Phantom of the Opera- Page 2

[DofB5]

Posted: 5/22/03 at 6:55pm

How can you feel any sense of drama or concern for what is going in the story when you already know what is going to happen? I.E. who's going to live and who is going to die.

Did any of you feel any kind of concern for Raoul when Erik threatens him, knowing he lives? I didn't.

I hear that the movie is mostly cast. A 16 year old as Christine and a how old guy as Raoul? 29, 30? And they were "childhood friends"??? A Phantom in his 40's? Does anyone besides me see something wrong with this? Are we going to watch a love triangle or which guy wins the chance to possibly commit statutory rape? Don't tell me, I know, he'll wait until she "grows up".

Sounds like a movie all parents will want their teenagers to see. So what rating do you think the movie will get? G or PG?

D

Posted: 5/22/03 at 10:56pm

John~ in a sense, the ending does reflect back to the auction or at least the little monkey. In the beginning, when Raoul sees and hears the little monkey, he recalls and shares " she often spoke of you,...you figurine of red...will you still play when all the rest of us are dead".

Raoul is telling the audience that more than likely Christine is now dead, as he sets up the flashback and the story unfolds.

In the final scene...the Phantom returns to the little monkey and sadly sings " Masquarade, paper faces on parade...hid you face so the world will never find". Then he disappears in the chair.

Sooooo....the monkey is the link (the missing link ha ha) to the first scene and the last. Well,,, at least that's what I walk away with.

[kec]

Posted: 5/23/03 at 2:38am

never "crashed" down per se. That would be just too expensive to replace :). As I remember, it drops from its place on the ceiling, then swings down toward the stage, coming to rest at Christine's feet. I once sat below the chandelier when I saw the show (in Washington DC), and, even though I knew what was coming, it still gave me a momentary fright to look up and see that thing coming almost straight down!

[CB]

Posted: 5/23/03 at 3:48pm

Sorry this reply comes late, I just found this great site.

Steve Barton committed suicide july 21st 2001, but I think it is ludicrous to blame Michael Crawford for it. Steve suffered from bipolar disease, a very severe form of depression with a high suicide rate. The medicament against it was the reason why he gained much weight. He should have played "Jekyll&Hyde" in Bremen and started rehearsing in august 2000 but his contract was cancelled after the producers found out he made a suicidal attempt. Steve himself was yet convinced he would be the one to play Krolock on Broadway.

I got this information from the obituary notice written by the leader of his former fan club, now the Steve Barton Society, published in the german "musicals"-magazine, and it corresponds with the information I got from german fans of Steve and TdV.

I guess the producers of DOTV didn?t consider Steve for Krolock at the end because of his physical and mental state at that time. You know how producers are. If losing the role had anything to do with Steves tragic suicide I don?t know but it is obviously not true that Michael Crawford kicked Steve out. He simply accepted a role offered to him and - like everybody else - he could not know what Steve would do.

Posted: 5/23/03 at 9:37pm

CB~ That's a pretty strong statement. Are you able to provide facts behind that post? A dated article perhaps? Or did you read this on a website?

I'm not saying you didn't read this, just trying to locate the information source. Thanks.

[Sally]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 1:22am

Apparently Steve's problems were of long standing. I don't think that the original article from the Texas newspaper is still on line, but you can find a reprint of it at

http://www.phantommovie.com/statesman.htm

Here is part of the article:

"By Sondra Lomax
Special to the American-Statesman
Tuesday, September 4, 2001
On July 21, Steve Barton slipped into a deep sleep and never awakened. He died alone in an apartment in Germany, a country where he was a star and a cult figure to fans who made a best-seller of the soundtrack CD to his musical "Dance of the Vampire" and dressed like the Count von Krolock character he portrayed on stage.
The man who had starred in "The Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway and had inspired slavish devotion from his followers, was found in his bed, an empty bottle of prescription heart medication nearby. Police ruled his death was self-inflicted, but there was no suicide note. No autopsy. The official cause of death was listed as heart failure. ...

