Phantom or Phantom?- Page 2

[Marianne]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 3:08pm

There are a bunch of places in Yeston's Phantom where I seriously feel like I'm listening to Beauty and the Beast. The musical similarity is almost distracting at times, and very weird because I think they were written nearly a decade apart.

Of the Phantom adaptations, I think Ken Hill's version came the closest to capturing the spirit of the original novel. It has the right blend of horror, gothic romance, and tongue-in-cheek poking at its own ridiculousness.

[sparrman]

Posted: 5/14/07 at 3:54pm

It shouldn't be automatically assumed, I think, that faithfulness to the original source is necessarily a good thing. I've read the Laroux novel, and it's hardly a great work of literature. I find Kopit and Yeston's "take" on that basic premise to be more compelling than the novel or the ALW version.

[chernjam]

Posted: 5/15/07 at 12:09am

I saw Yeston's Phantom at the Paper Mill Playhouse (an acclaimed production of it) and bought the CD at the time, because I really enjoyed it -

But years later - I can't recall a single tune from it - yet I can sing (and thoroughly love) ALW's Phantom...

So put me in the ALW column

[caitlinette]

Posted: 5/15/07 at 1:32am

There are a bunch of places in Yeston's Phantom where I seriously feel like I'm listening to Beauty and the Beast. The musical similarity is almost distracting at times

Can you give some examples?