Phantom...It Just keeps getting worse... (Don't read if you're a fan) — Page 3

I agree with all of the complaints against PHANTOM and I'll add one of my own: The lyrics are embarrassingly bad. Some of the songs have lovely melodies (All I Ask of YOU is one I liked) but the words are so empty and banal that I lose interest in the song long before it reaches a climax. And the whole score is saddled with lyrics that just do not work. I always suspected that if Hal Prince had produced this show as well as directed he would have demanded a far better text.

I first reviewed PHANTOM on Saturday January 30 - 4 days after it opened - awarding it * * 1/2 out of 5. The night before I had seen INTO THE WOODS and while it too has a few problems - notably a 2nd Act where a good deal of time is wasted arguing over what to do before a plan is finally put in place and acted upon - but it's score and overall construction is brilliant and original. I gave it * * * * out of 5. Return visits to both shows on Broadway in the summer of 2002 found the ratings exactly the same.

So..... Why did audiences flock to PHANTOM for 16 years while INTO THE WOODS lasted barely 2? In a word ... marketing! Even before it opened POTO was a major NYC tourist attraction and it still is. Most of the people that go are not theatre fans. They are theme-park thrill seekers.

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Oh, poo. It's a lovely show that can appeal to non-theatre people- which is a big deal. It's why a random person would see Lion King or POTO before Into the Woods or DRS - and yeah, marketing has something to do with it. You can't deny that the original cast of POTO was amazing - come on, people. But now, after so many years, it has gotten stale. It's like any other show that has been running quite awhile- there are no traces of an original cast left, and the actors are just working. I think it's more their fault than ALW's or anyone else.

Sant, you forgot to mention that Tim Rice was tired of his name being under Webber's on the Marquise!
It was always:
MUSIC BY ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
and
lyrics by tim rice

The truth is Rice did more work writing Lyrics than Webber does writing the music,
and
"Because TR didn't want to make a musical about cats and ALW did"
Aren't the lyrics to Cats wriiten by T.S. Elliot as they had INTENDED to be? How could Rice have been involved in this if the lyrics were pre-written???

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Wow... this is a gripe people have had since the 80s... way to carry a grudge. When Phantom shoots over the record set by Cats I think we should also award 'Longest Running Tempertanrum about a show becoming successful'.

Oh wait. That applies to most of Lloyd-Webber's material.

((And, quickly, in defending ALW, I wouldn't use "Woman in White" as evidence... it's not that great, in my opinion. Hope it gets some revisions before showing up in New York...))

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"I would prefer to see POTO over Into the Woods, or DRS. They aren't the most appealing shows ever written, and while I LOVE Stephen Sondheim, the popularity of his shows to the general public show in their ticket sales."

I think you lost the train of thought here but I see you are heading.

The problem is that so many peiople buy PHANTOM tickets as a brand name . It has become a tourist attraction because of the cache of going home and telling friends you saw PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on Broadway! If a person said they saw DRS, their friends probably haven't heard of it, so it carries less status.

I believe that many tourists see the one show based on its fame, and see nothing else. (With ticket prices who can blame them???) But with nothing to compare it with. But they go home and tell their friends about the wonderful scenery and special effects. So their friends come to NYC and they want to see THAT show because Sarah and Harry saw it and loved it. Meanwhile these people are missing out on other shows, many of which are better written and better performed... just not as well known in middle America.

And yes, I bashed PHANTOM in my original review (and a follow up in 2002) for all the weaknesses in writing. And there is no need for all these weaknesses. Given its source it COULD have been a really fantastic musical. In fact there is a much better musical adaptation by Maury Yesteon written before the Lloyd Webber version came along but unfortunately the ALW version opened first in London then fast tracked to Broadway.

As for your comment:
"Really, I hope some of you aren't so closed minded as to think that this board makes up most of the theatre
community."

Many of the longtime members here are true Broadway fans (Some have the advantage of living in or near NYC) and a lot of us have seen many of the shows that have come (and gone) since POTO arrived in 1988. I haven't seen everything but I have seen a lot of shows much better written and (for me) far more enjoyable than PHANTOM.

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I can only say that when I saw POTO the Fall of 2002, it was as exciting as cold oatmeal...a few interesting stage effects which totally upstaged the performers.

I can't speak to the freshness or lack thereof of Phantom on Broadway---haven't seen it on Broadway for years, but I saw the tour a few months ago, and the cast, led by Gary Mauer were energetic and talented. Phantom lives

I feel like some people missed the "Don't read if you're a fan" caveat.

Ticket sales mean nothing, they just mean stupid tourist proles brought into the slick PR (which I admit is something ALW can do well). Ticket sales have zero relation to quality of the said musical.

Saying that. 'Phantom of the Opera' can be done well. It is a bitch to pull off well, but sadly everybody since Anthony Warlow & Michael Crawford just cannot do it.

(btw, I am not saying I dislike all of ALW stuff - I actually did enjoy alot of his 70s stuff like JCS and Evita - of course more TR then ALW - just pretty much everything since then is god awful).

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 12:57 AM

One word, nycishome: spellcheck. times 15.

That's nice.

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I think film is better in some parts too. Of course the Phantom cannot sing. but the scene is much better like marsquerade and point of no return. The stage version of these two scenes are simply bland, boring and bad. Christine and Raoul in the movie are very good too.

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 01:01 PM

Speaking of Tim Rice....I understand that he is CURRENTLY working with Webber and they are presenting a show they worked on years ago before Joseph/Dreamcoat called The Likes Of Us. The is being presented at Webber's Sydmonton Festivel.

Also...Sondheim, although he is "brilliant" and a "genius", has written some pretty boring shows as well. And by that I mean Passion and Sunday/George. I remember when I saw the original PBS playing of Passion ... I keep thinking...."OMG. When will the paint dry?"

And in all fairness to PHANTOM... I think the worst interpretation I've seen of Phantom was by Brad Little. I saw him in the touring production in San Diego and was absolutely disapointed in his acting. I really wanted my money back.

Updated On: 6/28/05 at 06:13 PM