phantom
phantom
bryan
Broadway Star Joined: 5/12/03
#2phantom
Posted: 3/28/15 at 8:00pm
I'll bite on the Yeston & Kopit "Phantom," which was originally going to be named "The Phantom of the Opera," until you-know-who came on the scene.
I saw the Y&K "Phantom" in October in a regional theater near Phoenix. It has lovely tunes and it solves a big problem in POTO: It reveals not only the Phantom's name (Erik, which any self-respecting Phantom Phan knows) but his back-story. It's schmaltzy, but a lot less dark, although parts of the second act are a little creepy.
Y&K's "Phantom" is NOT sung through, and may appeal to people who can't sit through the opera-like segments in POTO. Christine is not as naive -- in fact, in the beginning, she seems almost calculating. The most important differences are that the Phantom kills out of fear, instead of anger, and is portrayed as a true innocent.
The biggest problem with the Y&K "Phantom" is that, although it has the structure of a Broadway show (e.g., major number closing Act I), it could benefit from tightening parts of Act II. Because the financing bit the dust as soon as ALW announced he was going to take POTO to Broadway, there were no opportunities for previews or try-outs. Hence, the finished show seems unfinished.
Still, this show is well worth seeing if you can find it -- it does show up every year or so in regional theaters. Yeston or Kopit (I forget which) calls it the most famous musical NOT to have played on Broadway.
Final bit of trivia: The one who thought the idea up and put together the original team was the late Geoffrey Holder. In other words, this was no team of slouches. If they had gotten their financing and hit Broadway before ALW crossed the pond, there might have been a battle of the Phantoms, and we'd all be richer for it.
Audrey, the Phantom Phanatic, who nonetheless would rather be Jean Valjean, who knew how to make lemonade out of lemons.
#3phantom
Posted: 3/31/15 at 12:46am
One more thing about the Yeston and Kopit "Phantom:" Rather than waste the book, the lyricist (which is the lyricist -- Y or K?) turned it into a mini-series, with Charles Dance as Erik. Those of us who saw him play the villain recently in "The Imitation Game" might be surprised to learn that he was quite attractive and well-built as a young man. Apparently, the idea was to appeal to younger audiences. After the mini-series ran, Y&K finished writing the stage musical, even though, by then, it had a snowball's chance of making it to Broadway.
I have read speculation that ALW et al got the idea from the Charles Dance miniseries to make the Phantom younger, more attractive, and more sympathetic in the 2004 movie than in the Broadway version of POTO. That's how Gerard Butler was cast instead of someone who might have had less sex appeal and charisma. (The stage POTO doesn't feature the Phantom in an open shirt ....)
Audrey, the Phantom Phanatic, who nonetheless would rather be Jean Valjean, who knew how to make lemonade out of lemons.
