Phantom Novel Reviews

Update

2012-02-07T18:01:00.001Z

Hello guys, I bet you thought I had forgotten all about this blog hadn’t you…?

Well…

Yeah, only not quite as cute and cuddly as the husky I’m afraid but you get the gist.

A lot has been happening both in the Phantom world and in my life.

In the Phantom world well…Ticket are now on sale for The Phantom of the Opera UK tour. Yippee. Not for all venues yet – I have to wait for Edinburgh tickets to go on sale on Friday but I am sure that I can wait *whispers* no I can’t.

Tam Mutu and Sierra Boggess of Love Never Dies have announced their engagement – I don’t know about you guys but my inner Phangirl went into overdrive when I heard about that one.

Love Never Dies will be released on DVD next month – can I hear a ‘whoop whoop’

And last but not least, The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall is out today in the States.

Yay.

So. Now that the DVD will be available in the US for those who didn’t get to see it when it was at the cinema I can now continue with my 25th Anniversary Blabbing – I kind of stopped because I was feeling guilty for those who hadn’t seen it yet.

Also on the blog will be a few posts on my opinion on Christine – one of the main characters who I haven’t voiced my opinion on yet.

The moments from Phantom that I find funny – even if no one else does.

And Erik and his presence.

There will also be some more book reviews coming up too.

Toodles.

25th Anniversary - Blabbing #2

2011-11-10T15:54:00.001Z

I found this to be one of the most heartbreaking moments of the whole evening and I think that everyone who saw the show would say there was plenty of those moments that came crashing home just because of the small things that the performers did.

Bless him! This screwed my heart into a tiney ball, wripped it out of my chest and trampled all over it in a way that this scene has NEVER done before. Just in the way that he covered his ears when Christine and Raoul were off stage singing.

It is just heart breaking.

And not only was he covering his ears but he was saying "No, No," While they were singing too.

The pure anguish of the Phantom's situation in that one moment came through clearer than in any portrayal I have ever seen. I felt what he was feeling and I have never wanted to hug someone so much in my life.

Sorry about the wacky formatting. Blogger wasn't co-operating.

25th Anniversary - Blabbing #1

2011-10-27T22:40:00.001+01:00

These posts aren't going to be in any kind of thought out order unless the little grey cells decide to start working in the next few weeks. So here we go.

And please remember that all opinions are only my own, so please don't go leaping down my throat and tearing out my heart if you don't agree with me. Thank you :)

Yes I know Chandelier is spelled wrong. Don't judge me!*sulk*

So this is the overture.

Well not the ACTUAL overture as the overture is the music and the chandelier didn't rise - pfft heath and safety or something silly. I'm sure the audience wouldn't have minded the risk of being squished...

But can you see him. He was there! Playing along on his organ. I nearly broke my friends ribs and punctured a lung when he appeared. *jab jab jab* Do you see him, do you see him? Yes Alex, I see him? Do you see him? He's there, right there! YES ALEX I SEE HIM!

Moving on.

It was very clever how the 'sets' were done although I did feel kinda-sorta disappointed that the sets weren't touchy feeley. But having the set on screens was very clever.

And yes, the chandelier DID NOT rise from the stage, and it DID NOT fall at the end. which was sort of understandable as it was honest to goodness smack above the audience. It did shoot sparks when it was being revealed at the beginning. So points for trying. :) And it shot sparks again and the ceiling was all lit up (I think) when it was at the point to fall...I wonder if anyone got singed? Hmm...

UK Tour!

2011-10-25T18:28:00.001+01:00

Hi everyone.

More Phantom news for you all. Which you probably already know anyway but I will tell you all anyway :)

The Phantom of the Opera is going to be kicking off a UK Tour next year. Waaaaaaaaaaaah! Guess who will be saving her pennies for the next few months. *cough* me.

And want to know what is even betterer than a UK Tour. A UK Tour with John Owen Jones that is what! I have been dying to see him live and my wish just may be coming true. Yip, John Owen Jones and Earl Carpenter (who was the auctioneer in the 25th Anniversary Performance and the Bishop in Les Miserables at the O2 - in case you don't know who I am talking about) will be sharing the roll of the Phantom during the tour and Katie Hall (Cosette from Les Miserables at the O2) will be Christine.

Check out here and here for more info on the dates and places of the tour.

