The Jonas Brother and Cosette

With the advent of social networking and sites like Twitter, it has become easy for fans to connect with artists they admire.  It makes it easy for fans to directly contact artists and for artists to safely respond (at least mostly) to fans personally in 140 characters or less.

Unfortunately, the respect and awe that fans have had for performers in the past seems to be deteriorating as artists become more accessible and as a younger generation comes up and can't see the value of the past artists who made it possible for their favourite performer to be where they are now.

This blog was inspired by a recent thread on Twitter between Rebecca Caine (original Cosette in Les Mis, original Christine in the Toronto production of Phantom who I used as an example in a previous blog: So You Want to Play Christine ) and a fan girl of Nick Jonas.

I learned to sing Cosette by listening to and imitating Ms. Caine's recording.  Since she originated the role, she is someone I look up to and admire.  There is a kind of reverence and mysticism I feel toward her.  Since I have begun following her on Twitter, my admiration of her has grown.  She is smart, funny, and entertaining.  I was THRILLED when she began following ME on Twitter, and I have been lucky enough to receive an occasional direct comment from her.

Last night, I saw Ms Caine start to retweet comments from a Jonas Brothers fan girl.  Now, I don't know much about the Jonas Brothers beyond the fact that they're a manufactured Disney singing group.  They seem to have a fairly wholesome image, and, obviously, have a rabid fab base of tweenage girls.  I actually worked one of their concerts.  Before the concert began, they had a dedicated phone number that fans could text comments to.  The comments were then displayed on the big screen above the stage.  Lemme tell you, some of these texts SCARED me!  Completely obsessive.  These fans really don't seem to have a total grasp on reality.  Yes, I was a tween once upon a time, had my celebrity crushes (Ha! STILL have my celebrity crushes), had my moments of silly fan-girldom, but, I never based my LIFE on these people the way these girls do!  I always knew I would probably never meet any of them, and that they would probably never even be aware I existed.


Back to the fan girl in question....  As near as I can tell, this all started because of the upcoming O2 concert performance of Les Miserables.  Nick Jonas - who has already been playing the role in the West End - has been cast as Marius.  I'm sure this has all the tween fan girls swooning.  For some unknown reason, it appears some of these fan girls got it into their heads that Ms Caine knows him.  Now, she was Cosette TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO!  She has no involvement with the current production/cast.  She has moved on to other projects, and has been doing quite well for herself, thank you very much.  Fan girls apparently began sending her pics of said Jonas Brother, and asking her questions about him and the production.  As any sane person would, Ms Caine sent out this plea: "I don't know Nick Jonas, I've never heard any Jonas bros music and I wouldn't recognize them in a police line up! Why me?"  Seems fairly reasonable to me.  Her next tweet: "Oh dear God, I don't need photos of the young Jonas brothers. I did Les Mis 25 years ago! I am old enough to be the kids granny!" Still seems pretty rational.


Apparently, however, a fan girl disagreed - calling out Ms. Caine for being rude.  Wait...what?  Letting everyone who is tweeting unwanted fan-girl Jonas Brothers propaganda at you know that you have no information or interest in Nick Jonas is rude?  What about the unwanted Jonas Brothers spam?  What about speaking disrespectfully to someone who has done nothing disrespectful to you?  Fan girl then Tweets: "Then whyd you say "why me?" He's a handsome&talented young man. Nothing to complain about. Big whoop, you "created Cosette""

Hold up!  "Big whoop" ?!?!?!  This is the first moment that I began to get offended.  Hell YES that's a "big whoop"!  Ms Caine's performance is part of the reason Les Mis became such a success!  Because of her - and the other performers who originated that show - it is STILL running, and Nick Jonas has a JOB.  Without the people who created these characters, there would be no show running now!  And, I'm sorry...no disrespect to Nick Jonas here - I don't know him or much about him - but, performers like Ms Caine have longevity (25 years after Les Mis, she STILL has a career) and the teeny bopper teen icons rarely do.   

The final straw for me was this Tweet from said fan girl: " FYfuckingI You should feel damn lucky playing Cosette opposite of NJ. Rude. Rude. Rude. Twitter name suits you well, diva;)"  EXCUSE ME?!?!!?  I doubt this girl can be more than 16.  Forget WHO Rebecca Caine is for a moment.  She is old enough to be this twits MOTHER.  What is wrong with this girl that she feels she can speak to ANYONE like this?  I'm not sure what offends me more...the profanity or the IGNORANCE.  You'd think she'd at least know Rebecca Caine is NOT playing Cosette opposite Nick Jonas...seriously, that would be creepy!


As an artist, if one of my fans were behaving in such a manner towards another artist - ostensibly in DEFENSE of me for something that does not NEED defending - *I* would be offended if I were aware of it.  I HOPE that someone who looks up to me and considers them self to be a fan of mine would have more class and DO THEIR HOMEWORK on the career of another artist before saying ANYTHING negative about that artist.


Honestly, people need lessons in RESPECT, BOUNDARIES, and CLASS.  NO ONE should ever speak to someone in such a disrespectful manner.  You are a CHILD addressing a theatrical ICON.  A woman who has CREATED some iconic roles, and continues to create.  A woman who made it POSSIBLE for your tweenage crush to be performing in the O2 concert.  For all that, she deserves the RESPECT and admiration of the "younger generation."

I wish Nick Jonas the best in the O2 concert.  I wish him the best in his career.  I don't hold the poor behaviour of a small portion of his fan base against him.  I do hope, if he becomes aware of this situation, he addresses his fan base and explains that it reflects badly on him when they behave badly in his name.

Ah, the Internet Dating Profile.....

I've been single for about 4 years now.  Like so many people in this day and age, I've resorted to internet dating.  I've met some interesting people there.  Been out on a few dates.  Nothing has ever really gone anywhere, but, hey, it's something to do, and just another way of meeting people.  A conversation recently with a guy who didn't want to actually make the effort to put up a profile - partially because "I'm a private person" - prompted me to write this on my profile blog.  I was kind of pleased with it, so, I thought I'd share it here as well.  Who knows?  Maybe some of you are also on dating sites and something here might make sense/help.  

 I've seen a lot of internet dating profiles.  Some well done, some not so well done, and some completely useless.  

I am speaking mostly of guys profiles here since I very rarely look at other girls profiles.  These are just observations I have made in the course of my internet dating experiences - things that frustrate me about the profiles I come across. *laugh*  

Pictures:  Pictures are probably the most important thing on your profile.  When doing a search, a good main picture is going to be the difference between whether or not I actually view a profile.  My room mate and I are both on dating sites, and we are both shocked at what a lot of guys think is appropriate to put up as a picture on a DATING site.  We've been trying to figure out how to start a business to take dating site specific pictures for people. *laugh*

Seriously, have a GOOD picture of your face.  IN FOCUS.  If, from your picture, I wouldn't be able to recognize you on the street, I'm not interested.  If you feel you can't post a picture that clearly shows YOU, I have to assume you're hiding something.  What?  Like it or not, physical attraction MATTERS.  If I don't see something in your main pic I like, I am NOT going to be interested enough to check out your profile.  This may seem shallow, but, ya know, I've been rejected by guys purely based on my photos.  I accept that not every one will find me attractive - no matter how much we may seem to have in common, no matter how high our match percentage is.  It is what it is, and far better you know that from my picture than investing time getting to know me, arranging to meet, and finding out you just aren't attracted to me.

Have a few different kinds of pics.  Yes, a head shot is good, and really, I think everyone should have one, but, also have a full body shot.  Please, don't post something that looks like a mug shot. Have a picture or two of you in casual settings - doing something you enjoy.  Pictures that give a glimpse into your personality.  Candid pictures are good.  Drunk pictures are not. *laugh*

Do NOT - and I cannot stress this nearly enough - DO NOT have pictures of yourself with attractive women in situations that look like you're romantically involved with her.  This is a DATING site for goodness sake!  The idea is to meet someone you would want to date.  It's one thing to have a picture with you and a group of friends (including female friends) or you and your sister (and, be SURE you caption the picture to indicate she's your sister!), it's quite another to have a picture of you and some random girl - or worse, GIRLS - hanging on you.  Makes you look like a player.  You're trying to sell yourself as a desirable, eligible bachelor.

