(no subject)

[cblj_backup]

I don't fly out of here until 4pm local time, but I'm at the airport because Mum wanted me to ride in with her. I just saw her off, so now it's time to find a quiet place to curl up with the fortunately free-of-charge internet at the airport.

We went to see Phantom of the Opera last night, which ended up being a great experience -- for me mostly because the others had a good time, but just in general it was fun, too. We had some kind of package deal with the Venetian where we got a steak dinner beforehand, which was excellent, and then when we got to the theatre we were early and they said they had better seats for us, so we ended up in the "house seats" at no extra charge. For those of you who aren't intimate with the box office, the house seats are the seats they hold just-in-case VIPs show up and want really great seats.

I was literally directly under the chandelier. Mum was almost directly under it, and when it (spoiler!) fell, she screamed like armageddon. It was awesome.

It's very hip in the theatre to be down on Phantom, and there are genuine good reasons for that, but hell, economics and aesthetics aside, it's a well-executed show and Mum and her BFF and Mr. BFF all loved it. So that was nice. In all, a good time.

Comments

[bare-bear.livejournal.com]

Okay, that chandelier thing made me lol in a coffee shop. And then the owner came over and asked what was so funny, and then she lol'd when I read it out loud at her. Thanks for entertaining us all! :D

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Always glad to bring luls to everyone's day :D

[sunlitshadow.livejournal.com]

It seems to be big lately to be down on all the Andrew Lloyd Webber shows... Phantom, Cats, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc. I don't get it, but then I don't go to an ALW show expecting creative genius, I go expecting entertainment and it delivers.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

Well, and there is some problem with conditioning people to expect entertainment from theatre rather than intellectual stimulation; the big budget flash shows tend to push more meaningful theatre out, and certainly they reduce the audience numbers. I'm not saying you would necessarily expect that, but a lot of people who don't have a lot of theatre experience become trained to think it's only good if it doesn't challenge them.

So it is something of an issue BUT, that being said, in and of itself the big productions hire a lot of artists and do a really good job at what they do. So while it's not what I'd choose on my own, I can totally understand why someone else would, and I genuinely enjoyed it.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

'Real theatre' people are down on ALW, but even ALW fans are down on Sunset Boulevard ... but man, that is my favourite. My love don't get no rispeck.

[shakespearechic.livejournal.com]

I have something worse... I actually like Starlight Express. Mmmhmmm. Let that sink in for a moment. ;-)

[micelaw.livejournal.com]

I went to London about 10 years ago just to see Starlight Express. I like it too.

[shakespearechic.livejournal.com]

I AM NOT ALONE!!! YAY!!!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

I am still alone ... *weeps*

[libbyalice.livejournal.com]

*Waves* I like Sunset Boulevard!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

HOORAY!

[shakespearechic.livejournal.com]

I like SB too!! It's not my favorite ALW, but it's still great. :-D

[keestone.livejournal.com]

I'm not a fan of schmaltz or glitz in general (my favorite musicals are Pippin, Floyd Collins, and A New Brain), but I still like Jesus Christ Superstar and Cats. However, if I get dragged to see another production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat another time someone may get slaughtered.

I like the libretto and a few of the songs from Phantom, but the blocking was way too distracting when I saw it because the dancers in the "background" were way more interesting than the main characters.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I've never seen it, but I love the music I've heard from it.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Well, to be fair, I've never seen it either,* but the complete soundtrack covers about 95% of the show's running time, as I understand it, so I get the story and character arcs and all. I can't help thinking if I saw it I wouldn't like it so much either, because every single clip I've seen on YouTube has the lead actor playing Joe Gillis as a jerkass, and ... well okay he is kind of a jerkass, but it grows out of being burnt out and bitter and having given up on his dreams, rather than just because he's naturally a jerkass. The entertainment industry is full of these people, and yet despite this, and the fact that interpreting the character that way makes him so much more sympathetic, no one putting the show on seems to make the connection. Arg!

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I'm given to understand it was a violent flop when it opened, but even superflops usually get a remount eventually....*headshake*

SUUUUUNSET BOULEVARD
BRUUUUUTAL BOULEVARD
GETTING THERE IS ONLY THE BEGINNNNING!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

It's the truest song about LA that's ever been written.