Cartoony

2011-10-22T15:35:00.001+01:00

I have been re-kindling my rather questionable drawing skills the past few weeks. Say hello to one of the attempts.

What do you mean I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel!

:)

Phantom Dates

2011-10-18T17:53:00.001+01:00

Release Dates for Your Diaries Guys! :)

UK Dates

DVD Release of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall is

14th November 2011

Blu-Ray and DVD Release of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall is also

14th November 2011

CD Release of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

14th November 2011

(anyone else seeing a pattern here)

And for the US the date for the release of all the above is 7th February 2012 - wow guys you have one heck of a wait there.

Just look at all the Phantom pretties to be added to our Phantom shelves!

If you are wanting to check the release dates for your country check the list here :)

And now last but not least the Love Never Dies filmed with the Australian cast will be release in the UK on 12th March 2012 - I have looked for the US and other release dates but either I am looking in the wrong place or no-one knows them yet.

Sarah Brightman and the 5 Phantoms...

2011-10-18T17:20:00.000+01:00

Due to majority voting (Hey Gemma *wave* ;)) I'll post some bits and pieces about the 25th Anniversary performance that I saw at the cinema.

First of all though, a story for you.

Does anyone else's mother immediately jump to the conclusion that they are over-reacting over things and building something up to be something that it wasn't? Anyone?

Well my mum does. I have no idea why but there we have it.

(this does have something to do with Phantom honestly)

This is mainly for those of you that did manage to make it to their local cinema.

Sarah Brightman and the Phantoms.

Now, that has just brought one hell of a Phantomey amazing picture zinging to your minds eyes hasn't it. I mean...WOW, what word is there to describe what went on...*fans self*.

There is a 4th buddie on the left but he is cut of the photo :) As soon as I get the DVD I'll do some freezing and pint screening :)

Anyway moving on. I told my mum about this on the way home - I had to get the bus into the city to watch it with some friends and then she picked me back up from the bus station so I was talking a mile a minute all the way home.

So mum being mum nodded her head and went along with it as I am telling her about this sequence that Sarah Brightman did. She didn't believe me when I told her about the zingey factor and this ANNOYED me so I went onto good old YouTube and searched until I found someone who had filmed it - remember bootlegging is BAD! Bad, bad, bad, very bad!

Anyhoo, let us just say that NOW she believes everything that I was telling her about this bit.

Personally I have an issue with Sarah B getting 5 Phantom's serenading her when all I want is 1, but that's life again I suppose

(You need to skip to around 6.50 on the time line to get to the beginning of the song :))

I mean DANG! Do you hear the pipes on John Owen Jones? 'The PHHHHHAAAAAAAANTOM OF THE OPERA' *faint*

And then the way that the crowd erupted when Colm Wilkinson started. Waaaaaah! The biggest grin EVER landed on my face when they started and even as I type this I am grinning like a loon.

And I don't know if you noticed or not. And if you didn't go back and watch it again and see if you agree with me. Did you see when John Owen Jones started singing and his hand movements. TOTALLY Phantom!!!

So that is it for this post.

On a side note things will be quiet around here (well quieter) next month. As I am taking part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) where the goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. So I shall be a bit busy :)

Make Your Choice!

2011-10-08T20:56:00.000+01:00

The Phantom of the Opera Live from the Royal Albert Hall was spectacular guys. Emotionally electrifying and just pure amazing. I mean there were bits that were a bit pffft. And probably for everyone there were some points that didn't match whatever mental expectations they had. But all in all brilliant!

And now for the choice.

Would you like me to talk about the show now or when the DVD is released.
Or a bit now and a bit later?
Or not at all because 'Alex, you talk to MUCH!'

The choice is yours...

Why is He a Homicidal Maniac?

2011-10-07T21:12:00.002+01:00

Honestly this was going to be a really SERIOUS post! Honestly! But that didn't happen. I'll save the serious stuff for...well...later ;)

I found my old computer tablet complete with pen! Yay! This is either a good thing or a really bad thing lol. Probably a bad thing because you guys are going to be getting stuff like this until I get bored with using it.

Anyway.

As we are all Phantom phans - and if you are reading this and you aren't well hi, your homework is to go onto YouTube and put 'The Phantom of the Opera' into the pretty little box!

Right you back?

Cool.

Welcome to the Phan club!

Moving on....