In this day and age, with the low cost of digital cameras and the accessibility of cell phones with pretty darned decent cameras, pictures are EASY to get and upload.  It's also a good idea to have a basic photo editing program (I use Picasa, which is a free download, VERY basic, but fixes the things I need fixed) and be able to do basic photo editing - cropping, rotating (there is NO excuse for an upside down or sideways picture!) color balancing, red eye removal, etc.  

Profile essays: Oy, gawd!  I come across so many "empty" profiles and profiles that start out "I hate talking about myself..." or "I'll fill this in later..."  Come ON!  You are here to MEET people!  You are here to find someone you have common interests with.  SELL YOURSELF.  I don't mean be cocky and braggy, but, how hard is it to say what you're doing with your life?  A sentence or two about the kind of work you do?  What you ultimately want to be doing with your life?  What you're interested in?  What you want to do on a date?  The kind of girl you'd like to meet?

You're picture is going to get my attention what you SAY - or don't - is going to hold my attention.  Or not.  Your profile essay is the main difference between whether I feel I want to get to know you better or not - whether I will message you or not.  You don't have to write a book.  You don't have to reveal every single personal detail of your life, but, if I see that we like the same movies, or music, or food, or...whatever...that gives me an opening. 

Personally, I want to know that I have something in common with someone. If I come across a profile that is empty, but the pic shows a guy who is TOTALLY my physical type, I won't message him. I have no idea what I would say to him that might interest him enough to respond. Just telling him I think he's attractive is meaningless, and probably what he hears from every girl who messages him. How does that make me stand out? If someone messages me and only says "Hi, how are you?" it really doesn't interest me if I go and see that he hasn't put in the effort to write a profile. I want to know we'll have something to talk about beside "You're hot." And, believe me, I get my share of guys who can't get past that. Think about it - if all I had was a picture, what would you know about me other than whether or not you find me attractive? How is that a good starting point? I want to know SOMETHING about the person I'm talking to.

Bottom line, like it or not, being on a dating site is about SELLING YOURSELF.  You have to view yourself as a product.  What is it about YOU that is going to make you desirable to the kind of person you want to attract?  What do you have to OFFER.  Now, review your profile.  Think about what makes you YOU, and figure out how to write about it in an interesting way.

Good luck to everyone in finding what you're looking for!

As You Wish

Symphony Space here in NYC runs a family film festival every summer.  Tonights offering was my all time favourite movie - The Princess Bride.  When I say this is my favourite movie, I mean I make a POINT to watch it every few weeks, I can recite just about the whole thing from memory, and my one and only experience with "Movie-oke" was a scene from the Princess Bride.

I was too young to see this movie in the theatres when it originally came out, so, having the opportunity (actually, this was my second opportunity) to see it on the big screen is just amazing to me.  

The majority of the audience was mid 20 to mid 30 somethings - quite a few with small children.  I have to say, this was the only drawback to this.  There was a little girl sitting right behind me who was about 5 or 6.  She didn't have the maturity to sit through a "grown up" film, and I kept hearing her loud, shrill voice asking things like "Is that the bad guy?"  "What are they doing?"  "Do they love each other, or are they brother and sister?" "Is it true love?  Is true love better?"  Yeah....folks, if your kid can't sit QUIETLY through a 2 hour film, please, let them watch it at home.

The Princess Bride, surprisingly, did not do well at the box office in it's original release.  The production team has said the studio didn't know how to market it - was it a comedy?  A romance? An adventure film?  Well, it is all of these things, but, more than that it is a GOOD film.  

After 23 years, it completely holds up from beginning to end.  You care about the characters.  It has some of the best STORYTELLING ever put on film.

I think it was made at exactly the right time in history as well.  The cast is BRILLIANT all around, and I cannot picture anyone else in any of the roles (well, perhaps myself as Buttercup, but, that's just my ultimate fantasy. ;^) )  What is so wonderful about the way this is filmed is that every effect is practical.  There is NO CGI.  If the film were made today, I have a feeling Fezzik and the ROUS's would both have been CGI creations.  Obviously, NO ONE but Andre the Giant could play Fezzik - William Goldman had him in mind when he created the character. (Arnold Schwarzenegger was in consideration for the role.  Can you imagine? *shudder*  No thank you!)  Part of the films charm is that the ROUS's are midgets in Henson costumes (pretty sure the the death cry is Frank Oz).  I really would hate to see a more "realistic" CGI version.

The sword fight between Inigo and the Man in Black is one of the best ever filmed - and each actor worked hard to be able to do it without the aid of stunt doubles.

What was amazing to me about the screening was the audience.  This movie is 23 years old.  The main fan base has seen it multiple times over the years.  It's an INCREDIBLY quotable film - and I don't just mean "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die."  I had an audition a few years back for a show that was written and I think, being directed by, Wallace Shawn.  I was in shock when I walked into my call back to see him sitting in the audience.  It was all I could do not to blurt out "Inconceivable!" 

When the lights dimmed and the first credits came up on the screen, there was applause.  In the brief black out between the first credit and opening scene, someone in the audience whistled the first few notes of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."  You could feel the energy and excitement in the room.  People APPLAUDED when Peter Falk came on screen.  It felt more like a live performance than a film.  All through the movie, you could hear people in the audience saying lines a split second before the character on screen.  And, yes, the first time it was spoken on screen, EVERYONE in the audience said "Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die."  There was applause when Westley told Humperdink "Drop. Your. Sword."  During the credits, the audience applauded as each performer like a curtain call in a live performance.

There is just SOMETHING about this film that really speaks to people.  I wish they would do screenings of it more often.  The energy in the audience is like nothing I have ever felt at any other film.  I want to experience it every few months, not every few years.

An Evening of Phantom

In a need to refresh myself after all the Love Never Dies BS, I attended last night's performance of Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.  I haven't seen the show in about 2 years.  I think this made my 17th or 18th performance.

For those of you who don't know, Phantom is why I do what I do.  After hearing the title theme when I was 12, I was hooked and said "I want to do that!"  Walking into the Majestic Theatre on 44th is almost like walking into a church for me.  The Majestic is home, and, God willing, I will one day have my own dressing room there.

Looking through the program, they have made changes in the time period to suit Love Never Dies.  Act I has always taken place in 1881, and Act II six months later.  It now lists the time period of Act I as "Paris, Late 19th Century."  Act II is still 6 months later, and prologue still takes place in 1911...which is the only point in the evening where I tried to "logic" Love Never Dies with the original...assuming Raoul is between 20 and 25 in POTO, that puts him between 30 and 35 in LND...which would make him between 34 and 39 in 1911.  Now, I realize Raoul's hard drinking ways in LND might age him prematurely, but, to go from relatively healthy and virile 35 in LND to decrepit 4 years later just doesn't compute.  I've always thought Raoul was closer to 70 in the prologue than 40 (that number doesn't work with the show being in 1881, either, but...until the whole LND fiasco, I never thought much about the logistics). Honestly, this was the last thought I had of Love Never Dies for the rest of the evening.

Other curious program happenings...the main cast list in the program now lists FOUR Raouls!  Seriously.  They each do two shows a week.  There are also now two Mme Girys who do four shows a week, and a second M. Andre who does 2 shows a week.  I was baffled by this, of course as Christine has always been the only role to have an alternate.  The second M Andre at least made some sense since George Lee Andrews has been with the show since day one (over 20 years in the same show, people!) and may have just decided he wanted to take a break, but...the four Raouls?  What?  My first thought, of course, was a rather sarcastic "After all, Raoul is SUCH a demanding role.  Who could possibly manage 8 shows a week?"  Well, it turns out, it has something to do with contract overlap because of the US tour closing.  Really would like to know how that all actually works, though.

