Movie Musicals That Got It Wrong: Love Never Dies
This is a bit of a cheat, I admit. Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies is not a proper movie musical. Rather, the cinematic version of this sequel to The Phantom of the Opera is merely a filmed performance of the stage musical. However, having done such an in-depth review of Phantom , I can't pass this one by. Often, the stage musical is filmed after a botched attempt at adapting it to the screen, to demonstrate how the musical is supposed to be. Such was the case with the Final Performance of Rent , and the 25th Anniversary performance of The Phantom of the Opera . Other times, the stage musical is filmed so that those who likely will never be able to see it live can still see what it's about. That's likely the case with Love Never Dies , which won't be arriving on Broadway any time soon. It almost feels cruel to kick a musical when it's down. The critical shredding of Love Never Dies has been universal. Most of it is of the nature of "Yo