...There were more questions than answers about Barton's death, but in his family's inner circle, a secret -- unknown to his adoring public -- held clues.
Barton suffered from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, a disease that raged undiagnosed for more than 15 years. Treatment had begun only months earlier.
Berry [his ex-wife] never suspected that her husband was mentally ill until it was too late. Now he was dead at only 47. For years, he had battled alcoholism, an illness he shared with his father and brother. She dismissed his mood swings and depression as a result of his drinking and his frustrations of dealing with chronic knee pain. Fourteen knee surgeries over 28 years had left him addicted to painkillers.
But in recent years, signs of bipolar disorder became more obvious. He would become extremely manic, then deeply depressed, in ever-worsening cycles. During the height of his career, in the late '80s and early '90s, he was often despondent. During that time, he opened "Phantom" on Broadway and was hugely popular, yet he suffered low self-esteem, felt he was a failure and would often be unable to get out of bed and face reality.
Barton's offstage existence became as tortured and tragic as the larger-than-life fictional characters -- the Phantom, Count von Krolock in "Dance of the Vampire" and the Beast in "Beauty and the Beast" -- he portrayed onstage. In the last year of his life, he needed constant medication and supervision. Hallucinations and severe panic attacks crippled him. Finally, on that lonely night in July, he gave in to his despair....

...Weight gain is a common side effect of the mood-stabilizing drugs used to treat bipolar disorder, and for a performer -- to whom physical appearance is extremely important -- that can be devastating. Medication also subdues the highs and lows, taking the edge off extreme behaviors. To a manic-depressive, the mania cycles can be exhilarating, even intoxicating and addicting. And it's common for patients to feel the drugs suppress their creative and intellectual abilities. Medication allows rational functioning, but patients may not like how they feel.
"When rational, Steve knew his talent and capabilities," Berry said. "(But) he couldn't accept reliance on medication that subdued his emotions, and of course, the weight gain was awful for his self-esteem. It was so tragic and illogical," she said of the suicide attempt. "He was convinced he couldn't memorize his lines and tried to kill himself rather than face a costume fitting. Thank heaven they found him in time."
At the end, Barton had stopped taking his bipolar medications. Despondent and panicked, he phoned Berry two days before his death. She suspected that he was drinking again, but he didn't sound drunk, which puzzled and frightened her. That was the last time they spoke. ...
...
Without an autopsy, Berry feels she will never learn the truth of his death. But she hopes that revealing the details of his mental illness will help others.
"I want people to become more aware of this disease, to know how to recognize the danger signs. Bipolarism destroyed Steve. The man who died was not the man we all knew. It destroyed my family unit and took my son's father," she said.
"We had always hoped he would get better, but now that door is slammed shut. At least his suffering is over."
 
 

[Sally]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 1:27am

<< How can you feel any sense of drama or concern for what is going in the story when you already know what is going to happen? I.E. who's going to live and who is going to die.>>

Well, it hasn't hurt "Hamlet" much---been going strong for over four hundred years. Every time I see it, I find myself kind of hoping that *this* time, Hamlet will get things right.

[RagtimeRay]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 7:33am

I always felt that the chandelier rising from the stage at the opening of the show was a much more "thrilling" effect than when it falls.

[Count Von Krolock]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 10:18am

I never blamed Michael for Steve's death. Just that the producers had to scrabble to find Michael to replace Steve. Ciao Bella.......

[CB]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 11:18am

Updated On: 5/24/03 at 11:18 AM

[CB]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 11:38am

I was referring to some mean posts on message boards where the reason for Steve?s death had been discussed while DOTV was in previews and Michael was blamed there in a very unfair way. I only wanted to avoid a repetition of that fiery discussion.

[CB]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 12:17pm

I just saw that Sally already posted another source, it corresponds with what I read. The german article I read was published after Steve died, in the german magazine "musicals" in 2001, I don?t know the exact edition. It was written as an obituary by the former leader of Steves fan club. Why should she as a fan and admirer who knew Steve personally write these things in an obituary if they were not true? So I think the source is reliable. She also wrote that it is necessary to know personal things about an artist to really understand his work. I agree with her about that, after knowing those personal things about Steves life I understand much better why he was able to embody such a real and true Krolock in TdV.

[MlleDaae]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 12:34pm

Ok, I'm about one of the biggest Phans there are! So, I'd love to chat to other phans. Don't want to get into discussion...er...wait...need those posts...I guess I do...

Updated On: 7/12/19 at 12:34 PM

[MlleDaae]

Posted: 5/24/03 at 12:49pm

Yes, I LOVE the Phantom of the Opera. I LOVE Tanz der Vampire! As for Dance of the Vampires...it was good in it's own sense. As in., if TdV wasn't already created DotV would have been a good comedy. The usual broadway crowd wasn't used to Michael doing comedy. Even though! that's what he's mainly done all his life! But...Broadway likes the Phantom character. Michael wanted to change the original von Krolock because he didn't want people to say, "It took him ten years to come back to Broadway and all that's new is lack of a mask but a set of fangs!" So, he was one of the people to change/rewrite it. I think it would have been a smash hit if they had kept it the way it was in Germany! I truly believe that.
 

Updated On: 7/12/19 at 12:49 PM