After over 20 years of being familiar with Phantom of the Opera, after seeing it nearly 20 times, and after several auditions for it, it still captivates me.  I still get that feeling of excitement in my stomach, the anticipation as the auctioneer begins "Lot 666, then, a chandelier in pieces...."  I felt myself lean forward in my seat, my body tensing, my lips moving through the words.  My neck and shoulder muscles today are actually tight from the tension in my body as I watched the show last night.  No other show has ever affected me this way.  In fact, I have a bad back and sitting in theatre seats is very uncomfortable for me.  I tend to shift a lot and worry I'm disturbing people around me.  Not so with Phantom.  I don't think I moved except to lean forward from the moment the lights dimmed for Act I until intermission, and then from the Entr'acte to the curtain call. 

I think this is the first time I've seen the show since the Majestic installed a new digital sound system.  It was actually a noticeably better sound quality.  I heard a few nuances in the orchestration I have only heard on cast recordings to this point.  It is also the first time I have VERY clearly heard the electric rock guitar riffs at the end of the title theme.  I have never heard that outside of the Steve Harley/Sarah Brightman music video.  I'm not sure if they've always been there and just not amped enough, or if they've been added back in (as a possible tie in with LND because of the rocked out Beauty Underneath?).

The cast last night...before getting into this, I have to say, my first Phantom cast was the sit down production in Los Angeles in the early 90's.  To this day, no one can compare to Leigh Munro (Carlotta), Barbara Lang (Mme. Giry), Calvin Remsberg (M. Firmin), Norman Large (M. Andre), or Davis Gaines (Phantom) for me.   To me, they are the definitive of who and what those characters should be, and every subsequent performer I see is held to those standards.  

Patricia Phillips was Carlotta.  I think I've seen here 2 or 3 times now.  She's OK.  She doesn't always sing the top notes in Prima Donna, but she was vocally "on" last night. 

Evan Harrington leaves me kind of cold as Piangi.  I've seen several excellent Piangis.  When they don't hold out the top G in Hannibal (Your army HAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas), I feel let down.  Evan just kind of popped up to it and off it.  He did make a nice show of getting on the elephant.  He seemed very prop-like to me, though.

The Managers have been with the NY production since day 1.  I enjoy them.  

As Mme. Giry, I felt Mary Illes was too...soft, I guess is the best word.  I like a Mme. Giry who is somewhat  biting.  She seemed more motherly overall, and not the mysterious keeper of the Phantom's secrets I expect her to be.  She also seemed a little young for the role.

Heather McFadden has been playing Meg Giry forever, it seems - she is now also the assistant dance captain.  I'm pretty sure she was 16 when she started - I remember reading in her bio a few years ago that she was attending a performing arts high school at the time.  It was kind of strange to read her bio last night and see that she is now married and has two children!  She is a lovely dancer.  Her singing has improved over the years.

Christine. *sigh*  As you can imagine, I am harshest on Christines.  Out of all the productions and casts I've seen, I have like ONE Christine.  This was my second or third time seeing Jennifer Hope-Wills in the role.  The first time was very early on in her Broadway run (funny story about the first time I saw her - she was having issues with her dress in the Graveyard Scene.  I saw her kind of kick the hem out of her way a couple times and stumble once or twice.  As Raoul was trying to take her away, she finally tripped and fell.  Tim Martin Gleason had his back to her and didn't notice at first and dragged her a few steps before realizing she had fallen and helping her up.  The timing on the scene got a bit awkward).  At the time, she was constantly just *slightly* under pitch.  She has improved, and was on pitch all night.  Unfortunately, I can't stand her voice - I was literally cringing in my seat several times through out the evening.  She has a very thin quality, odd phrasing, a pretty inconsistent (bad) British accent, and seems to be singing right in her nose a lot of the time.  The colour of her voice is a little too young for my taste, and more a sound I associate with Meg.  She hits the cadenza in Think of Me like a sledge hammer.  The first part of it sounds much too heavy, so that the high C, which she hits very differently, sounds out of place.  I will say, while I was unimpressed with most of her performance, she was one of the stronger Christines I've seen in the final lair scene.  Honestly, however, her voice bothers me so much that I will make a point of seeing the alternate Christine as long as she remains the main Christine.

Jeremy Stolle was last nights Raoul.  Handsome man, and one of the taller Raouls I've seen - I do like Raoul to be tall!  He started out well enough, more a baritone than I'm used to...unfortunately, he got a rather "Dudley Do Right" quality to his voice in higher sections ("How young and innocent we were") I almost laughed.  He seems to sing from the neck up.  He also had some odd ways of phrasing - but when he spoke, not so much when he sang.  He was very lovely with Christine during Twisted Every Way, which is one of my deciding factors for whether or not I like an actor in the role.  Raoul's delivery of the final line in that scene will make or break the character for me.  Jeremy's delivery kind left me feeling...meh...it wasn't weak, but, it wasn't terribly strong, either.  I didn't feel too much tension from him in the Final Lair.  He stood pretty relaxed there with the noose around his neck.  I never got the impression that HE felt he was in danger.  I guess, this also comes from my experiences with Michael Piontek's Raoul in LA.  He had devised a manner of standing on tip-toe so that he REALLY looked like he was in danger of strangulation.

I think this is the first time I've seen a Broadway Phantom who wasn't Howard McGillian.  John Cudia is also the first Phantom who isn't Davis Gaines whose voice I have REALLY liked.  He has a very smooth, beautiful, and powerful voice.  I did feel he was just "going through the motions" for some of it, and that he lacked a lot of nuance and dynamic in his voice - a lot of it seemed just like singing at top volume.  I felt his laughter when he's making Carlotta croak like a toad and his "GO!" when releasing the chandelier were very tossed off.  He is probably one of the more physically violent Phantoms I have seen during the final lair scene.  He really grabbed Christine and kind of contorted her to the ground - I had a brief moment of "Ohhh...I don't think my back would handle that l if I were his Christine!"

Even though I felt this cast was a bit weak, the show completely held together for me.  I know every note, every movement (seriously, except for the Hannibal ballet and Masquerade, I could go on for either Christine or Carlotta with one or two put-in rehearsals at this point.  I don't know that that's pathetic or a bragging point, but, it's true), and yet I am completely enthralled each time I see it.  I wouldn't think twice about seeing it again.

Leaving the theatre, I had a feeling of complete contentment.  Satisfied with the ending - yes, it IS an ending, NOT a cliffhanger that begs for a sequel.  My iPod is a constant fixture with me.  As long as I am not doing something that requires I be able to hear what's going on, the earphones are firmly in place and music is playing.  After walking out of the theatre, I couldn't bring myself to listen to other music.  I needed to just let everything settle.  When I got on the subway, I knew what I had to listen to was the Phantasia Suite.  It was perfect.  It's exactly the right length to get me from 44th to my front door, and the perfect way to decompress.

Auditions and Ice Cream

So, it's been awhile.  I'm no good at this regular blogging thing, but, with a few interesting things coming up, hopefully I'll improve.

This morning, I got myself back out into audition world.  I've been sadly slacking on that whole thing because of personal demons that I need to just ignore.  7:40am found me outside of Radio City Music Hall for a singers call.  Wow.  Audition didn't start until 10am, and the line was already nearly down the block!  I was number 79.  Not too bad.  Sadly, no call back, but...I really doubt there were too many available slots since most singers from the previous year return.  As I left around noon, the line of waiting auditioners was STILL all the way down the block.  Crazy!  Needless to say, the auditors can afford to wait for EXACTLY whatever it is they want to see and hear.  The important thing is, I got out and DID it.  On to the next thing...

On the plus side, when I got home and checked the mail, my vendor's license had arrived!  Woo-hoo!  This means, I am all set to go and work on the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck (http://www.biggayicecreamtruck.com/) this summer!  I'm really excited about this.  Doug and Brian are totally awesome, and the people who frequent the truck are a bunch of characters!  It's going to be a very entertaining summer at the very least.  There will be lots of Choinkwiches, unusually topped ice cream cones, and, hopefully, opera singing from the truck window.  If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow biggayicecream to find out where we're going to be.  You can also follow me, OperaKitty to find out what days I will be out and about with the boys!

