive? Whereas in PotO Christine has the beautiful song that is "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" that gives her a fairly rich background and illustrates to the audience her conflicting feelings about her father's death and her life going forward, and also "All I Ask Of You" which is a duet tbf but still centers her emotional state mostly, there is nothing like that in LND, certainly not the titular song! And then the fact that she barely gets to make a decision for her own. Granted, that's also present in PotO, but like that's a point of the story that's referenced multiple times and is kinda central to the conflict, whereas in LND that's just unquestioned. Everyone around her is making decisions about her and her family and she doesn't even get to say anything about it. Even her death is a fucking accident that she had no control over! It's not even intentional self-sacrifice.
And then the awful "look with your heart and not with your eyes" bullshit. Like, sure, cool message, IF that were even at all close to what was happening in PotO! But it's not! It's ridiculous to say that the only reason Christine didn't stay with the Phantom at the end was because she still thought he was ugly and Raoul was prettier. Honestly that's an insult to all three of them in that situation. First of all, it makes Christine look like a complete asshole (that she isn't). Secondly, it pretends that Raoul is just a good-looking cardboard cut-out that someone has been carrying from scene to scene as if he never did anything. And lastly, that anything the Phantom might have said explaining his tragic backstory was completely inconsequential because nobody cared because he's so hideous (which, harsh). It just feels like either a complete misunderstanding of what PotO is about, or a deliberate misrepresentation. And I don't know which is worse. And I understand that ALW is probably not even a pretend feminist but the way Christine's character is treated in this story is so puzzling. On the one hand, she is the Phantom's ultimate love without whom his life has no meaning, but on the other hand she's supposed to be really superficial and have cared more about looks than true connection. In which case, why should he (still) want to be with her?
Last question out of genuine interest: Do you like this musical? If so, why? Because I truly cannot imagine the appeal for anyone who previously enjoyed PotO. Also, are the other versions of this musical super different? I've read that they already changed stuff when it premiered in London because of the negative reviews and that the later versions were received more positively, so I suspect what I saw was closer to that latter. Begs the question, what the Hell was before??
Also this is all completely about the musicals. I have read neither the Frederick Forsyth novel, nor Leroux's original story (but I really want to get to that one soon.)
I personally dont think the character changes are that extreme, I think they’re enhancing what we already knew about the trio from the first show, now 10 years later, battling unresolved feelings. Raoul feels the most uncanny and I’d say exaggerated. But like, are we really surprised that he’s struggling and has self esteem issues after the final lair, in which he’s spent the whole show believing himself to be a hero and gets sniped out and fails at every attempt to be the dashing knight?
I think sometimes the fandom sees these characters as strict archetypes and what I love about the sequel, as imperfect as it is, is that it allows the characters to be messy and break off the fairytale titles they were in the first show. Growth is not linear, and I think LND explores that in a fascinating way with the main trio.
I'm very attached to Entrapta because I got to do the most development work for her! I had no previs art to work with and her episode just happened to come through when I had more time in my schedule, so I started with a blank slate and had plenty of time to iterate. We started with a younger, more futuristic and girlypop kinda direction for her, where I was playing with incorporating rose gold (her 80's toy uses a lot of gold) and hard light/neon vinyl fabric. Almost all of these sketches are just me throwing spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. Eventually, we were honing in on a design (2nd to last image) when ND asked me to take it back to the drawing board with a similar color palette and personality but different influences, make her older and way more of a grease monkey. Audrey Ramirez from Atlantis was an outfit reference, and you can see it in the big baggy pants, and since I didn't wanna fully rip off her overalls look is how we got to the upper part of the overalls being hanging down in Entrapta's final design. I think there's some cute ideas in the old iterations, but I love and appreciate the less femme direction we went with and where she ended up. She's my fav forever <3
I'm sorry to spam, but I'm still crashing out about this. Chances are I won't recover.
Top set (kiss) is Samuel Wyn Morris and Grace Roberts, bottom row (ring return that is trying to take my life) is Samuel Wyn-Morris and Caitlin Finnie.
I just want everyone to know I only came back here to see if I could find this clip because it was deleted on Insta (cause people hate a weird hot couple making out I guess🙄).
One and a half years worth of work, one failed attempt at this a year prior, a semester abroad , 150+ frames, and here we are... I hope you love this passion project as much as I loved making it. Think of this as my love letter to the phandom 🫶
In order of appearance:
Dickens Novels and Double-Chocolate Muffins by @brendadaaedestler
Sympathy for the Devil by @veroniqueclaire
Pilgrim Soul by @intothemertensverse
Voltige by @emotionalmotionsicknessxx
Volée by @veroniqueclaire
Bartender AU by @phantom-margaritas (Shameless self promotion)
Teach Me To Live by @donttouchthefigs
Red Death Riding by @wheel-of-fish
Ghost on the Roof by @klausscrimshaw
Sticky Notes and Serendipity by @brendadaaedestler and @nerdywriter36
They have been on my mind for god knows what reason, then insta kindly reminded me that it was exactly the same time a few years ago that I had them stuck in my mind. Time sure is cyclical.
Aaaaanyways, I love drawing them cos theyre so SHAPEY, esp. Drakken's face and Shego's hair. Mostly screencap redraws and since I saw an animatic of them to "Red Flags" I felt compelled to draw some shots of my own.
I'm also rewatching the show and god the animators have such a field day with these two.
gracieabrams
germansingergirl
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