Movie sequels have become so ubiquitous that we are actually surprised when they don't materialize. The same thing has become the case with books, as book series are now all the rage, most notably in young adult fiction. Even concept albums get sequels. However, one entertainment medium which isn't known for sequels is the Broadway musical. I would venture to guess that most people couldn't name a musical sequel. I know that I couldn't, until I learned of Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. As Phantom is one of the most successful musicals of all time, it's not surprising that someone would want to see that success continued. The surprise is the show itself.

Love Never Dies takes place about a decade after the events seen in Phantom of the Opera. The scene is Coney Island, where Phantasma is all the rage. Meg Giry (Sharon Millerchip), who left the Paris opera house with her mother, Madame Giry (Maria Mercedes), is the star of the show. We soon learn that The Phantom (Ben Lewis) is behind the show. Using a fake name, The Phantom invites Christine Daae (Anna O'Byrne) to come to New York to sing. She arrives with her husband, Raoul (Simon Gleeson), and their son, Gustave (Jack Lyall), in tow. It doesn't take long for Christine to realize that The Phantom is behind the show. But, instead of being horrified, she wants to sing his song. Gustave meets The Phantom and is fascinated by the man. Raoul's old jealousies surface. As the time for Christine's performance approaches, many old feelings surface, and it becomes evident that someone won't win in this situation.

This performance of Love Never Dies was recorded at The Regent Theatre in Melbourne, Australia from September 9-13, 2011. This recording has two major problems. First of all, for the bulk of the show, we have no sense of a live audience. It's not until the curtain call that the camera pulls back to show the audience. I don't need reaction shots from the crowd, but the lack of applause for the big numbers makes this feel like a performance which was recorded in an empty theatre. If you'll remember, the audience in the Phantom special came right up to the stage, so we had the feeling that we were there. Also taking away from this illusion is the camerawork here. Director Brett Sullivan has chosen to use many close-ups and medium shots here, which, I assume, he thought would get us close to the action. But, it creates an artificiality. As someone who recently attended a Broadway (like) show from the seventh row, I can tell you that being close is cool, but it's also nice to be able to look around and take in the scope of the stage. Love Never Dies offers some great production design, but the camera rarely pulls back far enough to show us the whole stage.

The question here is, will fans of Phantom of the Opera embrace Love Never Dies? Based on the independent research done in my household, the answer is no. My wife is a big Phantom fan she only made it halfway through Love Never Dies. If you've never seen Phantom, will you enjoy Love Never Dies? I doubt it, as the show simply isn't engaging. Clearly a lot of work went into it, but it simply falls flat. Love may never die, but our hopes do early in the first act.

Andrew Llloyd Webber's Love Never Dies is unmasked on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The show has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 35 Mbps. The show was presumably shot on HD equipment, as the image is very sharp and clear, showing no grain or defects from the source materials. The colors look very good and natural. There are moments where lights bloom some and things to the side of the stage are a tad dark, but otherwise, the crispness of this helps to make us feel as if we are there. The Disc carries a DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 2.5 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue, music, and sound effects. As one would hope, the music sounds fantastic. The vocals are very clear and we can pick out individual instruments from the orchestra. The music fills the speakers, and is nicely separated. The basslines bring the subwoofer into the mix.

The lone extra on the Andrew Llloyd Webber's Love Never Dies Blu-ray Disc is "The Making of Love Never Dies" (15 minutes). This piece is made up predominantly by interviews with the cast and those responsible for the show, most notably Webber himself. Webber talks about the story, the set, and the scope of the show. The actors talk about their characters, the spectacle and the challenges of the show. We also hear reaction from the troupe of what it was like to have Webber there on opening night.