Where was I?

Right, as we are all Phantom phans we have all wondered just what makes Erik tick. What made him the way he is. And this is something that all the various versions, books, musicals and films go into at some depth...well mostly.

His mother being an unfeeling, callous evil mask throwing child hater who needed to straighten out her priorities - that was the only way I could get round calling her a nasty name (could you tell). Or he was kept in a cage. Or both. Or a gazillion and one other reasons.

But what made Erik the homicidal, Punjab lassoo wielding murderer that we all know and love?

Once again this is something that seems to completely depends on the character growth.

But me wonders could that wee bit of brain peaking through his pretty little skull be the reason why he is the way he is?

What do you think?

I mean DUDE! His brain is SHOWING. That must make his hair really difficult to wash huh? Well the whole five or so strands... Hey, he's worth it *hair flick*

So yeah could that be why our stage Erik is the way he is? I mean having your wiggly-iggly brainy bits showing would surely have some kind of repercussions on the ummm mental side of things.

So there is my pennies worth on the sudden idea that struck like Punjab lasso to the throat out of the blue.

More insanity to come :)

It's Here!!!!

2011-10-02T18:30:00.000+01:00

Today is the day everybody!

And right this minute - if this works - I should be sitting in my cinema seat getting ready to be AMAZED!

See ya in a bit!

:)

Megamind...As You Have Never Seen Him Before

2011-09-30T22:03:00.000+01:00

Hi everyone, You will never guess what I stumbled across the other day... Go on, try and guess, give it a try....

Do you give up, you give up don't you, ok, I'll tell you.

So, do you remember a few posts ago I mentioned why I though that Megamind and Erik were similar... I know it was a while ago *hangs head in shame* but try and remember yeah. Well look at what I stumbled across on Deviant Art a few days ago.

MM: Phantom of the Opera by ~PharMafia-Soldier on deviantART

EPIC! Or what guys. It is gorgeous isn't it. It makes me want to cry just looking at it. The expression on Megamind/Erik's face has been nailed I think.

John Owen Jones - Music of the Night.

2011-09-29T05:30:00.000+01:00

John Owen Jones performing The Music of the Night on This Morning. Amazing!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

2011-09-28T13:25:00.000+01:00

Maybe this is squinting at a story and warping it to fit a Phantom mould but just bear with me for a little while.

Frankenstein’s Monster (we shall call him Fred for the rest of this post), Fred, just wants to be loved, yes? And yet he turns into the kind of person that he does because of the way he is treated and the way that others react to him – hmmm….this sounding familiar to anyone?

The only thing that Fred requests of Frankenstein is a female, a mate who looks the same as he does and will not be disgusted by his appearance. All Erik wants is to be like any other man and have a wife and a home.

I also got thinking about this a little before I began typing – yeah, occasionally I think.

So here goes what I think.

Fred wanted someone who could match his appearance, a woman who had been patched together from the corpses of others. No I am not going into how Erik thinks of himself as a living corpse – although come to think of it there is a comparison there for you. But moving on.

So we have established that Fred was looking for a woman who was his equal in a physical sense. Maybe, just maybe, Erik was searching for that one woman who was also his equal but not in a physical sense but in a vocal way. Looking for that one person who could fit his voice and blend with him. After all, music is his life, his oxygen so why would that not carry onto any potential relationships. Sorry I am not putting this very clearly. Moving on before I dig myself into a hole. Now the phantom bits are done time for the rest of the post.

I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have even considered checking this book out. The only kind of history I have with this story is probably the same as many other peoples. The films and the TV sketches. In never really appealed to me. But I was pleasantly surprised by this novel.

It has everything.

Suspense, horror, sci-fi, crime, drama, romance. Like I said EVERYTHING!

I was actually really surprised by how sad and emotional I found in places, which caught me by surprise since I wasn't expecting it to be like that at all. I can't really go into the story a great deal as this was once again an abridges version. *shiver*. But one thing that I found a bit strange was the educated way that the monster spoke. You wouldn't have thought that this guy had been patched together from various bodies when he spoke. That stuck out to me. Perhaps there is a lesson there that appearances can be deceiving.

Frankenstein himself struck me as being a very selfish, weak, idiotic kind of man. All the way through he assumed that the monster was going to make him suffer by killing him. Idiot! This guy is smarter than that and knows that the way to torture Frankenstein is to pick off his loved ones. And it is not like he wasn't provoked. All the monster wanted was a mate, a female of 'his kind' to have by his side and share the life that he was being forced to live with him.