[tenebris.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry you've never gotten a chance to see Sunset! There was a spate of ALW musicals in Chicago when I was in high school, so care of that, I got to see that and Phantom. I have to wonder if they don't stage it because of the kitsch value (because C'MON) or because of the tech needed for the production; the show I saw lifted part of the stage up above to sit on top of another part of the stage for a split-screen technique. It was fantastic.

Also, I love Sunset. My HS band played it for music and hooked everyone on it, and got me hooked as well. The cats have seen me perform "Sunset Boulevard" far too many times around the house.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Arg, you don't have to have elabourate staging; in fact if you're concentrating too much on the staging you're not paying attention to what really matters. Most of the best theatre I've ever seen, on and off Broadway, has been done with practically nothing, and the worst has been done with a lot. It's not that it can't be done well, it's just ... that's no reason not to put it on. I mean, the most you'd need really is a rotating stage, if you wanted to go with full sets, because some of the scene changes are really quick musically.

That said, I personally think it'll always be kitschy to some degree because I can imagine no un-stupid way to stage the car chase. (http://www.nocturnalsoldier.org/Tealin/xhp/sunset/carchase.jpg)

[bookwormsarah.livejournal.com]

I saw Phantom when it was on tour in Edinburgh a few years ago, and Mum and I were tucked up on one of the side balconies (last minute tickets). An American woman sitting next to us was there with her brand new husband - they'd been married a couple of weeks and had got even more last minute tickets than us. He was sitting directly under the chandelier (they'd tossed for it, there were no seats left together). She went drip white when it crashed down...

[kevin-hy.livejournal.com]

It might be cool to be down on Phantom and Cats, but I don't care - those shows were the milk from the teat of musical theater at which I nursed in the 90s. I will always have a soft spot for them, even as I've come to regard other shows as "better".

Of course, I've read the source material for both. And The Phantom of the Opera just plain sucks as a book. I mean, it's truly not good. There's nothing about any of the characters that endears them to the reader. If nothing else, the musical makes them a little more appreciable.

[armaniburger.livejournal.com]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who hated the book!

[priscellie.livejournal.com]

Sure, people hate on ALW and PotO in particular, but whenever I'm in a karaoke situation, you know I'm gonna get my Sarah Brightman on. :D

[keeperofqkeys.livejournal.com]

Sitting under the chandelier would be like.... I don't even have words to describe it. I want that opportunity, some day. I was lucky enough that my BFF bought me tickets for Phantom on Broadway a few years ago, even though he's not a big fan, but we ended up under the mezzanine. The three other times I've seen it at a local theater, I've been up in the mezz, which affords great views for other things.

I blame my middle school music teacher; she indoctrinated all of us with love for the Phantom. We used to watch two or three different movie versions of it every year (the 1990 miniseries remains my favorite, even if it's not based on the musical), and she'd arrange field trips every time it was local. And I've always found it to be a compelling story.

And the music is gorgeous, so.

[copperbadge.livejournal.com]

I've been incredibly lucky; I've seen Phantom twice, and last time I didn't sit directly under it but did sit on its, erm, flight path. :D About twelve years ago in San Francisco, the chandelier would fly diagonally down into the stage, which was impressive but made the whole thing tempermental -- some nights it didn't work quite right, or the pyrotechnics would go off at the wrong time.

This Vegas production, the chandelier fell straight down onto the audience, stopping about six feet above our heads. I think it's more effective, frankly. It's also a better opening, when the Chandelier "reassembles" at the start of the play; there are "four" chandeliers floating above the audience that eventually all alight to form one multi-tiered chandelier. It was one of the most impressive bits of stagecraft I've ever seen.

[bluealoe]

Oh god, the chandelier. When I was about 10, my mom took my sister and I to see a traveling Broadway production of Phantom. My sister had seen the show in New York, and told me that a chandelier would fall at some point, but she didn't say WHEN. So I spent the entire show utterly terrified that the chandelier would crash down at any second. I don't remember a thing about the plot or the characters or the music or anything else except that goddamn chandelier.

I probably should see Phantom again now that I'm old enough to not run screaming at the sight of a chandelier....

[blushingflower.livejournal.com]

See, what I get out of this is that you were your Mum's date. Which I think is sweet.