"The Phantom"?- Page 2

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 1:22pm

regarding the Brightman angle, wasn't she in CATS and ALW developed Christine around her? or is that apocryphal?

[WriteInNYC]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 2:36pm

<<"The operas been invaded by a Phantom! The operas been invaded by a Phantom! (Phantom!) The opera's been invaded by a ghoooost! By a ghost! By a ghost! If you follow him you're following a Phantom...He wears a mask! A mask! A terrifying mask! He wears a mask! A terrifying mask!">>

Granted, not very good...but let's not forget one of the many ridiculous passages from the ALW travesty (sung by the opera company members during the sitzprobe of "Don Juan"):

"Hide your sword now, wounded knight! Your vainglorious gasconade! Brought you to your final fight! For your pride high price you've paid!"

I mean, honestly, what's up with THAT?

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 6:32pm

I love the Don Juan lyrics. They'r so archaic-sounding, not to mention creepy. "Silken couch and hayfilled barn; both have been your battleground"....disturbing...

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 6:38pm

the show is coming to the Fullerton Civic Light Opera February 16 to March 4... I think I may go see this... their production of Miss Saigon was stellar and won the LA Ovation Award I believe for best musical


Fullerton Civic Light Opera

[coolphantom919]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 7:01pm

If im not mistaken it's "Phantom"? Is this right?

[eatlasagna]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 2:40pm

so i saw Phantom this past Saturday at Fullerton Civic Light Opera... and add me to the list of people who don't like this musical... i can't remember a single tune from this show... the music was just very... blah... not memorable... the only thing good about this was the amazing voices on the actors... the books scenes were terribly long and boring... and i hated that it felt like a musical comedy... my friend thought the musical was just really corny and cheesy and i agree... well the show did have it's moments... but those moments didn't come as often as i'd like... oh well... i much prefer ALW's Phantom...

[Sant]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 2:57pm

I've seen "PHANTOM" and I have to say I found it pretty boring. Both the book and the score. It is a bit more faithful to Leroux's book than Lloyd Webber's musical, though.

[jynni]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:07pm

"It is a bit more faithful to Leroux's book than Lloyd Webber's musical, though."
Huh? ALW's Phantom is much closer to the book. The Y/K version hardly resembles anything Leroux wrote other than there's a Phantom that lives in the opera house.

[Sant]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:19pm

"The Y/K version hardly resembles anything Leroux wrote other than there's a Phantom that lives in the opera house. "

... and he's called Erik in the book and in PHANTOM.

... and he dies in the book and in PHANTOM.

... and he's a deformed MAN who falls in love in the book and in PHANTOM. (in TPOTO he's more an obsessed maniac )


Updated On: 2/26/07 at 03:19 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:21pm

"Hide your sword now, wounded knight! Your vainglorious gasconade! Brought you to your final fight! For your pride high price you've paid!"

Those lyrics are still better than some of the crap in "Phantom" and it's my belief also that the Don Juan lyrics in Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" were written to be purposefully ill-matched with the rest of the show to highlight the work of a rather inexperienced lyricist writing and being inspired only by his infatuation with a young girl.

There are pros and cons to each show, but in the end I personally enjoy Webber's score much more. The movie aside "The Phantom of the Opera" follows the sequencing of events from the novel more closely then any other musical version. For other Phantom musical CDs I suggest checking out Ken Hill's "The Phantom of the Opera" which is on CD and David Spencer's hilariously awful kiddy "Phantom of the Opera" which is on the Playbill Records label(?)

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:32pm

Don Juan was supposed to be a masterpiece, not have horrendous lyrics.

Sant: Um, reread the book. Erik WAS an obsessed maniac.

Anyway, I've only heard "Melodie de Paris" from the musical, but I like it well enough. I like the Ken Hill version the best though.

[Sant]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:32pm

As Andrew Lloyd Webber said himself, Leroux's book is an odd piece of work, for it is not a gothic horror story nor a pure love story either, and there is a hint of a wannabe-documentary as well (Leroux states in the prologue "The phantom of the opera did really exist."). So I guess it is a very difficult book to turn into a musical or a movie.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:34pm

Don Juan is the Phantom's masterpiece. all the other characters criticize it.