Frankenstein accepts this but then keeps putting it off and putting it off. The guy is a moron. He says himself that there was no knowing what the monster would do and he still continued to procrastinate in the construction of a female monster. And even went on wee holiday in between times. *cough* IDIOT *cough* Oh pardon me.

And then he changes his mind and refuses to create a female - to the monsters face!! And you know that everything is just going to go down hill from there.

And what else. He just has to rub it in the monsters face by getting married doesn't he. I am sorry! But anyone can see that is just adding insult to injury. I think I would have lost my temper good and proper at that point to if I were the monster.

His best friend, his wife and then his father all die (or are murdered - brownie points for whoever can guess who the murderer was)and then he is locked in an asylum because he is thought to be mad. But the dude was a moron in my humble opinion anyway. But he gets out of the asylum and the story continues.

I couldn't help but find it funny that Frankenstein describes the monster as being being selfish and yet I can only see the selfishness and idiocy in Frankenstein. I do not blame the monster for wanting a companion.

All in all very enjoyable if depressing book.

So there is Frankenstein for you :)

25 Years of Phantom

2011-09-24T18:06:00.000+01:00

I have been absolutely bursting at the seams to post about this but unfortunately the technical difficulties prevented this…

- Thank you for that Erik.
- You are most welcome Mademoiselle
- I was being sarcastic.

So let’s rewind time to a few weeks ago when I first heard about this.

*hops into Dr Who’s Tardis – I have borrowed it for the day*

- Who is this Doctor you are speaking of? I hope you were chaperoned while in his company.
- GO AWAY Erik!

So, we have now arrived at the night where I am watching Jane Eyre at the cinema – I found it to be a bit of a disappointment FYI – and I am beginning to forget what I have come to see – as you do after 30 minutes of trailers. Not amusing. And then THIS begins to play and my friend and I exchange looks and sit bolt upright in our seats.

And so we booked our tickets the next day to go and see it at the cinema.

*Hops back in tardis*

Oh my goodness.

Isn’t that amazing? I knew it was playing at the Royal Albert Hall – let’s face it, in the Phantom community the 25^th anniversary has pretty much monopolising threads and posts right now. But, I am ashamed to say, that I had no idea that it was going to be on at the cinema until I saw the trailer. AMAZING!

Roll on October 2nd!

Phantom Phans of the world UNITE!!

So, who has tickets for their local cinema?

Maskerade by Terry Pratchett

2011-09-21T21:19:00.001+01:00

Terry Pratchett is one of my all-time favourite authors. It is true that some of his books miss the mark for me where laughs are concerned but I am glad to say that this is not one of those books. This hit all the right places and had me sniggering from beginning to end.

There are strange goings-on at the Opera House in Ankh-Morpork. A ghost in a white mask is murdering, well, quite a lot of people, and two witches (it really isn't wise to call them "meddling, interfering old baggages"), or perhaps three, take a hand in unraveling the mystery.

I loved this book, but for some reason I can’t think of a lot to say about it…Weird.

It is such a fun read with some of the best rounds ups of opera that I have ever read and some of the most brilliant twists.

We have Christine who, although being gorgeous, just can’t sing and is as dim as a broken torch.

Agnes – who has a lovely personality, nice hair and CAN sing, but unfortunately just doesn’t look the part (I love Agnes).

The rat catcher who is reincarnated as a rat – karma really sucks!

Two witches - hoping to soon be a trio once again – ready to solve the mystery at The Opera House.

A ghost who can be in two places at a time – or can he.

And lots more.

As I said this is such a fun read and kept me turning the pages. Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax jumped out the page at me with their larger than life approach at things. And their side story had me giggling like crazy – Nanny Ogg’s “The Joye of Snacks” isn’t an ordinary cook book.

Agnes’s practical attitude to life was great to read along with her attempts at being more…flighty with her alter ego Perdita. I would rather have a heroine like Agnes over a Perdita any day.

Agnes on Christine - Not liking Christine would be like not liking small fluffy animal. And Christine was just like a small fluffy animal. A rabbit, perhaps. It was certainly impossible for her to get a whole idea into her head in one go. She had to nibble it into manageable bits.

