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For Sondheim Fans


NightScribe

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The other night, while embracing my slugdom, I was reading product reviews on Amazon because...well, it's something I do when I'm bored; weird hobby, I know. Anyway, I was reading customer reviews for the OCR of Sweeney Todd and found something quite interesting. One literate reviewer had mentioned another review that called Todd a failure and spent most of the critique applauding ALW's Phantom and comparing it to Sondheim's masterpiece. Eventually, I stumbled upon the pro-Weber review and had to laugh; the person didn't have a clue what Todd was about. The best part was that there were a couple of replies and they're definitely worth a read. If interested, take a look here:

Sweeney Review, Rebuttals

There was another laughable review from a kid who asked "did you see the part where Sweeney cuts that guy's head off?" Uh, no. No, I didn't....because he never decapitated anyone! I'll let that one slide; I think the material was a bit too mature for the poor child. Although *gag* they recommended another Weber musical. *shudder* Difference is night and day people, night and day.

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I, for one, resent the fact that the Broadway musical, which used to be the hallmark of intellect, taste and cerebral stimulation, has been hijacked in the last thirty years by Schlockmeisters like Webber, whose talents are better suited to an audience besotted on syrupy, gooey love songs and American Idols, than they are to the bastion of taste, intellect and creativity that used to be Broadway.

That may be the one part of the first review that I can't agree with and find plain offensive. Has s/he ever heard of "emo"? A lot of "dramatic" plays are headed in that direction, and they lack taste, intellect, and creativity. On the other hand, there are plays that center on a lighter and happier note, but they are far from simple.

A true aficionado can appreciate both the darker and lighter side of the theater. This person apparently can't. A well-rounded person can appreciate old Broadway and music videos.

Other than that, Webber is a hack. His version of "Phantom of the Opera" is completely fangirly. That's right - fangirly. I know that it's a word the reviewer wouldn't approve of, but I think s/he could appreciate the sentiment behind the adjective. Give me the original Phantom any night of the week. I'd rather watch a rape scene than tender love here, because it's just more appropriate.

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Other than that, Webber is a hack. His version of "Phantom of the Opera" is completely fangirly. That's right - fangirly.

Fangirly, I'd say that's pretty damn accurate, I just never thought of it that way before. Thanks to you, Eve, I will always equate Webber with your very succinct hack and, especially, fangirly. That's one thing I noticed on AFF; the Phantom fics are almost all based on the musical, or a combination of it and a book some woman named Kay wrote that "filled in the gaps" of Erik's early life (traditionally published fanfic!) It made me question if any of those fanfic authors ever read the original novel. I think a far more entertaining fanfic would involve a sexual relation between Erik and Christine if Erik was canon. But that's just me. *shrugs* Thanks, Webber, for wussifying and ruining a fascinating character. sad.gif Geez, even Lon Chaney tried keeping it real.

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I am jumping on the "Webber is a fangirly hack" bandwagon! laugh.gif That pretty much sums up my feelings about almost all his work, not just Phantom.

As for the review... *headdesk* Some people should be put in stocks so that we can throw fruit at them. Thank god there were some intelligent people to put things right. The cult of Webber makes me sick sometimes. *Puts in headphones and sings along rather loudly to "A Little Priest"*

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*Hides in a corner and cowers in fear* fear.gif

You know.... I like ALW ... I love Phantom of the Opera, and I'm not ashamed to admit it, so there. tongue.gif But - and here's the big thing - I've never read the book (which seems to be the source of most of the grievances here). I can totally understand how reading the book, enjoying it and then having some hack come along and totally fuck it up could be annoying. Really. What was that line from that commercial years ago - don't hate me because I'm beautiful? So, yeah. Don't hate me for liking it. wink.gif

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ohmy.gif Nan, hate you? Never! You know the other old saying "to each his own," or is it "one man's poison is another man's meat?" tongue.gif Anyway...the "Webber is better than Sondheim" crowd (rabid ALW fangirls) do annoy me. I'm familiar with some of his stuff; the "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" song and "Memories" (which you couldn't escape even if you were living in a cave), and I once owned the Phantom soundtrack. I can only say that I'm drawn to darker, psychological stuff (duh, like the fics I write), so that's why Sondheim's stuff appeals to me. I could never quite get Cats, but, then again, I'm a dog lover. laugh.gif

Try reading Phantom sometime. It's not Steinbeck or anything and it's kind of all over the place, genre wise; horror, mystery, romance and back again, but once it gets going, it's pretty good. Erik is a far more compelling character in the novel, you end up really feeling for the guy. It's heartbreaking, actually.

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