NY Opening of LND Delayed

I don't think anyone is really surprised.  What is kind of surprising is the REASON.  Initially, there were reports that the New York opening might be delayed due to rewrites - specifically the opening, the Phantom's entrance, and, possibly, the ending.  Yes, all of these things could use a re-write, but...that isn't enough to improve the show to an acceptable piece of theatre.

Reports the last few days have made no mention of rewrites taking place, but site ALW's "post operative" complications for causing the delay.

Now, here's the thing - I don't doubt ALW's health issues factor into the delay, and I wish him all the best in his recovery.  However, the only restriction his doctors seem to have placed on him is flying - meaning he can't make the trans-Atlantic flight to NYC.  The articles claim this means he would not be able to participate in the audition process and post-production.

Really?  Let's look at this from a realistic stand-point, shall we?  ALW is not going to attend the open call auditions.  Oh, he may pop in and out from time to time to check on things and chit-chat with the casting director or something (as he has on his BBC casting shows) - and this can EASILY be done through something like SKYPE - but, sitting through an all day required call where pretty much anyone can come in and audition?  No.  This industry doesn't work like that.

The reality is, once the casting people have narrowed the selection down to 3 or 4 actor's, then ALW will take a more active role in casting.  ALW will have the final say in casting.  I imagine he'll want to coach the final contenders.  There is no reason that needs to take place in New York.  It's easy enough to fly the top contenders to London for this - and it is not an uncommon practice.

Other pre-production issues...well, honestly, I have no idea what else ALW would be involved with in this instance.  There is already a production up and running, and he has a very competent team of people working for him.  Technology is at a point where anything ALW needs to do pre-production can be dealt with without his physically being in New York.  In fact, in the early 90's, Howard Ashman participated in recording sessions for Beauty and the Beast quite literally from his death bed with much less sophisticated technology than is available to ALW today.

I'm not saying his health isn't a legit issue, I'm saying there are DEFINITE work arounds that would allow LND to open as scheduled - if the show were truly in a state to BE opened.

Suck it up. Admit there are serious flaws with the show (we're not blind or deaf and have been screaming at you about them from the first) and tell us the truth - the show's NY opening is delayed due to needed re-writes. In the end, I hope the NY production goes the way of the NY production of the Beautiful Game and never arrives on Broadway.

So You Want to Play Christine....

I often get messages from people who want to be singers.  Who have a passion for singing or, as in the most recent case, passion for a particular role.  I'm always uncomfortable when I get these messages - they usually want my opinion.  I try very hard to be supportive while being realistic.  I WILL give you my honest opinion and try not to sugar coat things or give false hope while still being sensitive to your feelings. 

The most recent message was from a girl whose dream is to play - who else? - Christine in Phantom.  I do consider myself a bit of an expert on this role.  Yes, it was also my dream role for most of my life (I have just *almost* come to terms with the fact that I will never play it) and when I was in my teens, spent HOURS perfecting  (in my mind, anyway) the music.  Folks, I can sing this stuff backwards and forwards in my sleep at this point and discuss the music, character, motivations, etc for HOURS.  More recently, I have had more than one private audition for the role, and have a pretty good handle on what it is "they" are looking for (and yeah, it ain't me).

With all this in mind, let's focus on singing Christine for a minute here.  Thanks mostly to youtube, I have seen a LOT of amateur "I want to be Christine" performances.  Some are more serious than others.  Some are even pretty good.  Others...the passion and dedication are wonderful, but, the ability just isn't there.

Ladies, I cannot stress this enough - DICTION.  I have heard so many recordings of Think of Me with muddy diction.  My pet peeve is hearing the phrase "Thinka me."  Emmy Rossum was a big offender of this. Of is a word, and it is not to be thrown away.  Singers in general I think have gotten lazy about diction.  Christine is an opera singer - granted, by way of musical theatre - and needs to have solid technique, which includes CLEAR diction.

Notes.  Specifically SINGING the notes.  I wish I could post examples of what I am talking about here, but  I feel that isn't very nice to the people I would be making an example of, since they haven't given permission for me to use them as an example.  Again, Christine is an opera singer, not a pop singer.  I hear so many pop sounding versions of Think of Me.  There is a lot of scooping up to notes.  Again, even though it is by way of musical theatre, Christine is an OPERA singer.  Notes need to be clean and accurately hit, not scooped to or slid to.  They need to have definite endings, not just kind of "fall off" or slide into the next note.

The cadenza.  This must, must, MUST be clean.  There is some room for playing with the cadenza as far as tempo, and yes, even notes.  Rebecca Caine - who played Christine in the Toronto production - did a completely different cadenza from anything I've ever heard anyone else do:



Although it is quite different, each note is clear, not muddied or sliding through to the next.  Often, in the amateur videos, I hear very muddy cadenzas.  I do blame some of this on using a backing track that only gives a certain amount of time to get through it.  It doesn't allow much room to "play."  However, at 12, I was competing with Think of Me using a track, and never had a problem making each note clear and fit in place.  It CAN be done.  Regardless of how well you sing the rest of the song, until you can NAIL that cadenza clearly, do not perform it.  The cadenza is the last thing anyone hears you sing.  If you flub it, it's all anyone will remember.  Sit at a piano and play the cadenza one note at a time.  Sing it.  One. Note. At. A. Time.  Slowly.  Part of being able to sing this cadenza is muscle memory.  Go through it slowly at first, gradually picking up the tempo until you get to the tempo YOU want.  Personally, I take it in four sections.   The first seven notes, fairly slowly, a short pause then onto the second seven a little faster, a slightly longer pause into the next section which I take fairly quickly to the third to last note, slow it down slightly and take my time on the last three notes, and finally a deep breath and moment to savour the last two notes (I personally take the octave jump to the high C - some others just go right for the C).  If you take the octave jump to the high C, DO NOT SCOOP IT!  DO NOT SLIDE UP TO IT!  The jump should be clean. 

There are things to be taken into consideration outside of singing when it comes to playing Christine.  Christine has to look a certain way.  I am 5'7 in flats.  This means, were I cast as Christine, the shoes she wears would make me between 5'9 and 5'10.  There has to be a difference in height between Christine and the Phantom, and Christine and Raoul.  Something I have learned in my years of doing theatre, leading men are SHORT!  I have been the same height and even taller than most of the men I have played opposite.  Each time I auditioned for Christine, I got a comment on my height.  The last person saying they thought I was a bit too tall, but, possibly could work depending on who was playing the Phantom.  Oh, why has Hugh Panaro left the role? *laugh*  It seems the ideal height for Christine is around 5'5.  If you are 5'7 or taller, it's going to be pretty unlikely, no matter how well you PERFORM that you will be cast.

Body type must also be taken into consideration.  Christine is a ballerina when the show opens.  Sadly (for me) this calls for a certain body type.  Slender and small chested.  Christine needs to look small and delicate.

Look at yourself HONESTLY.  Look at women who have played Christine.  They all have a fairly similar look.

I'm not saying there can't be exceptions to these things.  There have been a few taller Christine's, and at least one very busty Christine (I was really afraid she was going to pop out of the Slave Girl costume!), but, these are the general standards for Christine.

Don't focus so much on getting on particular role if you intend to pursue a career in theatre.  I am not saying don't make a goal of a certain role.  I am just saying diversify yourself (yes, there was a time in my teens where I REFUSED to sing ANYTHING but music from Phantom).  Look at this realistically - there are HUNDREDS of girls who want to play Christine.  In the states, there are currently three productions running - NYC, Vegas, and the third National Tour (which closes in November).  In each production, there is the main Christine, an alternate Christine, and at least two understudies.  Vegas is double cast, but, I think the number of actresses stays the same. You're looking at about 4 Christine's per production (there are also swings and such that can step into the role in an emergency, but...) which means 12 slots in the US.  

