The departure of the "Atlantic Queen"

[igenlode]

I think I've finally worked out the rationale behind the final-act change to Raoul's dialogue in "Love Never Dies", where his insistence that he has bought tickets on the Atlantic Queen, which sails in an hour's time, is changed to which "leaves tonight" (thus removing any argument for Christine to leave with him *before* the performance in order to catch their boat -- there is now no logical reason why she shouldn't be able to have her cake and eat it, by singing for the Phantom and still departing with Raoul afterwards!)

It's because Lloyd Webber now wanted to bring Raoul back for the final scene -- I'm guessing that the assumption was that previously when Raoul leaves in a hurry during the performance he is taking a carriage directly to the docks in order to catch the "Atlantic Queen", and thus would already be on board at the time of Christine's death ;-p So presumably the departure was delayed in order to have Raoul still on hand.

(I don't actually see this as a problem, myself, having already written a story in which Raoul and Gustave leave, have an altercation with the Phantom en route, and *still* catch their boat, albeit by a pier-head jump!)