Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book

[BroadwayEnthusiast]

Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#0

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:08pm

has anyone read the book? BY gaston Leroux... Is it jut like the show/movie? Becuase im supposed to read it, but i wonder if maybe i can get away with not reading it just by knowing the show and seeing the movie. Help

[Unknown User]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#1

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:09pm

No, it is not - and on a side note, that's never really a responsible thing to do.

[zepka102]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#2

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:09pm

definitely read the book... there's many many differences

::bust a move::

[SallyBrown]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#3

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:10pm

no it's not like the show.
Many similarities, but for one thing, the phantom doesnt have his half-mask thing going on, he just has a death's face. While the musical is a lot like the book because *duh* the musical was based on the book, there are some differences (the Persian, the ending)
And anyway, I would really recommend reading it. It's one of my favorite books!

"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."

[GypsyRoseLee]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#4

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:25pm

The book is EXCELLENT. I assure you, reading it will be no chore. It's impossible to put down once you reach the ending. The musical is generally true to the book, except that some of the characters have slightly different roles. (i.e. Madame Giry is an usher instead of ballet mistress).

"This is what I trained to do, and this is what I love about theater. What I love about being an actress is being able to really look into myself and understand another human being. And out my own self, to shape and form and fashion a real human being--and to present that in such a way that people see something of themselves or their own understanding in that human being." --Phylicia Rashad

[GypsyRoseLee]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#5

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:28pm

Oh! Please can we discuss the differences between the musical and the book! Ever since I read it, i've been wanting to talk about it, but i'm having trouble finding people who are interested.

The changes that were made from the book to the play; good or bad?

I liked how in the play Raoul was less of a cry-baby than in the book. However, I wish they had kept the Persian. Thoughts?

"This is what I trained to do, and this is what I love about theater. What I love about being an actress is being able to really look into myself and understand another human being. And out my own self, to shape and form and fashion a real human being--and to present that in such a way that people see something of themselves or their own understanding in that human being." --Phylicia Rashad

[spiderdj82]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#6

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:44pm

I thought the ending to the book was better than the ending of the musical. I think they should have included some part of the torture chamber but I like the musical better as a whole than the book. The book was SO slow at parts an I wanted to drop kick Raoul everytime he talked. Christine could have farted in his face and he would have cried because he thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. (And yes, I put that part in another thread a couple of weeks ago but it needs mentioning again )

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

[SallyBrown]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#7

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:46pm

REally? I thought the musicla ending was better than the book.
And I really like how the Phantom in the musical didnt have a whole skull/death's head thing.
I thought one of the biggest differences was Madame Giry. In the book, she was more eh, proud I guess, and in the musical she was mature and responsible. Ok that made 0 sense, but I think you know where Im going with this.
I did have to read that part about the whole Raoul fallowing Christine to the cemetery twice to full comprehend
that being said, I loved the book! lol

"It's a great feeling of power to be naked in front of people. We're happy to watch actual incredible graphic violence and gore, but as soon as somebody's naked it seems like the public goes a bit bananas about the whole thing."

[Allie]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#8

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:46pm

I read the novel in French class a couple years ago, and LOVED it! I knew the story of the musical beforehand. I have to admit it did help a bit with a few parts, but the book is great!

[GypsyRoseLee]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#9

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:52pm

Spider, your post made me laugh.

Yeah, I wish they could have kept the torture chamber, I imagine it would have been hard to put on a stage, but it was just so brilliant. I thought it was funny how his name was Erik. You think of the Phantom as this diabolical, brilliant, evil villian...but then his name is so simple. They might as well have called him Joe or Mac or something. Not that there is anything WRONG with any of those names...it just came as a surprise to me.

"This is what I trained to do, and this is what I love about theater. What I love about being an actress is being able to really look into myself and understand another human being. And out my own self, to shape and form and fashion a real human being--and to present that in such a way that people see something of themselves or their own understanding in that human being." --Phylicia Rashad

[Allie]

re: Phantom Of THe Opera, Musical vs. Book#10

Posted: 1/9/05 at 2:54pm

Ooo, the torture chamber. I made a model of that for a project. It was fun!