• Love Never Dies (Tokyo)

1/17/25 (Fri), Tokyo

This show, a sequel of sorts to Phantom of the Opera, flopped big time in London and again in a significantly rewritten version in Australia; it never made it to New York. The revised show has had more success in Tokyo, where it has played on several occasions since 2015. The theater in this opening-night performance appeared nearly full. The lead roles are all double- or triple-cast. For the opening, veterans Ichimura Masachiku (now well in his 70s) and Hirahata Ayaka are back as the Phantom and Christine. Interestingly the show is not being produced by Gekidan Shiki, which has made the Japanese Phantom an immense success for the past three decades, but by the smaller Horipro.

The setting is said to be ten years after the original musical (though there’s some confusion in the timeframe). The Phantom, who was left for dead in the original, has somehow survived with the help of Madame Giry and Meg and has moved from the Paris Opera to Coney Island – a good metaphor for the musical’s own journey. Continue reading →