Nanny Ogg on Opera - Well, basically there are two sorts of opera,' said Nanny, who also had the true witch's ability to be confidently expert on the basis of no experience whatsoever. 'There's your heavy opera, where basically people sing foreign and it goes like "Oh oh oh, I am dyin', oh, I am dyin', oh, oh, oh, that's what I'm doin'", and there's your light opera, where they sing in foreign and it basically goes "Beer! Beer! Beer! Beer! I like to drink lots of beer!", although sometimes they drink champagne instead. That's basically all of opera, reely

The wooden stairs gave way to stone.
Perdita said: he’ll have a vast cave somewhere under the Opera House. There will be hundreds of candles, casting an exciting yet romantic light over the, yes, the lake, and there will be a dinner-table shining with crystal glass and silverware, and of course he will have, yes, a huge organ-
Agnes blushed hotly in the darkness.
-on which, that is to say, he will play in a virtuoso style many operatic classics.
Agnes said: it’ll be damp. There will be rats.

This review can also be found here at my other blog :)

A Chat with OG (1)

2011-09-21T14:06:00.003+01:00

- Monsieur O.G I would like a word with you!

- How did you get this contact?

- Never you mind! What business did you have sabotaging my laptop? Because of you-

- And why do you have a reading alien as your icon?

- Whatever, it is a free world. If I want Stitch reading a book I can have Stitch reading a book. Now, what do you think you were doing? Because of you I have lost all my laptop memory - which, I will add has put me behind with my posts as most of them got wiped from the memory. See, you achieved NOTHING!

- Yes, well, there was no chandelier available.

- So! That wasn't a one off incident then!

- Simply a figure of speech.

- Yeah whatever you say. Psycho.

- Now you see here, you impudant child -

- I am not a child! I am an accomplished and self supporting young woman.

- You will -

- No! This is my turn to talk.

- You're typing.

- Don't be facetious. You will not frighten me or control me as you did Christine Daae. I know my own mind and your manipulative tactics will not work on me. And before you even try it, I am not a singer, I am not superstitious and I am not unhealthily obsessed with a dead person. In fact I am very sane.

- I am your angel of music...

- Yawn!

- Come to your angel of music...

- Sheesh - you ARE NOT listening to me. Now leave me alone and DON'T touch my laptop again!

-

- What is that!

- Will you marry me?

- Uh no! I'm going now. Remember what I said. Laptop! Leave it alone!

- She loves me, she loves me not...

A Warning from OG...

2011-09-20T21:53:00.003+01:00

My Dear Mademoiselle,

I believe it is only fair to warn you of the dire misfortunes that may meet you should you not take it upon yourself to update this...blog regularly. You have shown an alarming disregard for the content of this site for some time and it does not sit well with me. If this silence continues for much longer on your part all shall not be well with you in the foreseeable future.

I remain Mademoiselle,

Your Obedient Servant

OG

Phantom Inspired Songs

2011-08-29T08:59:00.000+01:00

Now, I am only really aware of two songs inspired by The Phantom of the Opera. Both of them I stumbled across by accident.

One of them is by Iron Maiden and – as far as I can tell – is influenced by the novel (I think). How amazing is that!

“You’re standing in the wings

There you wait for the curtain to fall”

So we have the theatre/stage reference there. Someone gets a pat on the back and brownie points for THAT one!

And now for the Erik, Christine and even the Carlotta fans out there. Yes, I kid you not CARLOTTA is in this next song.

And get this! Remember the Robert Englund version (you know, the rather icky one) and how Carlotta’s head is found in the punch or in the stew or something. There is a reference to Carlotta’s head in this. REALLY! THERE IS!

This song is by Iced Earth and is called The Phantom Opera Ghost. Double points for getting Phantom and OG in the title there.

From the lyrics I think this song has some kind of relationship between Erik and Christine.

Christine - I feel you, from beyond the walls you speak to me

(points for the whole wall thing)

Erik - Christine my love Paris now will worship you

(points for Paris!)

You will star soon I'll kill to make it sure for you

Christine - Oh my love, won't you please show yourself to me

(points for Christine asking to see him)

Erik - Take my hand, through the catacombs my lair awaits

(MEGA brownie points!!!!!)

