| Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| Seriously. Why. - GMB | |
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| Seriously. Because.... | |
| Posted by: | LynnO 04:11 am EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| PHANTOM is a magical show that has it all: beautiful love story, appealing characters, danger, humor, lovely score, gorgeous costumes and sets, and that sad but satisfying ending. It's the whole package. The mysterious and sexy Phantom in the fedora and beaded cape, the Degas ballerinas, the sea of candles floating on the foggy lake. It is a very satisfying and exciting show to feel, see, and hear. The edited version in Vegas and especially the redirected version that is now on tour don't have the charm of the original, which is currently in excellent shape on Broadway. When I saw it last summer, I appreciated the patient pace of the show, allowing silent pauses for drama, and also chances to let the jokes land. And the three leads were absolutely wonderful! When I returned to PHANTOM last summer, I took a young New York professional actress with me who had avoided the show for all these years because her fellow actor friends always trashed it. Well, I wanted her to see it so badly that I paid her way. And I'm happy to report that she was blown away by the show, loved it, and wondered why everybody she knows hates it! I think PHANTOM is like any show, some people hate it and some people love it. It seems to be more "hip" to trash it. But I happen to love it. And I will be forever grateful to PHANTOM for turning me into a huge musical theatre fan who went from seeing one show a year to seeing 120 shows a year. | |
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| one thing for,sure, when it does close | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:12 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| It will have a revival within 5 years. | |
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| It better not be the re-directed version that's now on tour. N/M | |
| Posted by: | LynnO 04:13 am EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | one thing for,sure, when it does close - dramedy 04:12 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| re: one thing for,sure, when it does close | |
| Posted by: | Zelgo 06:04 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | one thing for,sure, when it does close - dramedy 04:12 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| And the actors will play the instruments... | |
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| re: one thing for,sure, when it does close | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 06:08 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: one thing for,sure, when it does close - Zelgo 06:04 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| ...which makes me think, Forbidden Broadway should have done a "(listen to) The Music of The Cast" number. ;-) | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | Mac29 04:06 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| Why? Beautiful and haunting score, spectacle, lavish costumes, great storyline, and talented actors. It is the epitome of a broadway musical. And if you had seen it in NY with Michael Crawford, you would really know why it is a classic. I was lucky enough to have seen it with him when it first opened in NY. I know there have been many fine phantoms over the years, but his performance was special. The feeling and emotion that he put into the character was mesmerizing. It was a performance to be remembered forever. I hope that children born tomorrow will be able to enjoy this timeless classic in the future. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA /Unexplainable | |
| Posted by: | Duke1979 04:30 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - Mac29 04:06 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| The phenomenon can't be explained, particularly when you look at shows before Phantom, Cats and LesMiz even megahits did not run for decades. I too saw it with Michael Crawford shortly after opening. He is special, but the show is not--certainly in terms of having any emotional impact. The staging is certainly very clever and fluid and the sets are sumptuous, but the music is drivel other than Music of the Night. Same story with Cats--Buckley was spectacular but it just doesn't add up to much. Of all of the ALW shows, Evita by far had much more of an impact. I have never been tempted to return to Phantom. I feel very sifferently about LesMiz--which frequently gets dumped on but I think has tremendous emotional power. If long runs were based on quality and genius then Sweeney Todd should still be running. | |
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| "All I Ask Of You" is not drivel | |
| Posted by: | KingSpeed 11:46 am EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA /Unexplainable - Duke1979 04:30 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| It's one of the most beautiful songs on Broadway right now. | |
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| Nearly. | |
| Posted by: | sf 08:00 pm EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | "All I Ask Of You" is not drivel - KingSpeed 11:46 am EDT 10/31/15 |
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| The music is lovely. The lyrics are drivel. | |
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| It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:01 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| Should that have had a spoiler alert? | |
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| re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending | |
| Posted by: | MikeR 04:22 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending - dramedy 04:01 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I don't get that analysis. It's about a creepy stalker and his victim, and the milquetoast who loves the victim. The stagecraft is amazing, but the story is boring and the characters aren't remotely engaging (for me, obviously). Last time I saw it (out of a total two times in my life) I was far more interested in Andre and Firmin than I was anyone else on that stage. | |
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| re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending | |
| Posted by: | LynnO 03:41 am EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending - MikeR 04:22 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| And that's what the new re-directed tour of PHANTOM is about: a creepy stalker and his victim. The new tour has managed to remove the magic from the show and demonstrates (to me, anyway) what makes the "original" version on Broadway so special -- it's a dark romantic love triangle about a mysterious, troubled man and an open-hearted chorus ballerina and her gallant childhood friend. The performers actually make a difference, the show works best when all three leads are strong but have their vulnerable moments, so you can feel Christine's torment when she has to choose between the exciting man who only lives below ground and the charming man who lives in daylight. | |
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| re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending | |
| Posted by: | JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 11:37 am EST 11/02/15 |
| In reply to: | re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending - LynnO 03:41 am EDT 10/31/15 |
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| I've never seen that choice that you write that Christine has to make, " between the exciting man who only lives below ground and the charming man who lives in daylight." One of these men is a father figure/mentor whom she seems to equate with her dead father (and who is a stalker, murderer, and possibly a rapist) and one is the man she has loved since childhood. Christine never sees the Phantom as a potential romantic partner, the way that he sees her. | |
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| re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending | |
| Posted by: | LynnO 12:56 am EST 11/03/15 |
| In reply to: | re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending - JereNYC 11:37 am EST 11/02/15 |
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| If The Phantom is played the right way, he seems like more of an obsessed man (with Christine's voice), and not so much a murderer (which he obviously is). And I've never believed that he raped her because he's tentative and afraid to even touch her. But The Phantom clearly has some sort of pull on Christine, whether it is romantic or how he mentors her voice, but depending on how sexily the Phantom plays the role, people who love the show believe that there is a triangle. Raoul is not written very well in the show, so it takes a special actor to pull it off and make Raoul more appealing than The Phantom if The Phantom is played right. Honestly. At least that is how most fans of the original directed version see it. In the new tour version, The Phantom definitely comes off as a creepy murderer, and Christine is directed to clearly be afraid of him. (I still don't believe that he rapes her.) | |
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| re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending | |
| Posted by: | jimn 04:08 pm EST 11/02/15 |
| In reply to: | re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending - JereNYC 11:37 am EST 11/02/15 |
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| I couldn't agree more and yet some people love that love triangle aspect. I think it is vulgar to think that between the events in POTO, after murdering some of her co-workers and manipulating her so emotionally, and the events of Love Never Dies, Christine would go back and have sex with the Phantom. It makes no sense to me at all, but plenty of phans believe that she has a powerful and romantic love for the character. I find him sad and I empathize with his pain but once you start killing, I can't imagine I am ready to seriously consider a life with that person. | |
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| i lovethe ending | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:28 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: It's a beautiful love story with a happy ending - MikeR 04:22 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| Where she has to make a choice and sacrifices herself to,save Raul. Of course the phantom relents and let's them both go, but it is such a touching moment. And the very end with the mask held on stage as the spotlight dims is magical ending that very few shows ever achieve. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | keikekaze 03:38 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I don't think it's anything to do with the show itself. It's just another one of the end-of-the-20th-century musicals that lasted long enough to become a self-sustaining tourist attraction--it's there because visitors go to it and visitors go to it because it's there--like Oh, Calcutta! or Cats. It will be superseded in its turn as longest-running show by something else someday--perhaps Chicago, The Lion King, Wicked, or The Book of Mormon. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | KingSpeed 11:48 am EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - keikekaze 03:38 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I love The Book of Mormon but it won't run more than 27 years. The Lion King and Wicked possibly but Phantom has to close first or they'll never get a chance. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | keikekaze 04:35 pm EDT 10/31/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - KingSpeed 11:48 am EDT 10/31/15 |
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| I don't actually love The Book of Mormon all that much, but it's still the hottest ticket on Broadway most weeks--if not every week. (I don't keep track every single week.) It's average ticket price tends to be even higher than Hamilton's. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | wizrdofoz27 03:05 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I've always thought Phantom of the Opera played well off a European tradition of fancy opera houses that carried it into the age of higher ticket prices. The spectacle of it has not aged well (the chandelier's got nothing on Wicked's Act I finale.) But at a certain level I think people like feeling like they're going to something 'fancy' like 'the opera' even if in 2015 it is only an overamplified amusement for tourists (and a good paycheck for the actors.) Pure speculation, but I think it aids in the marketing. That, and it's a beautiful and pretty damn dark story that gets me every time. | |
