by Nathan Stout
Before you begin reading this, you have to go here and listen to this music as a soundtrack while you read (just shrink down the window).
Basically THAT bit of music is what sets off the feeling of the whole thing. That cheesy bit of over-the-top music.
Now before my man-card is revoked for reviewing a Broadway musical, understand that Phantom (with all its girly stuff aside) is fun, and so over-the-top that you can’t help but enjoy it.
In this extensive review I am mainly covering the musical, but I will touch on the non-musical adaptations.
Phantom of the Opera was originally a French novel by Gaston Leroux written in 1911. It has been made into several movies, TV productions, a musical, and spin-off book (and soon to be sequel Broadway show).
Let me sum the whole story up VERY QUICKLY:
Deformed man living in opera house falls in love with chick, kills people, finally captures the chick, gets a kiss, and decides it’s too ‘yucky’ and lets her go.
Ok, I might be GREATLY generalizing it but that’s basically the story. I am making the assumption that he thinks it’s ‘yucky’ but it’s pretty obvious. Although he seems to finally realize that he loves her enough to let her go, we all know that women just didn’t live up to his expectations.
Here is a rundown of the most of the well known versions of the movie adaptations:
- 1925 (most famous version with Lon Chaney)
- 1943 (Claude Rains Phantom version)
- 1962 (Hammer horror version)
- 1974 (Phantom of the Paradise, cheesy 70’s semi horror version ‘rock opera’)
- 1989 (Robert Englund version)
- 2004 (Joel Schumacher and Andrew Lloyd Webber ‘musical/movie’ version)
I am going to focus on the Broadway musical, and the Joel Schumacher version. I have now seen both the musical and the movie twice, and feel I have enough entertaining bits of info to make this review.
THIS…. IS…. PHAAAAATOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!
No woman can live up to any man's expectations. (at least I haven't).
that's why I've given up on the whole idea. You give them love, moral support, encouragement, blah, blah, blah.
At the end of the day, you just end up feeling as if you've been punched in the gut. So I'm not even trying anymore. Just not worth it. You end up feeling like a piece of shit. Maybe I am a piece of shit. Who knows, who cares?
I've come to believe that love and romance is just a sweet fairy-tale.
Its surely not reality. Never been my reality. Not in the end.
Not trying to be negative. Just facing facts and staying single.
It has been a little more than year since I wrote this blog and I still throughly enjoy reading it!
Excuse me i am sorry Nate but i must touch on some stuff
1. you are right cats sucks hard core but musicals are generaly pretty good.
2. Just because you like a musical dosen't mean you have your man card revoked i am a strait male and i love musicals don't know why i just do.
The Phantom didn't let Christine go because he found her kiss "icky." He did it because her kiss was proof that she would do anything she could to save Raoul. So the Phantom finally realized she didn't love him like that, and killing Raoul would only make her hate him. He was in a no-win situation, and he decided to take the path that wouldn't make Christine forever loathe him.
And yeah, referring to the Phantom's music as "faggy" is awful and inexcusable. Someone needs to grow up.