Erik - Oh Christine don't you know it's all for you
Carlotta's head and the other death's I planned.(see, see, see, Carlotta's head. Weeeeeiiiiird right)

Megamind! An Alien Little Erik

2011-07-31T21:58:00.001+01:00

It it random thoughts like this that make my mind a very weird place to be ;)

This is going to sound like a TOTALLY weird and random observation (what can I say, my mind is a strange and scary place) but I could not help but see a link between Megamind and the young Erik of Theodora Bruns’ books. Yeah, I told you, weird right?

Have you seen Megamind?

Yeah?

Well, I think that you will agree with me that Megamind was NOT a bad person. As a child Megamind was just like any other child. He wanted to fit in, to belong, to be like everyone else…

Would you agree?

And yet despite his efforts he was knocked back time after time because of the differences that he couldn’t control. He dressed differently, he looked differently and he acted differently - all through no fault of his own. And because of all these uncontrollable factors he was immediately treated like the ‘bad boy’. The motivation behind his actions didn’t matter because he was obviously bad…wasn’t he? So that was how he started to act – after all why be a lousy good person who is constantly being put in the naughty corner when you can be a really good bad person and have something to show for it.

So, maybe this is a little bit of an extreme comparison but I think that Megamind is like an alien Erik…

Any thoughts?

I AM ERIK!

2011-07-18T22:42:00.001+01:00

Which Requiem Mask character are you?

Ok so maybe this is a bit of a cheat blog posts wise but I am the Angel of the Blog...(hey not bad for a spur of the moment line that is it ;))And this is my domain mwaaahaaahaaaa...

So guys, have any of you heard of(or checked out) the on-line Phantom based comic called Requiem Mask? It was something that I stumbled on when bored out of my mind one day (Terry Pratchett's Death really nailed it when he said 'Human beings make life so interesting. Do you know, that in a universe so full of wonders, they have managed to invent boredom.' But I am going waaay off topic)

So yes, bored out of my tiny human mind and messing around on deviant art and consequently hating all the people who are so much more talented than I am. *grumble grumble*

But then I found Requiem Mask. And I mean WOW! I couldn't stop reading it once I started. It is such a fun ride. That isn't over yet I'll add.

And Iron-Gibbet the creative team behind the comic have since set up a website - that is VERY funky looking and you can read the comic and check out their shop AND find out what character you are.

I am ERIK! So ignoring the fact that Erik is a dude and I am most definitely NOT a dude I am pretty chuffed with that. *happy dance* I am Erik!

Check out all the funkies at the site here you know you want too :)

Embarrassing Phantom Moments...

2011-07-11T09:03:00.000+01:00

Does anyone have any crazy embarrassing/mortifying memories that are linked in some way, shape or form to The Phantom of the Opera? Moments that may not even seem so bad now but at the time when they happened you just wanted the ground to open up and swallow you?

Well, since I had a brain wave about this post I obviously do *shudder*. Just a little memory, but at the time I thought my face was going to burn off.

It was one morning when my mum was running me to school. I think I was probably around ten or eleven years old and I was glued to the soundtrack for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. And my mum – bless her – put up with my shrieking as I released my inner diva and squawked along to the soundtrack.

Now, Past the Point of No Return has ALWAYS been my favourite song from the show. I have loved it from the moment I first heard it. But let’s face it, there is quite a bit of umm…metaphors in the song that as a kid you don’t exactly understand or grasp. All I knew was that I loved the song.

But then, for some reason, halfway through a screech (on my part) the actual meaning of what was going on in the song hit me like a ten tone pipe organ Something just clicked inside my head.

Let’s just say that I shut up pretty quick and with a bright red face I was very quiet the rest of the way to school.

How long should we to wait before we’re one?

When will the blood begin to race?

The sleeping bud burst into bloom?

When will the flames at last consume us?

And the funny thing is I think my mum was just too glad to finally have some silence to wonder why I had gone deadly quiet.

Ah good times!

Love Never Dies - Australia

2011-05-31T23:23:00.001+01:00

I am so unbelievably sorry for neglecting this blog for as long as I have. Unfortunatly it has been one thing after another in the real world and then my non-phantomy book pile was getting depressingly high so I had to break away and get some speed reading done. So now I don’t feel so bad about taking forever to pore over Through Phantom Eyes.

But, before I do that, I want to just gush over the production pictures of the Australian Love Never Dies. Not talking about the actual content of the show. Just the perty pictures.

