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
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