Anyone else not seeing LOVE NEVER DIES in their TV schedule for tonight? Was really looking forward to watching it, but haven't seen it in my schedule or PBS' local listings (I'm in Astoria).
It's apparently on tomorrow at 12:30. But of course, I'm moving tomorrow and won't have cable set back up until Monday. It re-airs NEXT Sunday, too, apparently... But I thought for sure it was supposed to air tonight. Wondering if that "British Invasion" thing is it. Going to record it just in case.
I can't find it on PBS in my area but I did find it airing tomorrow at 7:00pm on what looks like a local Michigan channel Comcast 21 WKAR that doesn't seem to be associated with a nat network. So keep looking in your area.
Well it looks like WKAR is from Michigan State Univ thur PBS but it is not on my regular PBS channel. Way confusing to me lol.
Slotted for 3 hours in NY. That means at least 1 hour of pledge break interruptions. Ugh! Still...worth checking out, if only to know whether the Blu-ray is worth purchasing. Thanks for the heads-up.
The entr'acte is gone - they wanted it to be seen more as a "film" than a filmed show. And a few transitions are also gone. (Set changes and musical passages - no actual lyrics or songs cut)
So before tonight I knew nothing about the show except the general story and that it was a sequel.
I played the OCLR and then watched the BD.
A few thoughts (minor spoilers):
The opening is better in the revised Australian version by far, but still feels problematic. A shortened version of his big song would have been enough without jumping right to the deep end with the evening's main showstopper.
The production is really well directed. Simon Phillips has some experience directing opera and his ability to smoothly stage a show this large is evident. Part of that opinion might also be influenced by the fact that what I saw was a professionally edited filmed performance though. Either way, the BD looks and sounds spectacular regardless what you think of the show.
Which leads me to my opinion of the show itself. I'll keep it short and just say that I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. It's by no means a masterpiece and the score is particularly bland (even for ALW) but I was never bored and at times got quite caught up in it.
Special mention to the makeup. That slicked back hair that the Phantom has isn't real. I won't say why you would think otherwise lest I spoil a key scene, but I had to watch the special features just to see the actor out of makeup to be sure.
I'm curious to see it. I'm not a fan of the OLCR. It may because I never felt that Phantom ever needed a sequel, but I figure if PBS is going to show it, I can watch it for free and determine if it is any good. Last time I saw I show I had never seen on TV, I ended up booking a trip to NYC and seeing the show live. While fluff, Legally Blonde has a spot in my heart. It's simply a fin show with some great songs! Maybe this filmed version of LND while change my opinion of it.
Caught a bit this morning, Christine's duet with her son. Some trite bit about looking with your heart. I was bored and switched the channel. Christine's wig is a force of nature, though.
Watched most of it - had to take a break midway because it was moving soooo slowww. The end should have drawn a lot of emotion from all instead of blank looks. But that is JMO. Glad I saw it but didn't have to pay for it.
Our local (Seattle) PBS just aired the Oscar Hammerstein special *yesterday*--two months after it was set to air on most PBS stations (and I believe did). It's always a crap shot with them, but I believe this is pledge break season (which now seems to be every other month) so I imagine most will be showing Love Never Dies.
Wow. This show bugged me. Not only was the ending a preventable DISASTER (Meg with a gun? COME ON.), but being able to guess pretty much every lyric before it came was grating.
That doughy Brit needs more no-people in his life. Or maybe just more coke.
"Special mention to the makeup. That slicked back hair that the Phantom has isn't real. I won't say why you would think otherwise lest I spoil a key scene, but I had to watch the special features just to see the actor out of makeup to be sure."
It's the exactly same as the original production. The Phantom wears a bald cap with a sparse, white wig on top of it, and the dark wig on top of that. If you watch the unmasking in the original production, she not only takes his mask off, but also takes the dark wig off, which is how he ends up with the 'cancer look'.
Although, the make-up is nowhere near as severe in LND since they never show it. It looks like minor appliances. The first thing I noticed was that his lip was not swollen, but only painted to look deformed.
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joined:11/9/04
Posted: 6/2/12 at 09:27am