Have you guys seen the pictures? I will admit that I hadn’t seen any off them until this afternoon but gosh! They are stunning. Apart from one which I think makes Christine look as though she is wearing a mix between a carpet and a fringed rug *shrug*. And the change in costume for the Phantom - the long coat…(I’m a Mr Darcy striding out of the mist for Elizabeth lover so I can absolutely appreciate the long(ish) jacket).

And it isn’t just the change in costumes but the expression and body language in the photos. Some of the pictures with the Phantom and Christine are filled with so much…yearning that they make me want to cry.

Anna O’Byrne makes one stunningly beautiful Christine and Ben Lewis appears to have that magnetism and ‘presence’ of the Phantom, just oozing control. Just like the original Phantom. He is in control and he isn't afraid to show it. This guy is also pretty imposing with his size - he isn't a wee runt - so that adds to the strength of his appearance also I think.

And something else that sprung into my mind as soon as I saw the pictures. Tim Burton. I think he would have an absolute field day with this.

Anyway, lets get going shall we...

Here’s some pics and links.

funky pic...just not sure where it goes in the show

I am mega curious to know what song THIS is for. Look at it! It is so funky! See the Phantom up the top? That is pretty dang cool. And the walk-way bit sort-a, kind-a reminds me of 'The Phantom of the Opera' from the original, when he is leading Christine to his layer. Anyone else getting the vibes?

Raoul and Gustave

Aww, me thinks I will like this portrayal of Raoul. He was a bit of a swine in the London version, but this one seems to be softer and gentler.

Christine

Oh My Goodness! The curtains have swallowed Christine. No...wait. My bad, that's her dress...

Christine and the Phantom

Ugh. *runs for a hanky* every time I even glance at this picture it just makes me want to cry. The way he is reaching for her remind me of the kissing scene at the end of the original show when he doesn't know what to do with himself when she is kissing him and his arms are all over the place. Just brings that to mind for some reason. There are three character in this image as far as I am concerned - Erik, Christine and yearning (who takes the spotlight I think). Obviously the whole not knowing where to put his hands thing was cured eventually...Beneath a Moonless Sky. *clears throat* sorry, I couldn't resist, moving swiftly on.

Gustave and the Phantom

Now, I know that I keep saying that this remind me of the original show but dang, these images just seemed to have caught the essence of Phantom for me(personal opinion). This screams THE MIRROR scene at me. Anyone else? Look at him though. He is totally in control.

Christine and the Phantom

Hmm...what lyrics do you think best suit this bit...
"For us...there is no now"
"I stole to your side..."
It's a hard one that one isn't it. Any thoughts?

Till I Hear You Sing

*Deep breath* Nope I am not saying this bit reminds me of the orignal show. Instead I am wondering if they were influenced by the Ramin Karimloo music video. Do you guys know the one I am talking about? When the image of Christine was projected onto the wall? Just a thought...

So I shall end this post with giving you some links. There are a whole bundle of eye popping photos to see.

Love Never Dies (Australia) on facebook (where the above pictures came from)

Love Never Dies (Australia) website

WARNING - when you enter the website the tv spot/advert thingie for the show comes straight on and starts playing. so to save yourself a heart attack (gave me the fright of me life) make sure your speakers aren't on full blast,

I shall love you and leave you.

These were just my own thoughts and the crazy way my mind works. All the images are not mine (I wish), the miracle of the internet is amazing. I found all the images I used in this post on the Love Never Dies (Australia) facebook site.

Stolen:A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

2011-05-19T07:56:00.002+01:00

This book review is only my personal opinion.

So, a scarred dude kidnaps a young chick and takes her to some unknown location in the Australian outback. Now, use your imagination, put on your Phantom tinted glasses and that sounds really familiar doesn’t it.

But of course, it isn’t a Phantom story exactly. It is set in modern day and Ty (our Phantom) isn’t scared physically but emotionally and there isn't any music either, but I think you can forgive me for seeing this as a Phantomy book. It has abduction and Ty wanting feelings from Gemma that she just isn't prepared to give.

And without further ado…

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.

Wow, this is deep! I still have 100 pages to go but I felt like writing a little bit about it now and then I'll finish this once I have completed the book.

Ty has kidnapped Gemma from a busy airport and taken her deep into the Australian outback where her only way to survive is to stick with him. She has no idea where she is and no idea where to find help.

