It was vastly clear in the movie version of the musical starring Butler and Rossum that there was a serious disconnect between his view of Phantom and mine, but this "sequel" puts a nail in the coffin. First of all, the Phantom is NOT a hero. He's a manipulative, controlling, obsessed, twisted man. Tragic and darkly romantic, sure, but not a hero.

Second, it's darn near blasphemous to say that not only did Christine and the Phantom have sex that night in the catacombs, but that it was consensual and loving is ridiculous. Does he not remember the way the Phantom reacts to the physicality of the kiss at the end of the original? He'd clearly never been touched like that in his whole life. To change the narrative is to destroy the power of that moment, of how it changes the Phantom so profoundly that he's willing to let Christine and Raoul go.

Third, turning Raoul into a villain betrays that fact that he was actually a pretty stand up guy. He was a wealthy, titled guy who could have swept Christine away and kept her from the opera. Yet he knew how much singing meant to her and so he supported her in her career. He did what he could to free her from the Phantom's unhealthy influence, not cruelly separate two people desperately in love as this "sequel" states.

Fourth, how can someone so manipulative be a romantic hero in this piece? Christine and the Phantom have just sung this passionate (and, IMHO, overlong) duet about their supposedly magical night together, then he turns around and threatens to steal or kill her kid if she won't sing for him. That's seriously messed up.

I have to admit I turned it off after this. The performances were competent and the orchestration was well done. I thought the costuming was just a bit boring and predictable - there was no subtlety or grace, no grandeur or elegance in them, though. Whoever the designer is was certainly no Maria Björnson. Though to be fair, who these days can compare to her stellar work?

Overall, I am glad I never saw this in a theater. As it is, I feel that my $4 rental on Amazon was a complete waste of money.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies will not disappoint the Phantom faithful. The film version is an unfortunate necessity, as the live musical will not be played in the USA with its original cast. My only complaint with the filming of the musical is that instead of a broader, panned out view, the shots are very zoomed, leaving out other happenings on stage and exposing actors' microphones and hair pieces. Ben Lewis does the great Michael Crawford homage with his strong, clear voice. ALW triumphs with beautiful recurring themes and an exciting rock sound for songs like 'Beneath a Moonless Sky' and 'The Beauty Underneath', delighting Phans with the occasional riff from the original. Finally, the last half hour is consistently unpredictable, edge-of-your-seat exciting. Love Never Dies is sufficiently unique, yet powerful and unique to hold a flame to its precursor and stand alone as another spell- binding ALW show.

Whereas The Phantom of the Opera had well known songs in it and a worthy story, the sequel does not match it. Nevertheless this production from down under was done professionally with a very busy scene from time to time, more like a carnival. This had a negative influence in the real story which only comes to light by really listening to the words of the songs. The ending was the only distraction, ending as operas always do.