[caitlinette]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 3:46pm

"The operas been invaded by a Phantom! The operas been invaded by a Phantom! (Phantom!) The opera's been invaded by a ghoooost! By a ghost! By a ghost! If you follow him you're following a Phantom...He wears a mask! A mask! A terrifying mask! He wears a mask! A terrifying mask!"

Please!

Lloyd Webber's score, IMHO is much more lush, and romantic, and appropriate to the subject matter.

I agree. The music is more those things than the Y/K version. The ALW version is just more to my taste -- the big chandelier beginning, the pop-rock sound in the overture and the title song, "Masquerade"...The whole thing just seems bigger and more...colorful or something.

I think some of my bias comes from the fact that I don't like the performers on the Phantom recording. Glory Crampton's voice is just odd; the guy who plays Philippe (sp?) has the most annoying and obviously fake French accent (where the other characters have none) ever (and is a generally annoying character in my opinion), and finally, Richard White's voice is gorgeous, but he sounds just that -- your ordinary handsome man who just happens to wear a mask.

[tourboi]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 4:08pm

"... and he's called Erik in the book and in PHANTOM.

... and he dies in the book and in PHANTOM.

... and he's a deformed MAN who falls in love in the book and in PHANTOM. (in TPOTO he's more an obsessed maniac ) "

So we forgive that the Opera Manager is his father, that Raoul has become Phillipe (Raoul's brother in the novel), that Christine was a song seller, not a ballerina, that Carlotta's husband buys the opera house and she was never a true diva before hand, that Meg doesn't exist...yes. Much more faithfull.

[Buscee]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 4:26pm

Oh my! I was in this show about 8 years ago, and some of the song titles you are mentioning I cant remember for the life of me. There were some nice songs in the piece, and it does explain how the Phantom came to be, but I must say even with all its faults POTO is 20 times better than PHANTOM. I think the only reason it didnt go to Broadway was bcoz its not good. Phillpe's song as mentioned earlier was like a Jerry Herman song. It was like "IF YOU KNEW SUSIE LIKE I KNOW SUSIE" with different lyrics. Bad. The show is slow moving, and comes in at about 3 hours. Give me ALW's anyday!

[mattonstage]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 4:32pm

I just pulled out my playbill from Phantom that was done by the Downtown Cabaret Theater in Connecticut a few years ago. A friend of mine was in it, and Kelli O'Hara was Christine! This was 1998-1999. Not very memorable, but I feel like I liked it more the ALW's.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 5:49pm

"... The movie aside "The Phantom of the Opera" follows the sequencing of events from the novel more closely then any other musical version."


No, there is another musical version of "Phantom" that is basically the Leroux novel with songs in it. It's the most faithful I've ever read and heard, but no one would know about it since it's still in development. The last the author told me was that he was after Leroux's Estate to support it as a genuine interpretation of the original book. It's most likely going to be a film and not a stage-show, probably because the film of ALW's Phantom was such a disgrace.

Updated On: 2/26/07 at 05:49 PM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 5:55pm

but no one would know about it since it's still in development.

so that "no" should have been more of a "well"...

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 6:02pm

No lol

[tourboi]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 6:20pm

Ugh. I love me some POTO, but do we need ANOTHER version?

Besides the countless film adaptations, there are at least two plays, and as for the musicals, we have (off the top of my head):

Andrew Lloyd Webber's (My personal choice)
Kopit/Yeston, as discussed here
The Hirshfeld Theatre (forgot who wrote it but it is TERRIBLE! Gotta be the worst one. So many things, right down to costumes, are stolen from ALW's)
Ken Hill's
Theatreworks USA

C'mon. Another PHANTOM?

