Phantom of the opera the current longest running musical on Broadway, could a sequel potentially ruin its reputation?
Sequels have played an important part in the history of Hollywood during their Golden Age in the 1930's. Broadway however has had less luck. It is apparent that successful plays and musicals have often spawned unsuccessful sequels.
“Phantom of the Opera is based on a 1911 novel, Le Fantome de l'Opera, written by French author Gaston Leroux. Leroux based the novel on his own research into strange events that occurred at the Paris Opera House in the 1880s. Though the novel was not widely read or well reviewed in its own time, the adaptation of Phantom to both screen and stage has familiarized the public with this haunting love story”. http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_4569129_facts-phantom-opera.html?cr=l
It is believed that reliable facts and figures from http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/ shows that "It is estimated that Phantom has been seen by more than 100 million people worldwide having been played in no fewer than 14 languages. The show has won over 50 major theatre awards including three Olivier Awards, the most recent being the 2002 Oliver Audience Award for Most Popular Show, an Evening Standard Award, seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, seven Drama Desk Awards and three Outer Critic Circle Awards".
Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948) one of the wealthiest and most successful composers today, yet again the man behind the most successful musical in history and “The Oscar-winning composer of some of the most successful British musicals of all time” (Kunal, D, and Peck, T, 2009)
Phantoms success is yet to be topped, but for how long now that the landmark musical is faced by its sequel “Love never dies” which opens at the Adelphi Theatre on 9th March 2010.
The production is set 10 years from Phantom and far from the Paris Opera House, Christine and Raoul are now in living in Coney Island where Webber based the story on all the original characters after taking advice from Ben Elton (1959) “In a move that some theatre experts have described as "risky". Lloyd Webber will also attempt to make history by staging the first successful sequel to a musical anywhere in the world. All previous bids to repeat the triumph of original productions have failed miserably” (Nikkhah, R, 2009)
Maybe the sequel will celebrate the life and success of Phantom and only time will tell, and with Phantoms track record we could be in for the long, however, it could be hard to convince you that this time a sequel will actually be successful after “Much of the chatter I've been hearing about Love Never Dies seems to be assuming that the show will be a guaranteed disaster, a bad idea from its very conception. Part of this comes from the fact that no musical sequel has ever been successful Let 'Em Eat Cake (sequel to Of Thee I Sing), Bring Back Birdie (Bye Bye Birdie), Annie Warbucks (Annie), Divorce Me, Darling (The Boy Friend), The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) Well, that doesn't mean that no musical sequel could ever be successful, just that it hasn't happened yet” http://ccaggiano.typepad.com/everything_i_know_i_learn/2009/05/phantom-sequel-to-have-march-2010-premiere-.html enough to argue that this sequel isn’t the best of ideas?
“Musical sequels are a very risky business. The 1960 smash Bye Bye Birdie was a thinly veiled satire of Elvis Presley. It ran for 607 performances. In 1981 the creative team behind the show produced a sequel called Bring Back Birdie. Nobody wanted him back, and the musical folded after four performances” (Botto Louis, 2006)
So enough said? Personally I think there are a lot of sequels on record that have failed to be successful so you can understand the negative critism towards “Love never Dies”. “Andrew Lloyd Webber also admits to saying that “Love Never Dies” has been in the making for seventeen years and that “The story of Christine and the Phantom didn’t really end” http://www.loveneverdies.com/?video=lnd-launch-edit#video . Let’s not forget, this has been in the making for seventeen years and Webber has proved to be more than capable of producing fantastic, successful musicals. Maybe this time it will change the opinions of audiences worldwide.
References
1) http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_4569129_facts-phantom-opera.html?cr=1
2) http://www.thephantomoftheopera.com
3) Kunal, D, and Peck, T, 2009 “I have cancer says Lloyd Webber”, The Independent, [online] 26 October, Available from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/i-have-cancer-says-lloyd-webber-1809423.html [accessed 24th November 2009]
4) Nikkhah, R, 2009 “Andrew Lloyd Webber attempts to make history with Phantom of the Opera sequel” The Telegraph [online], 04 October, available from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-news/6257769/Andrew-Lloyd-Webber-attempts-to-make-history-with-Phantom-of-the-Opera-sequel.html [accessed date 25th November 2009]
5)http://ccaggiano.typepad.com/everything_i_know_i_learn/2009/05/phantom-sequel-to-have-march-2010-premiere-.html
6) 17 Aug 2006 http://www.playbill.com/features/article/101485-The-Broadway-Sequel
7) http://www.loveneverdies.com/?video=lnd-launch-edit#video
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Hi Abbi!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed what you’ve chosen to write about from an Academic point of view, as indeed the anticipated Sequel to “The Phantom Of The Opera” has been the centre of many discussions.
At the very beginning of your piece, the first two sentences I personally feel that maybe the structure could be different so as the first thing we read would be the question so as we know straight away what you are talking about. For example: “Could a sequel potentially ruin the reputation of the longest running musical on Broadway?” and in this way, plant the question in the readers head from the moment GO.
I find myself in the first few paragraphs wanting to give you my personal opinion, and answer your questions; I find this is great as it mean that you were making me interested in the subject.
I like the fact that you give all the history about Phantom, so as we realize what “Love never dies” is up against and how hard it will be to succeed, however in the structure, I find it a bit confusing when you start talking about sequels then the phantom and then sequels again, maybe it would be clear, it you gave us all the history and background and then proceeded into linking its connection with the sequel and the possibilities it entails.
In the 5th paragraph, I couldn’t read it clearly and smoothly, it feels like something is missing.
I also feel you can afford to make more emphasis on the exciting bits, like just how risky this musical is, this might help if you used shorter phrases as long one tend to loose the emphasis, always making sure the links between sentences are smooth and make since.
All in all I enjoyed reading this piece, it nicely researched and entertaining to read.
Hope your having a lovely Christmas :D
Donna
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