You're right, the melody stomping quote is a joke--but I think it was being used as a real put down (Walsh even says "It was a joke, of course," but the thrust of his other comments seems to me to make his acidic intentions clear). I do like the book, as I said. It's a great guide to ALW, with appealing analyses of the various shows. Funny that you talk about how long ago you read it. Same here. I bought it when I was working at a bookstore in the early '90's. For me that feels like yesterday. :)
I think if you genuinely want to “finally get it”, you need to see the production at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London. I’ve seen many tours, as well as the Broadway production and morning compares to the original production. On Broadway it felt like a concert version with terrible accents.
AngusN said: "I think if you genuinely want to “finally get it”, you need to see the production at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London. I’ve seen many tours, as well as the Broadway production and morning compares to the original production. On Broadway it felt like a concert version with terrible accents."
I'm seeing it in London in November after 5x on Broadway and I'm really anxious to see how they compare. I found some clips of their new Phantom, Josh Piterman, and he sounds amazing.