Look at everything realistically.  Just being able to sing the part well is not enough.  There are so many things that factor into being cast in a show - any show - that have nothing to do with anything you do or don't do...or things that you even have any control over.  Be as diverse as you can.  Perform because you LOVE to perform, not because you love a particular role.

Love Never Dies Act II

Well, thought I was going to have to step away from this for a day or two, but, decided I just want to get through it.

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Entr'acte - Orchestra

Opens with a very peppy Only for Him/Only for You  then into something else...which, honestly, wasn't memorable enough to me the first time for me to recognize here...then into a third melody...which I again don't recognize.....then a kind of sweeping Rogers & Hammerstein sounding orchestration of Till I Hear You Sing.....back into a few bars of Only for Him/Only for You to end it out.  Not terrible, but not memorable like the Entr'acte to POTO, either.  The music and orchestrations, overall, really aren't bad.

Why Does She Love Me - Raoul
 
Act II opens in a bar with Raoul drinking himself into a stupor.  Lovely.  Sad orchestral underscoring...reminds me of something, but can't quite place it.....Raoul has obviously been drinking for awhile and the bar tender is just about to switch shifts...new bartender comes in...who might he be?  I feel bad for this actor...he has a lovely voice and emotes well, but...lord!  The lyrics they've saddled the poor man with! "She looks to me for sympathy/I give her sorrow/she asks for honesty/I've none to borrow/She begs it of me!/I give her ugliness/Why does she love me?"  When did Raoul become such a sad sack?   There's a bluesy saxophone in the scoring for this piece....sounds so out of place in time with this, pretty sure it's the only place a sax is used in the score....Oh....and in comes Meg....this can't be good...Meg sounds bitter and jaded...she tells Raoul to take Christine, Gustave, and go home to Paris.  Raoul doesn't want to lose the money....or run away from the Phantom.  Meg continues to try and convince him to leave....

Devil Take the Hindmost - Raoul, Phantom

Raoul yells after her that he isn't afraid of him.  "I've bested him before!  And if he ever had the courage to meet me face to face, man to man - " Not NEARLY as effective dialogue as "So, it is to be war between us!  But this time, my clever friend, the disaster will be yours!"  We get a bass beat similar to the one used as the Phantom steps down the grand staircase after Masquerade.  The new "bartender" reveals himself to be the Phantom.  He advances on Raoul, and Raoul threatens to kill him if he continues to advance.  The Phantom suggests that they make a bet.  Once again, Christine must choose between them - really?  'cause it's been done.  She made her choice.  Only this time, she is not being given the option - that is, the bet is between the men, and they are not telling her what the deal is.  If she sings, she has chosen to stay with the Phantom and Raoul will walk away.  If she chooses not to sing, the Phantom will pay Raoul's debts and let them all walk away.  Now, really!  This turns Christine into what people claim she was in POTO - a mindless doll walking through the show allowing things to happen to her rather than taking charge.  I have always said this is not the case.  Christine actively made choices in POTO - she got a backbone during the second manager's scene.  Now these men are taking control and not allowing her say in her own life.  They are BOTH treating Christine as a prize to be won, which was never the case in the first show.  Raoul was willing to give up his LIFE for Christine at the end of POTO.  He was NOT this selfish dissolute bastard.  Personally, if I were her and aware of all this, I'd walk away from both of them.  Raoul brings up that he and Christine have a child - which trumps any claim the Phantom may think he has on her.  Of course, the Phantom counters with "Are you SURE he's your child?"  He points out Gustave's similarities to himself...Raoul thinks he's bluffing.  The Phantom leaves...Raoul suddenly realizes what he's done and regrets it - realizing only a few hours are left before Christine's concert.  I'm not really sure what he expects here...Christine has made a commitment, and unless she is made aware of the bet, what reason would she possibly have to back out?  Raoul has backed himself into a corner, and, even his drunken stupor isn't a good enough reason for making such a stupid bet.


Heaven by the Sea Reprise - Ensemble

Basically just a rehash of the first song - filler music...a place holder...nothing really significant to the show...vacationers enjoying themselves.

Ladies, Gents!/Coney Island Waltz Reprise - Fleck, Squelch, Gangle

The henchmen make an apparently impressive entrance in a hot air balloon to advertise the evenings performance - "the command performance of Christine Daae, the most heavenly diva of this or any age..." *gag*  But, first, of course, Meg Giry, the Ooh La La Girl ("for those of you with whose taste is a little more earthbound") performs!

Bathing Beauty - Meg, Chorus

We now get to hear the full version of the "Hot Box" number that was rehearsed in Act I.  Meg basically does a strip tease. *rolls eyes*  Again, I hear Lois Lane from Kiss Me Kate.....the number is purely filler.....total burlesque...and sounds completely out of place.  OMG...I just realized, this is equivalent  to Pet Me Poppa from the film version of Guys and Dolls.  Someone somewhere else compared it to Bushel and a Peck, but that number has a certain charm completely missing from Bathing Beauty.  Loesser wrote deliberately wrote Pet Me Poppa to be BAD since he was upset with the film people for not using Bushel and a Peck.  The opening phrase even SOUNDS like it musically! "Pet me, poppa, poppa, pet me nice," could EASILY be "Bathing Beauty on the beach...."

Mother Did you Watch - Meg, Mme Giry

Meg seems to think her Bathing Beauty number was enough to gain the Phantom's attention and make him forget Christine.  Seriously, now?  Meg was never known for her singing...the disparity between what Meg does in that number and what Christine has always done....there's no possible way it's even close to on par...she CAN'T be THAT dimwitted...then again...everyone else in the show is.....she's counting on the huge audience reaction to be enough to change his mind about her....Mme Giry of course disillusions her none too gently - the Phantom wasn't even there....well, come ON people!  He's NEVER been there!  His only concern is Christine!  Of course he's busy with final preparations for Christine's performance...why would he come by to watch Meg now when he never has?  Only for Him/Only for You melody recycled here.  Meg snaps over the edge...Mme Giry up to this point has apparently been feeding Meg the lies that the Phantom will come around, fall in love with her, and they will live happily ever after, and is now crushing all Meg's hopes and dreams - which Mme Giry apparently fostered in the first place.  Where the hell did this come from?  What is the point?

Before the Performance - Gustave, Christine

Opens with Gustave vocalizing.  The kid does have a very clear and lovely boy soprano.  He is watching Christine prepare for her performance.  Return to Gustave's melody from the aerie....Raoul enters....Raoul and Christine reminisce briefly about the past - how lovely Christine was the first time Raoul went to her dressing room.  How handsome Raoul was in the opera box....Raoul asks Gustave to leave...he is told he may explore a bit, but not leave backstage. Raoul attempts to make an apology to Christine for his behaviour...I hear more Evita in the music here...He asks Christine not to sing...of course, he makes no mention of the bet - no mention of the game he's playing with her life.  Christine has made a commitment and won't agree.  Raoul promises to be the man he was before they married "...but we must leave here now, if you still love me..."  What incentive does she have here except that Raoul is, apparently being selfish and has no real reason to ask her not to sing?  I feel bad for him...he does appear to still love her, but....geeze....he tells Christine he's booked passage for the three of them on a ship that leaves in an hour "...let's be on it, for both out sakes...and the child's."  Just seems like a petulant ploy to get what he wants.

Raoul leaves and the Phantom "materializes."  I doubt this is nearly as dramatic as his entrance in "The Mirror."    He tells Christine that Raoul knows love isn't enough.  She needs and deserves more...there's a bit of Learn to be Lonely in his melody...I realize it was in a few places in Act I as well, but couldn't quite place it...the melody shifts back into Till I Hear You Sing.  While he tells Christine Raoul is aware that love isn't enough, he seems to be telling her that the music between them is enough.  He doesn't even mention love...which I suppose is just a given, and doesn't need to be spoken.

