Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

Broadway World is reporting that Andrew Lloyd Webber is quite pleased with the Australian mounting of Love Never Dies, his long-anticipated sequel to The Phantom of the Opera. In fact, Webber is so pleased with the way this production is shaping-up, he wants this version to make its way to Broadway. Love Never Dies originally opened in London’s West End almost a year ago. But, that production was met with mixed reviews and was also plagued with problems with its director. Webber has always stated he would pick the version to appear on Broadway by assessing three competing productions of the show (UK, Australia, and Toronto). Below is the story from Broadway World: Andrew Lloyd Webber has let the world know what he thinks of the Melbourne version of LOVE NEVER DIES, his sequel to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA which opened last Thursday. The $9 million production has many differences from the LOVE NEVER DIES that has been playing in London for over a year.‘I would like this show to go everywhere because I think it’s just the best,’ Lloyd Webber told the Sydney Morning Herald of the Australian production, led by director Simon Phillips and designer Gabriela Tylesova. ‘This is the show that should go to Broadway without any question, but it depends on how it all goes.” Many financial negotiations will still be needed to open the show on the Great White Way. While in Melbourne, Lloyd Webber has attended previews and technical rehearsals while watching Phillips at work as well as writing new bits of music. Lloyd Webber has described the production as “extraordinary,” “fabulous,” “seamless,” and “bliss.”‘I have the great joy of being able to say that I think this production is probably the finest one I could ever, ever hope for. Three times in my career this has happened. The first time was when I saw Evita in rehearsals and I thought, ‘This design and production is absolutely perfect and what I want’, and again when I saw The Phantom, and this is the third time I can say it again. What Simon has done … he completely gets it. You wouldn’t recognise this from London.’This is a turnaround from his initial reaction to the London production, which opened to mixed reviews and not-so-great box office performance. After the London production opened, Lloyd Webber said he felt that show wasn’t “right,” and that the opening should have been postponed. Lloyd Webber also said that ‘At some point we will have to take a decision to let it [the London version] run, or whether it’s better to bring this [the Melbourne version] in, but that can’t be done tomorrow.

 Despite its successful runs at both the David A. Straz Center in Tampa, Florida and Houston’s Ally Theater, Wonderland, the musical re-telling and modernization of the famous Lewis Carroll story Alice in Wonderland is closing on May 15th at Broadway’s Marquis Theatre. The cast was informed of the show’s fate before the evening performance on Tuesday. The musical marks yet another Broadway flop for composer Frank Wildhorn, who has the dubious distinction of never having a successful show grace the stages of the Great White Way. A national tour of Wonderland is being planned; and despite the millions of dollars lost by investors and producers on the production, Wildhorn already has another show in the pipeline. Bonnie & Clyde is expected to hit the stage by year’s end. I was able to see Wonderland when it premiered at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa in the end of 2009.

The show was riddled with plot holes and I was very surprised to see the two leads, Janet Dacal (Alice) and Darren Ritchie (White Knight) were selected to reprise their roles when the show transitioned to NYC. Both were weak in their performance and demonstrated a less than stellar vocal ability.Although the show underwent drastic rewrites and its score was enriched with new musical numbers, critics were not impressed. According to Playbill:

“Critics did not embrace this modern riff on the fantastical world created by 19th-century British writer Lewis Carroll (”Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” 1865), who makes an appearance in Act Two of the show by Gregory Boyd (book and direction), Frank Wildhorn (music) and Jack Murphy (book and lyrics).”

I have to say that despite its shortcoming, I found Wonderland  to be entertaining. And given the tremendous financial and artistic tasks and risks associated with mounting a Broadway production, I hate to see any musical flop. However, I must admit, I am not surprised in its early closing.