O'Brien to Direct and Crowley to Design Lloyd Webber's "Phantom" Sequel- Page 3

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 10:29am

MRS. JOHNSTONE
Tell me it's not true,
Say it's just a story,
Something on the news.

Tell me it's not true,
Though it's here before me,
Say it's just a dream,
Say it's just a scene,
From an old movie of years ago,
From an old movie of Marilyn Monroe,

Say it's just some clowns,
Two players in the limelight,
And bring the curtain down.

Say it's just two clowns,
Who couldn't get their lines right,
Say it's just a show on the radio,
That we can turn over and start again,
That we can turn over; it's just a game.

MRS. JOHNSTONE AND COMPANY
Tell me it's not true,
Say I only dreamed it,
And morning will come soon.

Say you didn't mean it,
Tell me it's not true,
Say it's just pretend,
Say it's just the end,
Of an old movie from years ago,
From an old movie of Marilyn Monroe.

Tell me it's not true,
Say I only dreamed it,
And morning will come soon.

Tell me it's not true
Say you didn't mean it.
Say it's just pretend
Say it's just the end
Of an old movie from long ago
From an old movie with Marilyn Monroe.

[wickedrentq]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 10:54am

If they were gonna do another Phantom, I wish they could have based it on Susan Kay's book, "Phantom." Make it more like a prequel than a sequel, I think that could have been much more interesting.

Oh well. im' in the minority in loving Webber and Phantom, but I too agree that sequels just don't work on Broadway.

Unless...hmm, I wonder if they take an interesting plot point from Susan Kay's "Phantom," and Christine and Raoul's son is actually the Phantom's son...hmmm...incredibly attractive, but unable to understand why people can't get past his looks. Lovely irony that book has.

[MerMaggieGalinda]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 10:56am

Yuck. The book sounds awful. And let me guess-the phantom is Christine's son's father! Judging from the original novel, that's impossible. I hate how everyone tries to change the story to make it look like the Phantom and Christine were in love-reality check-he was the only one!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 12:12pm

wickedrentq: I'm not exactly sure, but from what I've heard about the book, I believe that does end up being the case. I could be wrong, though.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 12:19pm

Phantom of Manhattan. This cannot end well.

[StuckToTheStage]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 1:01pm

Why don't they just name it The Phantom Queen?

[[e-mail]]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 8:24pm

Shouldn't he pick a lyricist first?

[BDrischBDemented]

Posted: 12/22/07 at 8:32pm

You make it sound as though he considers lyrics important.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 9:12pm

All I know is is that I'd love to see everyone's reactions if it succeeded.

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 12/24/07 at 10:23pm

LOL.

Posted: 12/28/07 at 6:19pm

does anyone know the storyline for this or has it not been announced yet?

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 6:44pm

read the posts above for the storylines. I don't understand why he changed the location from a theater to Coney Island.

[WickedRedX]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 7:14pm

You guys should at least give it a chance first. Even if there's a crappy plot to it, as long as he songs are top notch, then it should be alright. That's one of the things I love most about Phantom; nearly all the songs are absolutely fantastic. However, if the sequel can't match the original in the quality of it's songs in nearly every way, then I'm afraid it will most definitely be a flop. No question.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 7:45pm

.

[PhantomTango1]

Posted: 12/28/07 at 8:44pm

As one of those scary POTO fans, let me just declare how much I miss ALW's cat right now.

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 2:04am

Hey now people! If he could just find a good lyricist and someone good to do the book it might be amazing. I think his music is really good he is just not surrounding himself with talented people.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 2:18am

I'm curious about this.

I read Phantom of Manhattan in one sitting years ago. I couldn't put it down. I really enjoyed the book and it's not as tacky as one could make it sound.

Will ALW ruin it? Possibly. But, if you've never read it, don't jump all over the book. It's actually very good.

"Unless...hmm, I wonder if they take an interesting plot point from Susan Kay's "Phantom," and Christine and Raoul's son is actually the Phantom's son...hmmm...incredibly attractive, but unable to understand why people can't get past his looks. Lovely irony that book has."

I don't want to give away too much for people who haven't read the book but there is an interesting twist that answers this in Phantom of Manhattan

[dreamer8932]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 11:35am

When I first heard about Webber writing a sequel I thought, wrong move. POTO was amazing. Please don't try and add to it. It won't work. The ened was best kept a mystery. Why change that?

I don't think it will live. Let's hope and pray that Sir Webber proves us wrong.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 11:51am

Does anyone smell that? Oh yeah...its just a flop headed to broadway...dont sequels usally bomb? ala annie 2?

[Brave Sir Robin2]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 11:56am

No one remembers BRING BACK BIRDIE? Andrew, quit while you're ahead. Next, we'll get SON OF A WITCH, LEGALLY BLONDE 2, and THE MISERBLES GET MORE MISERABLE: THE SEQUEL TO LES MISERABLES, THE WORLD'S LONGEST RUNNING SHOW.

[Dre2387]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 2:23pm

Phantom is longest running show now. No idea why.

and you know what would happen if O'Brien does go along with this? He'll bring in Jerry Mitchell for the choreography.

[PhantomTango1]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 3:42pm

"THE MISERBLES GET MORE MISERABLE: THE SEQUEL TO LES MISERABLES, THE WORLD'S LONGEST RUNNING SHOW."

Best. Title. Ever.

My problem with the Phantom sequel is that I feel the original stands perfectly well on its own. Tourist stop or no, the show has been enormously successful through the years all over the world because there's a certain formula that's been working for it. Part of that formula is the ending. I like the fact that the fate of the Phantom is a mystery. Because it represents so many different possibilities to so many, I fear that a sequel would detract – if not destroy – its meaning to fans. Then the idea of using Phantom of Manhattan as a basis for the sequel...I have no words. It doesn't add to the story in anyway, it's just another useless extension.

I was really rather hoping that ALW would approach Hal Prince, who would then beat him with something large and heavy and the idea would be scrapped. I've never been a big fan of ALW, just Phantom (I give most of the credit for that success to the creative team), and this is just one more reason for me to dislike him. I don't trust his judgment when it comes to POTO; I think the 2004 movie demonstrates perfectly why. I wish he'd move on to new projects or retire, rather than trying to ride this idea into the ground.
Updated On: 12/29/07 at 03:42 PM

[SDav 10495]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 4:08pm

Just to add to the above comments about the creative team: the only thing that gives me hope about this is the knowledge that O'Brien and Crowley have a history together, so I'm not worried that about direction and set design working seamlessly as they do in the Prince/Bjornson Phantom. Still, brilliant as Crowley can be, I can't shake the feeling that any Lloyd Webber Phantom musical just can't work without Bjornson's eye.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/29/07 at 9:14pm

Is this opening on Broadway 1st or opening here in the UK first, the UK papers seem to think its opening in the West End in 2009?

I read the book a few months ago and its an easy read, its not that well written and the storyline is quite ridiculous but its not awful....but its not going to make for a good musical either in my opinion

[musical_devotee]

Posted: 12/30/07 at 5:19am

No need for all this premature negative comments. Let the man do his thing. If it sucks, I'll be the first to say so.

As for the lyricist, ALW mentioned earlier it will be David Zippel.