The stage manager let's Christine know it's time...She sings Twisted Every Way from POTO.....Raoul's voice comes in "Christine, Christine don't think that I don't care...."  and the Phantom "But ev'ry hope and ev'ry prayer rests on you now..."  I believe both these voices are in her head....but, in this instance, Christine has no idea what is being asked of her - what choice she is making? She is performing because she is under contract...I think there is also something of wanting to sing for the Phantom again, but this isn't an active decision about her fate as far as she is aware....her assumption is that she will sing and go home with her husband and child.  How is this fair?  How is this right?  How does it make either Raoul or the Phantom look sympathetic and like she should choose one over the other?  Things simply happen to her in this show.

Devil Take the Hindmost Reprise - Gustave, Raoul, Phantom, Mme Giry, Meg

Gustave wanders aimlessly backstage and vocalizes...Raoul is in agony over whether or not Christine will sing.  Coney Island Waltz underscore...a more sinister bass line and morph into Devil Take the Hindmost. Counterpoint of Phantom and Raoul....each asking Christine to make a choice...a choice she is unaware of...*facepalm*  Mme Giry joins the counterpoint....hoping Christin will not sing, therefore leaving Mme Giry in the position of power and getting her and Meg what they want.  Mme Giry, bitterly "I hope Christine is worthy of you.  I hope her singing makes up for what your blindness has done to Meg and me."  Seriously?  Where the hell did this character come from?  This is NOT Mme Giry, the ballet mistress who was protective of Christine...who tried to save Christine from the Phantom...and she surely had no designs on securing the Phantom for Meg in POTO.

Love Never Dies - Christine

Well, I've done a fair analysis on this in a previous blog, so...I'll just leave it at this - I love the melody.  The lyrics are completely generic and don't really hold the meaning of The Heart is Slow to Learn, or have any specificity to the plot.  Sierra's voice is lovely, and she is definitely emotionally connected to it.  Raoul, apparently was in the audience for this, and leaves as she is singing.  The stage direction indicates that Christine "(finds) courage in the decision she has made...gathers her all and sings with every fiber of her body."  WHAT decision has she made?  She hasn't made a conscious decision to do anything but sing and honour the contract she made.  Oh and, to include one of the best comments I've heard regarding this show as a whole via Tiffany Maxwell on Twitter: "Incidentally, "Love Never Dies" is, you know, wrong. Raoul and Christine's love has died. Creepy Baseless Obsession never dies."

Ah Christine - Phantom

He's reveling in Christine's performance as Christine return to her dressing room.  Christine sings Gustave's melody, telling the Phantom how beautiful the music was...how beautiful she felt singing...lost in the music once more...she then notices a red rose and note on her dressing table...from Raoul....Raoul sings in voice over to Little Lotte.....telling Christine that the two people who fell in love at the Paris Opera no longer exist, and that he is giving her to her "Angel of Music."  Ugh!  How I HATE this writing and plot!  Let's not forget the Phantom is a MURDERING PSYCHOPATH!  Where along the way did this fact get lost and/or changed?  When did the Phantom become such a nice guy?  And, what the hell is with Raoul "giving" Christine to the Phantom?  She is a PERSON, not an object, not a toy, not a PRIZE TO BE WON!  Why is she not allowed to have a say in her fate?  Why is she all of a sudden a mindless doll?

Gustave! Gustave! Christine, Phantom Squelch, Fleck, Mme Giry

Christine suddenly realizes Gustave is not there as he promised...the Phantom jumps to the conclusion that Raoul took Gustave and swears to kill him...ah!  There's our murdering psychopath!  The Phantom calls for Squelch to seal the port and stop Raoul.  Squelch informs the Phantom that he saw Raoul leave - alone.  So where is Gustave? Ah!  He remember Mme Giry was backstage!  Get her, bring Gustave back safely..and then he'll tear Mme Giry limb from limb.  Mme Giry turns up outraged by the accusations.  She points out that she has been the most faithful to the Phantom - mother to you and Christine.   Fleck appears and tells the Phantom that in passing Meg's dressing room it was "empty as a tomb..."  Really?  You needed a rhyme that badly that you went with that?  As someone on one of the boards pointed out, tombs are not empty.  Semantics!  Fleck saw Meg leaving with someone.  Mme Giry suddenly feels guilty for upsetting Meg and thinks it's her fault for causing Meg to leave with Gustave.  But, of course, she is sure Meg won't hurt Gustave....for some reason the Phantom is sure he knows where they've gone....they run through Coney Island searching for Meg and Gustave..

Please, Miss Giry I Want to Go Back - Gustave, Meg, Phantom, Christine, Mme. Giry

Meg has taken Gustave to the pier.  During the bar scene, Meg told Raoul that area was called "Suicide Hall.  It's where people end up when they don't know where else to go.  The hopeless...the desperate..a good place to step off the pier and quietly vanish..."  Well, it's pretty safe to say Meg has become one of the hopeless and desperate...she has crossed over to insanity.  She plans to drown Gustave....guess it's now just a matter of hurting Christine and the Phantom the only way she knows how.  She has obviously gone mad.  Again, I'm getting a sense of Menotti....Christine and the Phantom find Meg they yell at her to stop...Meg says she isn't done...she always wondered how to make him watch...she has apparently found the way.  She sings a reprise of Coney Island...explaining her motivation.....Ha!  Apparently, Meg basically whored herself out to pay for everything they needed to get the things they needed to start Phantasma....in order to get the permits to go through...to buy time when the money wasn't there to pay the bills...which, apparently, no one else was aware of....oh lord!  Honestly!  What a soap opera this has become!  She has a gun - where was she hiding this?  She points it at the Phantom (Gustave gets away) and the Mme Giry...at the end of her ranting explanation she points at her head "Here's the big finish, and then you can go..."

The Phantom attempts to talk her down.....oh, brilliant....he tells her that, although she feels ugly and used, he can see the beauty underneath.  He tries to get her to blame him and give him the gun.  "Give me the chance to see you clear at last."  Meg is mesmerized, and seems to be faltering....oh!  frickin' GENIUS...."Diamonds never sparkle bright/if they aren't set just right/Beauty sometimes goes unseen/We can't all be like Christine."  Really?  You thought this would help HOW, exactly?  Of course, Meg comes out of her trance at this...and she is PISSED...and points the gun at Christine....it goes off...Christine falls....Meg claims she didn't mean it....

Gustave asks where his father is...Christine as she is dying - this will be a long operatic death, of course - informs him that his real father is the Phantom, through a reprise of Look With Your Heart....she "swoons"...Gustave yells "no."  But, wait!  She's not dead yet!  She's getting better!  She can sing another duet!  Now Once Upon Another Time is reprised with the Phantom...the Phantom asks what he's to do with the boy?  Christine tells him to "Just love/just live/and give what you can give/and take the love that you deserve..."  Really, no one should be able to sing that high and that well this close to death.....Christine then asks him to come closer to her and tells him "Remember/love never dies/kiss me one last time.." and she dies in his arms.  He lays her lifeless body down....Gustave reaches for the Phantom's mask "and in a gesture of tender acceptance, the boy removes the mask and gazes unflinchingly at the Phantom's ruined face (which from what I hear isn't nearly as ruined as it was in POTO....and, come ON...he's flippin' HOT on the other side of his face....) Father and son look into one another's eyes..."  and the curtain comes down...the orchestration here has a lot of Learn to be Lonely "You've always known, that your heart was on it's own..."

OK....who else feels completely cheated?  Who else feels like an important work from their life has just been bastardized in a cheap effort to capitolize on it's original success?  The entire message of the original show was lost.  It took FOUR people to write this book...I've read better phan-pic sequels - and ones that effectively created a Phantom/Meg romance.  How can FOUR "professional" writers put something this poorly thought out together when complete amatuer writers have written sequels that hold my interest and make me believe in what they've written?  I don't think a Phantom sequel was needed.  The first show had a definite ending.