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| sorry chandelier crashing down over audience beats witch flying any day | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 04:30 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - wizrdofoz27 03:05 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I never feel the flying is that effective with the dress just getting longer. It's not even attempt to look realistic,like chitty chitty bang bang or Spider-Man. | |
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| re: sorry chandelier crashing down over audience beats witch flying any day | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 06:07 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | sorry chandelier crashing down over audience beats witch flying any day - dramedy 04:30 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| It's a very stylized show, in all aspects. I do;t think it was ever intended to look "realistic." The story is fantasy, the look of the show is evocative and grandiose and purposely larger-than-life, and the score reflects these attributes as well. Chitty is fantasy also, but rooted in a more "real" and simplistic world. Plus, the audience expectation that the car would fly is a given, therefore I think they bowed to the idea that it would have to be a coup de theatre that people would accept in "realistic" terms. Spiderman, as we all know, had no grasp on reality in any way, but I get the impression that the flying wasn't really rooted in the style of the story, it was there to show off the (often dangerous) technology. It wasn't cartoon fantasy translated to the stage, it was simple hubris. I'm not a Phantom fan - but I do seem to think that you're more trying to dump on the piece in any way you can, which is just as blind as it is with the people who love the show unconditionally, lol. | |
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| re: sorry chandelier crashing down over audience beats witch flying any day | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 06:18 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: sorry chandelier crashing down over audience beats witch flying any day - Chromolume 06:07 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| Actually, I owe you an apology, dramedy. I was mixing up who posted what above this, and I was thinking one of the other posts trashing the show was yours, and then realized it wasn't. So ignore that last paragraph. BUT - I still don't think the effects are out of place in the world of the show as Prince and his designers created it. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | WaHiGuy 03:00 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I had an opportunity a few years back to see PHANTOM again, and what struck me at the time was that you really got "your money's worth." The orchestra sounds lush, the sets are impressive and numerous and the costumes beautiful. I got the sense they spent a lot on what the audience sees. Nothing was pared down, scaled back or scrimped on. Its also a show (IMO)that doesn't require you to pay much attention. If there's a language barrier, you will get caught up in the music. If you drift off a bit, the plot isn't all that intricate. You can catch up easily. It's an accessible show. | |
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| This is spot on. | |
| Posted by: | ShowGoer 04:00 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - WaHiGuy 03:00 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I know people who genuinely don't like the show who, for whatever reason, have had to go back to see it again, sometimes after years, and grudgingly admit it's a lot of bang for the buck, and again, as WaHiGuy says, not that taxing. It's sort of the more high-falutin' version of what we used to pejoratively call a "tired businessman's show". In the past those generally referred to things like 42nd St, with lots of tap dancing or what-have-you. Here, it's familiar tunes in lush trappings. One prominent person in the business who is very picky, and critical of music in particular, and who was never a fan of the show, went back recently and said to me, "You know what? In the end, it's just a great night out." | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | henny 03:10 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - WaHiGuy 03:00 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| Agreed. To quote a friend, "You really know you've seen a Broadway show!" | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | mikem 04:31 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - henny 03:10 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| I recently hosted an overseas visitor, who wanted to see his first Broadway show. He saw An American in Paris. His English is not great, and there is no strong tradition of ballet back home. He found the show underwhelming. Then he saw Phantom, and he was over the moon. It was exactly what he thought a Broadway show would be like. (It also helped that he had seen the movie so could easily follow the plot.) Phantom, like The Mousetrap in London, has become a self-perpetuating tourist attraction that is a long-running show because it is a long-running show, if you know what I mean. But I also think most people leave pretty satisfied. | |
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| re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? | |
| Posted by: | Zelgo 06:09 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - mikem 04:31 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| It had a very melodious, accessible score, Webber's best. So many of the tunes have become standards so, even if watching it for the first time, the music seems familiar. I went back a few years ago. I thought the tempos were slowed somewhat, which robbed the performance of momentum. Plus, the theatre needs to be dusted. | |
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| Because it's had the most performances? | |
| Posted by: | charles1055 02:34 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Why is THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA B'ways longest-running musical? - GrumpyMorningBoy 02:32 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| :) | |
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| And THAT'S how you play gay Jeopardy! | |
| Posted by: | Budinsky 03:03 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
| In reply to: | Because it's had the most performances? - charles1055 02:34 pm EDT 10/30/15 |
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| You win. | |
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