General rant on POTO

I saw phantom of the opera yesterday afternoon. O my god I wish I didn't. the score was so so. And the acting was next to none it was like every single person on that stage was phoning in their preformanes. The 'special effects' were aweful. And the whole chandalear sp? is so goddamn over rated. By the time it took that thing to fall I could have gotten through the entier sunday New York Times it was THAT slow. I don't know why people flock to this show. True that nowadays most of the people that go are tourists that know NOTHING about theatre. This proves my point that the average tourist is stupid. I don't mean the people that post here that aren't from NYC i mean people that no nothing of the theatre world and no nothing of NYC. Tourists are so damn stupid. I went to the box offic knowing that they would not give me a refund but I bitched and moaned just for the hell of it. It was that bad. I left at intermission and wanted to kill myself during the first act.

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It is funny, POTO was never one of my favorites but I decided to tag along with some friends recently and I must say that in light of what has been happening on Broadway lately, I thought that the show held up very well. I thought that it was leagues above such generic recent offerings of WICKED, MAMMA MIA, WEDDING SINGER, ALL SHOOK UP, etc. I also thought that the current cast (McGillin, Wills, Lewis) was particularly strong. I do agree however that the effects need some updating....I actually laughed out loud at the chandelier "falling" and the weird little fire balls coming from the Phantom in Act II. Besides a couple of chuckles at strange effects and some odd blocking/movement choices, I really enjoyed myself and I must say that I actually shed a tear for that dear old Phantom.

You have to understand, the show is 18 years old. You're not going to get the "OMGZ AWESOME!!1" special effects that you see in shows like Wicked.

If the tourists are the ones keeping Phantom open with grosses above 90%, I say bring them in!

And not everyone who goes to see Phantom is a stupid tourist, some of us have a great knowledge of theatre.

Updated On: 3/15/07 at 11:58 AM

I agree with BobbyErikValjean. POTO has provided a lot of people with steady jobs and has consistently brought a great deal of money into Broadway. The tourists enjoy it, so what's wrong with that? Many of them have never seen a Broadway show before, and don't have the perspective that a lot of us who have seen many shows do.

In the documentary, didn't they say Australia had the fastest chandalier going pretty breakneck, followed by London, with the U.S. being the slowest.

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"True that nowadays most of the people that go are tourists that know NOTHING about theatre. This proves my point that the average tourist is stupid. I don't mean the people that post here that aren't from NYC i mean people that no nothing of the theatre world and no nothing of NYC. Tourists are so damn stupid."

Just because someone may not have the same knowledge about theater as you doesn't make them stupid. No need to be so harsh. It's a matter of opinion, some people actually like it. *Gasp*

People who don't know how to use proper spelling/grammar, in my opinion, are stupid.

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Updated On: 3/15/07 at 12:21 PM

D2,

On wednesdays my school gets out at 12:40. Enough time to rush uptown via subway and snag a ticket for a 2 PM show.

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It's all a matter of taste, I suppose. I loved POTO ever since I heard the original cast recording. Saw it in London last year and loved it even more.

I always thought that POTO is a very enjoyable show if you like the score. Usually if people ask me if I recommend it, I'll ask if they know any of the music and if they like it. If they reply eh, I tell them they may not like the show then. If you can't get drawn into the atmosphere through the music, it can be incredibly boring. And, yes, the 18 year old effects are interesting if you've never seen them before but not exactly thrilling or interesting enough to make up for the slow parts of the show.

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Actually, I've heard London has a pretty slow chandelier. Australia and Mexico are known for the fastest and on tour, it really depends on which venue you see it in. But yeah, New York is really slow.

Oh, good. I'd hate to think you were skipping school and missing an important class.

Like English!

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I wouldn't consider tourists to be "stupid," just uninformed. Many of them are not regular theatre-goers, and they most likely went for Phantom because it's a familiar name. Or maybe people watch it because they like it. *gasp* Shocking, huh?

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"I went to the box offic knowing that they would not give me a refund but I bitched and moaned just for the hell of it."

Wow.

Make sure you watch what you are saying and doing before you decide to call other people stupid.

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