Phantom ending- Page 2

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:48pm

Oh. I thought the Phantom reanimated her corpse so she could sing "Think of Me."

[winston89]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 2:57pm

Huh?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/11/08 at 3:38pm

In the book he dies.

[brettystar]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 10:05pm

Winston89, is Christine really in the auction scene at the beginning? I have seen this show 7 times (over 18 years)and have never seen her in the auction scene. I thought Raoul was the survivor? Hence why he buys the music box?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 11:34pm

Yeah, but it doesn't actually say that Christine is in the second one. It just says that she and Raoul have a son.

[puppetman2]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 11:48pm

I've seen PHANTOM 16 times - Broadway, Toronto, Buffalo and Christine is NEVER in the opening scene at the auction. Madan Giry and Raul are the only onese from the main story who are in that scene,

[Tom148502]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 11:55pm

I prefer the Kopit/Yeston PHANTOM

[george95]

Posted: 4/12/08 at 11:56pm

Christine and the actress who plays her are 110% not in the auction scene. Mme Giry is there, but she is not necessarily there as Mme. Giry---she's not referred to in the libretto either.

[brettystar]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:49am

I think M Giry is only there so she can stamp her cane at the beginning to create the eerie mood - lol.

For the record, I think the Phantom just disappears at the end. I certainly don't think he dies. I also don't really think you are meant to think too much about it.

[winston89]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 1:12am

No, Christine isn't there during the auction scene. Just Raul and Giry.

In the movie they are showing you two stories at once. The musical of course. And, then there are bits in black and white that show Raul bringing the music box to Christine's grave. At the end when he gets there you see one of the Phantom's red roses. So, at least as far as the movie is concerned, the Phantom doesn't die. You don't know of course what point in time he left the rose there. It's just there.

I also think that the movie made better use of the roses that you see in the ad. In the movie they came with every one of the Phantom's notes. In the show it doesn't mean anything.

It's true that your not supposed to think much about what happens to the Phantom other then he disappears. But, with the wonderful (said sarcastically) sequel coming up Webber will do a good job of changing that.

As for me saying that Christine is alive during the auction scene was nothing short of a total brain fart. I have seen the show 8 times and I should have realized that. Sorry.

[James885]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 10:33am

I always thought the ending was supposed to be sort of left open for interpretation. We could decide for ourselves what happened to the Phantom.

Of course now with this awful sequel we can't do that anymore...

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 11:54am

I do not like Phantom, but I think the ending is one of the most beautiful finales ever staged. The movie ruined it and now so will the sequel. You're supposed to give in to the mystery of it all, not pay $110 to see what happens next. The sequel will destroy everything sacred about the original show.

~Steven
Updated On: 4/13/08 at 11:54 AM

[justafan2]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 11:59am

Steven---I agree with you---some things are best left alone.

[winston89]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:01pm

I still think that the movie left bit of the mystery there. At the end you do realize he is alive because he leaves the rose on Christine's grave. But, what happens to him after that is a mystery never fully explained (sorry bout that)

[Cape Twirl of Doom]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:04pm

I also think that the movie made better use of the roses that you see in the ad. In the movie they came with every one of the Phantom's notes. In the show it doesn't mean anything.

Originally in the show, there would be a red rose left alongside the mask on the throne at the very end. As with the re-design of the mask, by the time they stopped using the rose the artwork and logos for the show has already been created, so they kept the poster with the rose & full face mask even though neither is actually seen in the show.

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:28pm

I thought this was a thread saying the Phantom was closing and Phantom 2 has been canceld.

[greybaby231]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:36pm

Alas, SpellingBee, we can only hope that #2 gets cancelled.

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 12:55pm

SPOILERS

The film does essentially say that he lives, somewhere else. His rose lying at the grave haunts Raoul. I love that, but I prefer the ambiguous dramatic ending of the show.

[LittlexFallxOfxRain]

Posted: 4/13/08 at 8:06pm

In my opinion, the rose on the grave was a huge mistake, because it answered the question that the audience should have been left to answer themselves: "does phantom die?" I personally would think that he killed himself.

A worse choice than the rose on the grave was the choice to play that song during the closing credits. What the fudge?