And if a new musical about such popular subject matter is in development, why haven't they announced it? I'm not doubting you, just asking.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 6:31pm

Here are all the Phantom musicals (as far as we know):

* Phantom of the NorShor (2005).
* Phantom of the Opera: Original Family Musical (199 with book by Rob Barron and music, lyrics and orchestration by David Spencer.
* The Phantom of the Opera on Ice (1995) with narration and lyrics by Roberto Danova, Tony Mercer, Kathy Dooley and Stephen Lee Garden. Music composed and arranged by Roberto Danova.
* Phantom of the Opera (1992) with book by Michael Tilford and music and lyrics by Tom Alonso.
* The Phantom of the Opera: An Exciting New Musical Adaptation (1992), book and lyrics by Joseph Robinette and music by Robert Chauls.
* Phantom of the Op'ry: A Melodrama with Music (1991), book by Tom Kelly, music by Gerald V. Castle and lyrics by Michael C. Vigilant.
* Phantom (1991): Musical by Maury Yeston (music and lyrics) and Arthur Kopit (text).
* Phantom (1991) book by David H. Bell, music by Tom Sivak.
* Phantom of the Opera (1990) with book by Bruce Falstein and music by Lawrence Rosen and Paul Shierhorn.
* The Phantom of the Opera: The Play (1988-1989) by John Kenley and Robert Thomas Noll, music by David Gooding and Charles Gounod.
* The Pinchpenny Phantom of the Opera: An Affordable Musical Comedy (198 by Dave Reiser and Jack Sharkey.
* The Phantom of the Opera (a.k.a. The American Phantom of the Opera: A Love Story) (1987) by Helen Grigal (book and lyrics) and Eugene Anderson (music). Produced by the Oregon Ridge Dinner Theater in cooperation with the Baltimore Actor's Theater. Director/Choreographer: Helen Grigal.
* The Phantom of the Opera (1986): Musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
* The Phantom of the Opera: Or the Passage of Christine (1986) with book by Kathleen Masterson and music by David Bishop.
* Phantom of the Opera: A New Victorian Thriller (1979) by Gene Traylor.
* Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera (1976/1984): Musical by Ken Hill, with lyrics set to music by Gounod, Offenbach, Verdi, and others.
* The Phantom of the Opera (1975) by David Giles.
* The Phantom of the Opera: The Musical adapted by Ivan Jacobs from the play by John Kenley and Robert Thomas Noll.
* Das Phantom der Oper with music by A. Gerber - and the text by P. Wilhelm.
* "Phantom of the Music Room" by Janet Gardner: A children's musical play featuring a loosely adapted storyline with lyrics set to assorted classical and historical tunes.

According to Wiki

Updated On: 2/26/07 at 06:31 PM

[musicalkid]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 6:33pm

I really like "Phantom" (despite it's undeniable flaws),

BUT Richard White's performance as Erik in the Cast recording is dead-awful! He usually winges and howls his way through most of his songs. He has that the wingy anguished voiced, and rarely lets his pure singing shine through (as he did as Gaston in Disney's feature B&B).
and that's a shame because most other performances on the CR are top-notch IMO.

[Sant]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 6:35pm

touboi, read a bit further!

"The Y/K version hardly resembles anything Leroux wrote other than there's a Phantom that lives in the opera house. "

That's what I was referring to. Knowing full well that the Yeston version isn't a carbon copy of the original book.



Spork, I know in the Yeston version he didn't "play with a full set of marbles". But he was more humane, more a man. Not so completely "off to the funny farm, you!!" -material as he is in Lloyd Webber's version.

Anyway, Webber's show is far better in every way.

Updated On: 2/26/07 at 06:35 PM

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 2/26/07 at 7:41pm

I haven't heard any of the others, but I can say this...

ALW version:

* Raoul is the most boring character I've ever seen in musical theatre and I've heard / seen over 200 musicals

* The songs don't progress the plot, really, they bring it to a halt. I don't mean all of them but songs like "Think Of Me" which, yes, does serve a purpose as Christine's big introduction but it seems boring; "The Phantom Of The Opera" which takes Phantom and Christine to the labyrinth but, really, could be sung anywhere; "The Music Of The Night". He's romancing Christine, but there's nothing much else happening except they're standing there and he's emitting romantic cliche's. In the silent film, and the novel, we're touched deeply because he's actually proclaiming his love for her. "All I Ask Of You", this does serve a purpose but, again, it bores me and we're left sitting there listening to a boring duet. In the silent film, and the novel, we're touched deeply because we understand Christine's fear and that she wants to be safe and that Raoul will take her away to Paris. I don't feel any of that here. I know the songs serve a point, theoretically, but they seem so boring and they stop the action.

Updated On: 2/26/07 at 07:41 PM