Love Never Dies - Act I

Here we go...delving in to the insanity that is Love Never Dies - Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to the Phantom of the Opera.  A few things before we move ahead here: this is my first time listening to this album.  I have heard three pieces from the show - the Coney Island Waltz from watching the  press preview, Til I Hear You Sing also from the press preview, and, of course, the title song which got it's own dedicated post yesterday.  What you will be getting here are my initial reactions to everything in this show.  I will go through song by song and put down my thoughts on each.  I expect there to be ranting along the way.  I think most of you reading this are already aware of what happens in the plot, but, just in case, you should know I will not be editing myself as far as plot spoilers.  This is your warning!  If you do not want to know what happens - how the show ends - do NOT read further.

PS -

Holy, crap!  It took me THREE DAYS to get through the first act.  That's how awful this is.  When I first heard the score to Phantom of the Opera, I listened to it non-stop over and over for weeks on end.  I doubt I will ever listen to this in it's entirety again.  There are a few things in it I like which will stay on my iPod.
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Prologue - Mme Giry and Fleck

Apparently, we're going with the flashback style of the original show.  Hmmm...no dates given as to when the Prologue takes place.  Oh dear....I'm actually doing research on this...just pulled out my copy of The Complete Phantom of the Opera....wow...ALW really ignored the "facts" of the first show.  POTO's prologue takes place in 1905 - 23 years after the finale...Christine is dead by this point.  ALW insists that LND takes place 10 years after the original Phantom....but, the libretto lists it taking place in 1907 - 25 years after the original show.  How do botch the source material when you WROTE the source material?

Mme Giry (and this is the first Mme Giry I've heard with a French accent) is discussing the wonders of Phantasma - the Phantom's (referred to as Mr Y...anyone else find this and incredibly lazy name choice?)  amusement park/freak show in Coney Island.  Does anyone else take HUGE exception to the fact that the Phantom is now RUNNING a freak show?  Considering his background as a circus freak, I find this idea pretty offensive....

Ok...Fleck annoys me....and musically, we have entered Suset Boulevard....and now a bit of Evita sounding music....

The Coney Island Waltz -

This sounds so much like Sunset Boulevard to me.  That kind of grand Hollywood sound.  I actually do like it, but it doesn't fit Phantom for me....I'm seeing the Sunset Blvd Mansion in my head....

That's the Place You Ruined You Fool - Fleck and Mme Giry

Alright..Fleck's voice is going to annoy me very quickly.  Childish, squeaky...very petulant character.  She accuses Mme Giry of destroying everything.  Of causing the demise of the park and of the livelihoods of the freaks and monsters.

Heaven by the Sea - Company

Very up beat.  Again, feels very out of place to me for a Phantom story.  Erik, apparently not making much of a secret of himself - everyone is aware the creator of this new Coney Island park wears a mask.  Meg is now the headlining act of the show.

Only for Him/Only for You - Meg and Show Girls

Very peppy little number here.  We find out that Meg is doing this in order to gain the Phantom's approval.  Meg is in love with the Phantom?  Huh...no...would not have seen that coming from the original show.  This number is making me think of South Pacific...not that it's really anything like South Pacific musically, but, Summer Strallen's voice does have kind of a Nellie Forbush sound to me...for some reason, this is just what pops into my head...Ohhh...obnoxious sounding chorus girls doing the nasally stereo-typical "moll" voice.  Meg is an Ooh La La Girl....this concept so does not sit well with me.  Under the dialogue after this number, you hear the first real musical reference to the original show - a soft underscoring of  "I Remember"

The Aerie - Orchestra

Our first glimpse of the Phantom.  Ok...this creeps me out....he has an automaton of Christine.  This has been common knowledge, of course...but...really....essentially, he's created a Christine sex doll....anyone else really bothered by this?  This just turns him into a creepy pervert for me.

Til I Hear You Sing - Phantom

This starts with the bass notes heard in the Mirror sequence leading into the title them in Phantom of the Opera.  He then goes off on a rant recitative which informs the audience that it has been 10 years since the last show took place.  He's just pretty well angry.  We're hit pretty hard with rock guitars.  I don't think ALW ever really gave up on his idea that Phantom should have been a rock opera.   I hear Menotti's the Medium in the recitative - especially the end of it "Lost and gone...lost and gone..."  The actual song begins.  I admit, I'm fairly in love with Ramin Karimloo's voice.  It's no Music of the Night, but, I like the song for what it is. I get emotion from this piece.

Giry Confronts the Phantom/Til I Hear you Sing (reprise) - Meg, Phantom, Mme Giry

Meg...oh my dear Meg....I find her so horribly annoying.  Vocally and character-wise.  Vocally, I get a very Lois Lane from Kiss Me Kate feel.  Wrong period in time. She comes in like a puppy asking for the Phantom's approval "Tell me did you watch?/Tell me that you saw..."  Meg isn't a terribly developed character in the original production, but, I always got the impression that her character became stronger as the show went on - that she went from scared little chorus girl to someone a bit more independent.  After all, she is the first of the mob to the Phantom's lair...she is the one who pulls the cape from the chair.  I once read a really brilliant essay about how the author felt the show was really about Meg and her journey.  I wish I had saved it because it was very interesting, and I'd love to post the link here.  This song reminds me a bit of "By the Sea" from Sweeney Todd - with Meg enthusing over her triumph and the Phantom responding in a completely distracted manner "Yes, whatever you think is best..."    Mme. Giry breaks in to stop Meg's jabbering because the "Master" is working....Mme Giry is VERY bitter.  We get a "Christine, Christine, Christine" a la Raoul/Phantom right before All I Ask of You...the first two "Christines" rather angry from Mme Giry, and the third a soft sad "Christine" from Meg.  Mme Giry sings the Coney Island Waltz melody (cannot get over this being a Sunset Blvd melody!  I see palm trees and old cars!) giving exposition about how she and Meg smuggled the Phantom out of Paris - and where was Christine through all of this?  Basically, you are an ungrateful SOB to ignore my daughters advances and still be pining for that selfish, betraying Christine!  She continues with a list of all the things she has done for him - how she has saved him.  Ugh!  The lyrics are really banal.  Woah, woah, woah!  The Phantom WAS a side show freak when they first arrived?  No, no no, NO!  This wouldn't happen.  He ESCAPED a side show as a child and would not now willingly go back to one as an attraction. *headdesk*  It's like no one looked at any of the source material when they were writing this show...we'll just take characters everyone is familiar with, ignore their back story, and put them in a new location.  Mme Giry is thouroughly disparaging Christine here...umm...wasn't Mme Giry the one who helped Raoul save Christine?  Wasn't she always protective of Christine?  The Phantom reprises his song....he makes the statement that she fled from his face...by the end of POTO, his facial deformity was no longer an issue "This haunted face/holds no horror for me now/it's in your soul/that the true distortion lies."  If all he's gotten out of this over the years is that she fled him because he was ugly, the point and beauty of the original show has truly been lost.  The man is still as obsessed as ever and looking to possess Christine...which is NOT love.  This is wrong on so many levels...

Christine Disembarks -

Dialogue section.  Raoul, Christine and Gustave arrive in Coney Island.  Reporters swarm them.  Huh...Raoul is oddly British.  We discover that Raoul has somewhere along the line become a gambler and lost his fortune.  Christine has accepted this performing gig in order to pay off his gambling debts.  Somehow, though the park is called Phantasma, the impresario is Mr Y, and according to this dialogue, "No one's ever seen the guy," neither Raoul nor Christine make the connection that "Gee....ya think it's the Phantom?"  Considering the past and everything they went through, you would think they would avoid anything with a Phantom referential name like the plague!  Whether or not there was a possibility THE Phantom were involved.  Raoul is proving himself to be a boorish jackass...completely at odds with who he was in the original show.  Of course, one must assume that the outcome of this show is for Christine to end up with the Phantom, and, if Raoul is still a basically nice guy, obviously in love with Christine, protective, etc, etc, how does one justify her leaving for - let's face it - a murderous psychopath?    We are also introduced to Gustave in this section Christine's and (presumably - but, I think it fairly obvious where this is going) Raoul's son.  Gustave is also oddly British.

