Phantom of the Opera & funny story

[EricaH 0]

K, I've LOVED LOVED LOVED the Phantom of the Opera since I was like 11. I finally got to see the Broadway version last night & can I just say it ROCKED!!

Funny story, one of the girls I went w/ is an ex-cheerleader turned cheer coach... we're all outside discussing the play. She says, and I quote "I had no idea it had so much to do with the opera.". Anyway, cracked me up.

It will never cease to amaze me that those people can sing so loudly & clearly.

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[Daizey 0]

I looove phantom of the opera! Its soo good. One of my favorite plays on broadway I think ive seen it 5 or 6 times now

You're right, their voices are amazing...I think its amazing when you get these really tiny looking girls (or guys) and then they open their mouths and you get this loud strong voice. That always amazes me.

A voice like that would help me a lot in the classroom...

*daizey*

[EricaH 0]

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A voice like that would help me a lot in the classroom

perhaps they should get side jobs as teachers
I've seen the movies too many times to count & have the sound track - truely thrilling music!!

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I think its amazing when you get these really tiny looking girls (or guys) and then they open their mouths and you get this loud strong voice

too true!! And they don't seem to get out of breath. It's like their entire main body cavity must be filled w/ their lungs!

I can be that loud for like 1 syllable, typically to call a cab - which I've done from over 2 city blocks down the road .

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[AndyMan 7]

In Phantom, the singers do use microphones, and the sound system is impresive. This is true for most broadway shows.

I'm really amazed by the opera singers that don't use microphones and amps.

_Am

__

You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead.

[EricaH 0]

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In Phantom, the singers do use microphones

oh.

well, i went to one in 8th grade & they didn't use mics.
I thought they might, but couldn't see them or the speaker. Oh, well - they still rocked!!

There is no can't. Only lack of knowledge or fear. Only you can fix your fear.

PMS #227 (just like the TV show)

[TheBachelor 5]

I saw Phantom 7 times. About 5 of those times were with Michael Crawford, who is just amazing.

There are battered women? I've been eating 'em plain all of these years...

[moodyskydiver 0]

Aww man! I LOVED Phantom of the Opera! Seeing that on Broadway is probably my favorite memory from my visits to NY. I want to go back and see it again so bad! I wish I'd seen it twice while I was there instead of going to Chicago the second time.

"...just an earthbound misfit, I."

[quade 3]

I was looking for the Phantom of the Opera review thread and came across this one. I have a -few- things to say in a similar vein.

For instance . . .

There was a couple behind us that, I guess, didn't get into the movie they wanted to see, Chrismas with the Kranks no doubt. Anyway,about 20 minutes into it one of these luddites asks the other in questioning tones, "it's a musical?"

There was another group of four young adults in front of us that, I guess, thought it was going to be a Freddy vs. Jason style slasher style horror show.

All I can say is, where the hell do these people come from? Mind you, I'm not living in Hicksville. Phantom of the Opera ran as a stage show in LA for years.

On the flip side . . .

I was both pleased and frightened by the folks that were a little too into the Phantom. The story has an interesting appeal for a certain segment of the population. Go see it enough and you'll begin to recognise the type -- outcasts mostly -- which is understandable when you consider the subject matter and the character of the Phantom himself, a misunderstood, outcast genius not quite attractive enough to hang with the cool kids. Maybe that's why I like it.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to see it on Broadway with Michael Crawford and in LA and also with Robert Guillaume in the role (uh . . . not bad but also not very good).

I liked this movie version in that it was for the most part a filming of the stage version without too many embellishments and the things they did add were only there to make things a bit more clear and the overall arc of the story a bit tighter. In the film they were able to do closeups of things that, while also in the stage musical, were mostly lost due to the size of the stage and the amount of activity.

I was disappointed in a couple of things. I didn't think that the Phantom himself was played by a person that was old enough for the role. In order for the entire play to work, the Phantom has to be old enough for there to be a LOT of confusion in the mind of Christine as to who he is. Is he the reincarnation or ghost of her father? This latter point also opens up a few incestuous themes btw. Also, I didn't think his voice was anything special. It was good, but he wimped out on a couple of notes in Music of the Night.

The other thing that disappointed me was the audio mix. I saw it in a THX and CineArts certified theater so I'm almost certain that it wasn't the sound system. The problem I had with the mix was that it didn't make very good use of dynamics. From the loudest sounds to the softest sounds all of the peaks seemed to be pretty close. While this makes it pretty easy to remaster for DVD . . . it sure as heck kills the experience we had when the pipe organ -should- have been blasting the main theme at the beginning of the movie. This is where the stage version really excelled because they simply didn't have to worry about any notion of recording and could actually use a real pipe organ live for a real thunderous effect.

The one other thing that sort of made me laugh out loud in their loyalty to the stage version were the candelabras rising out of the sewers. On stage this was a very neat effect to kill time while the music was playing, but on film . . . it just looked funny.

Anyway, I -do- highly recommend the film. Clearly up for all sorts of awards this year.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[tunaplanet 0]

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where the hell do these people come from?

Probably the same people that went and saw, 'Farenheit 911'.

Forty-two

[julesshrew 0]

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Anyway,about 20 minutes into it one of these luddites asks the other in questioning tones, "it's a musical?"

I am a cinema manger and had to deal with one customer berrating me as we hadnt informed him that Chicago was a musical, it is so hard not to sound patronising or to laugh on such occasions but they happen so much more often than you can ever imagine

My fav recent customer query came a couple of weeks ago when one of my staff was asked if there would be another Lord of the Rings sequel coming soon!