Arrival of the Trio - "Are You Ready to Begin?" - Squelch, Fleck, and Gangle

Oh, Lord....here come the rock guitars. "Are you ready to begin/are you ready to get on/you're about to start out/on the journey of your lives."  *facepalm* Seriously?  It's Lock, Shock, and Barrel from Nightmare Before Christmas, really....the Phantom's henchmen.   We're back to some kind of rock mismash. "If you're ready to get in/Once you're in then we'll get gone/and who knows once it goes/where you'll be when it arrives."  *headdesk*  These lyrics are killing me!  And we've got a bit of Riff Raff and Magenta from Rocky Horror thrown into these characters for good measure as well...

What a Dreadful Town - Raoul, Gustave

We get a good look at Raoul's true nature here.  Elitist, condescending,drunk, abusive to both Gustave and Christine and complete victim mentality.  Truly, this hurts me.  Wow....serious battered woman behaviour from Christine...trying to placate him....to soothe away his irrational behaviour "Please let's not fight dear/I'm sure no one intended a slight dear...We need the money, that's all/That's why things haven't been right dear."
"Father never plays with me/doesn't he love me?"  Musical shades of Menotti again...Oh, and as Raoul leaves, Christine asks him not to drink anymore.  Yes, we have completely destroyed a character I love.

Look With Your Heart - Christine, Gustave

Pretty enough melody...but....basically, the message is "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  Christine is trying to reassure Gustave about his father's love.  Shades of Lilliom/Carousel.   We get the first real glimpse that Christine regrets not staying with the Phantom. "Love's a curious thing/It often comes disguised/Look at love the wrong way/It goes unrecognized..."  Hmmm...yes...what could she possibly be referring to? *raised eyebrow*

Beneath a Moonless Sky - Christine, Phantom

And here is where Christine discovers who hired her to sing...and we the audience find out what happened nearly twent....*ahem* excuse me.....what happened TEN years ago....music box introduction...and we get part of the melody from the intro to Point of No Return "in my mind I've already imagined/our bodies entwining/defenseless and silent.."  which is rather appropriate considering the revelation we're about to get....Oooohhh...big orchestral sting....big romantic orchestral music more suited to the Phantom plot than most of what's been heard to this point....pretty.  Oy...again...horrid lyrics.....music is pretty, but...the lyrics...gawd!  it's like a bad romance novel.  Christine said her goodbyes at the end of the first show...no reason for her to return "...to your side to tell you I must go" that was resolved when she returned the ring at the end of the first show.  They continue on to discuss their love making.  Blah!  It destroys the message of the original show... Christine "And I kissed you" Phantom "And I took you" Christine "And I caressed you..."  Bad, bad, BAD phan-phic!  Oh, and for some reason, the melody for "And I kissed/And I took you..." etc?  TOTALLY Cell Block Tango from Chicago "He had it comin'/he had it comin'."  Weird.  Gawd...and the Phantom left her.  Seriously?  How does any of this make sense?  Oh...and, considering the Phantom disappeared at the end of POTO, how the hell did Christine find him?  How does this make sense?

Once Upon Another Time - Christine, Phantom

Pretty orchestration again.  Boring.  Doesn't really say much of anything.  You made choices, I made choices, now we have to live with those choices.  *rolls eyes*

Mother, Please, I'm Scared - Gustave Christine

Gustave runs in breaking the mood telling Christine he's had a nightmare...of course, Erik is still there, and introductions must be made.  The bass from the POTO title theme comes up again under Christine's introduction "Gustave, this is...Mr Y..."  Oy!  The choice of name still bugs the hell out of me!  The Phantom takes a strong interest in Gustave, telling Gustave he can grant any wish as the park is his.  Gustave asks to be shown the secrets of the island.  This crazy rock music comes back...it sounds like something out of Jesus Christ Superstar or Evita...completely out of place for the Phantom.

Dear Old Friend - Meg, Christine Mme. Giry, Raoul

Meg is rehearsing her big number - Bathing Beauty.  Wow...more awful lyrics...it sounds like a Hot Box number from Guys and Dolls.  Wrong time period for this show...and, Adelaide nasally singing with New York accents.  Good Lord!  Meg has become a horribly insecure person.  She's so pathetically desperate for approval - her mother's, and more importantly, the Phantom's.  It's tragically pathetic and at odds with her character in POTO.  And what the heck is up with Mme Giry's speaking voice?  I can't even describe it, but..it sounds forced....creepy...Mme Giry is pushing Meg to go after the Phantom.  I get the same feeling that I got from the film of POTO where Mme Giry seemed to be facilitating the relationship between the Phantom and Christine.  Mme Giry, more than anyone, is aware that Erik is a psychotic murderer.  Why would you push your daughter into the arms of someone like that?

The Giry's and de Chagny's are reunited.  Christine does not recognize Meg at first.  Meg is thrilled - until Christine informs her she is there to sing, not as a tourist.  Apparently, although the press was more than aware Mr Y had hired Christine to come sing, both Meg and Mme Giry were blissfully unaware.  Plot hole!

Raoul runs into Mme Giry.  Neither is happy to see the other, and Raoul demands Mme Giry inform her employer that Christine's already high fee needs to go up.  The music bears shades of Angel of Music "He's with me even now..."  Mme Giry makes it clear to Raoul that her employer is the Phantom.  Because, obviously, he's too much of a drunk to have figured it out in the first place - no matter how obvious the signs....and Mme Giry starts to plant doubt in Raoul - suggesting Christine was aware the whole time who had employed her.  Well, frankly, everyone is pretty dim if they had NO clue from the beginning - whether or not they thought the Phantom dead.  More hints of Menotti in the music...

Gustave has disappeared in all this.  Raoul lets his dislike of the boy show.  Gawd!  How I HATE the way they've written Raoul....I'm sorry...even a ten year time lapse would not have turned him into such a completely different person...but how else are we to justify Christine leaving him is he isn't a completely horrible guy?

The Aerie - Fleck, Squelch, Gangle, Gustave, Phantom

The Phantom's henchmen have come to take Gustave to him.

Beautiful - Phantom, Gustave

Underscoring and melody between Gustave and Phantom is Little Lotte...Gustave plays a melody on the piano, and it pulls the Phantom up short.  This morphs into Beautiful.  We have heard Gustave sing this theme earlier.  It is VERY reminiscent of Menotti's Medium to me....it starts softly..the Phantom recognizes himself in Gustave.  Phantom does the math...kid is 10...it was 10 years ago he and Christine had a night of passion...huh...guess what?  You have a kid!  More Sunset Blvd sounding underscore as we morph into:

The Beauty Underneath - Phantom, Gustave

In come the rock guitars...completely out of place...sounds VERY JCS or Evita...this...is...so...WRONG....it's Judas singing Superstar....not the Phantom.  "Every time I look at you I don't understand..."  Ummm...the Phantom goes through a list of things...asking if these are the things Gustave yearns for...Gustave's responses of "Yes" sound wrong....so very, very wrong......This song just creeps me the hell out!  The song ends as Gustave unmasks the Phantom and screams in terror at his face...Christine rushes in.

The Phantom Confronts Christine - Phantom, Christine

The Phantom confronts Christine with his suspicions that Gustave is his son.  We get a reprise of Once Upon Another Time as Christine explains that Gustave is the Phantom's son.  Christine sings the melody of Till I Hear You Sing...begging his forgiveness, claiming to have brought him nothing but woe.  Seriously?  He made her believe he was the Angel of Music, kidnapped her, killed in her name, and SHE is at fault?  Really?  Christine leaves, and the Phantom vows to leave everything to Gustave.

Oh, gee....guess what?  In true soap opera fashion, Mme Giry and Meg have overheard everything.  Mme Giry has now been pushed over the edge....apparently, she expected to get everything for what she's done, and now everything goes to Gustave and she and Meg get nothing.  "All would be ours if that bastard had never been born!"

And so ends Act I