This book is slightly disturbing to hear Ty talk the way he does. He does not see himself as a bad guy. Or even a kidnapper. The way he sees it is this way - he has rescued Gemma from the life that she was living. (Thats just weird right there isn't it).We learn about the life that he lived before meeting Gemma and after meeting Gemma. This guy is damaged! He has been keeping an eye on Gemma from when she was 10 years old because he was curious and then when she was around 14 (from what I could figure out) his view of her changed (from whatever that view was) to him wanting to 'rescue' her.

But this is where the freaky mind trick comes in. At times he is a really nice guy. He does care about Gemma on some kind of level, although he isn't going to be letting her go anytime soon - or ever.

The book has been pretty graphic at points - which I suppose has added a sense of reality to it. I mean, there hasn't been anything blood-guts-and-gore just sickie stuff like throwing up and bile (lots of bile). And swearing. The language is pretty static, sticking with the same curses but I find it unnecessary. This is a good book because of the story line but the language does put me off quite a little bit.

Deep, deep, deep, minding bending stuff!

Right all finished.

Sheesh, what to say, what to say...

I have read some reviews where they have said that they have fallen for Ty and that Gemma should have stayed with him etc, etc, etc. Well...I don't know if I agree. This guy had some serious issues. I mean, I would love to read a sequel don't get me wrong but he absolutely went about everything the wrong way. It is the same way that I am torn in the Christine/Erik relationship from the original novel. I would have loved for them to be together and still living happily ever after in a kingdom of music deep beneath the Opera house, but then a larger part of me screams that Erik was anything but stable and any kind of relationship would have been fraught with emotional strain...

It is an interesting read from the point of view of Gemma getting used to her situation. And you start to wonder if she really did have Stockholm Syndrome...But that is how this book screws with your head.

We don't see anything of Gemma's parents through the book other than what we are told until the very end. I found them...irritating. They weren't 3D enough to be maybe that was because I had just spent nearly 300 pages with only Ty and Gemma that they were the only ones who seemed 'Real'.

It was pretty cool that there were no chapters. This is a letter, so of course there would be no chapters. So that was pretty funky.

Ok. Bad bits....

Think, think, think.

It is only really what I pointed out at the beginning of the post. Language and graphic-iness. I think actually that a 'not suitable for younger readers' tag on the back would have been fitting. Theres nothing HEAVY but just...yeah. If you have read this you might know what I mean.

Good read though and I would love a sequel. (SPOILER) to see just what happens? Was Ty put in jail? What was his sentence? What will happen when he gets out?

-----------

So what so you think. Slightly Phantomy I think...

Next up will be Frankenstein.

LND Trip - Part 6

2011-05-10T22:42:00.004+01:00

To save any confusion for those who have just found this please note that this is PART 6! So there are 5 other parts BEFORE this one. This is not the whole review. Thank you.

So my minions (insert evil laugh here) I have given you the ticket adventure, the characters (as seen by me) and my not very professional opinion of act one and act two.

Now it is time for the wrap up. The icing on the cake. The grand finale. Yeah, I think you all get the drift.

All in all I LOVED this musical. I really did!

Sure the costumes aren’t as flamboyant as The Phantom of the Opera but them they are not supposed to be. I cannot imagine for the life of me the general public of America walking around in a get up like Carlotta’s so all who complain about that aspect of the show really need to think their argument through.

Sure, if you wanted to you could pick apart the set design but one again you have to remember some things! We are no longer in the city of Paris for a starter – hey we aren’t even in Europe – and second, we are no longer in an opera house watching the cast put on lavish performances. We are on Coney Island (in one huge amusement park) and everything is how it should be! So once again think about that argument.

You cannot watch one show and continually compare it to another! You are setting out to find issues then and you might as well not bother to see it!

And besides, let’s face it. This show would be worth going to see just for the vision that guys as attractive as Ramin Karimloo and Tam Mutu make in dress suits, open necked shirts and the black number he wears for ‘The Beauty Underneath’ (in the new version anyway) sexy as sin comes to mind. But I think every woman would agree with me that men in those costumes are in short supply…

I present for your inspection some fine examples...

Ramin Karimloo

AND TAM MUTU

Aren't they pretty... Right! Hormones are getting reined in.

Where was I?

Oh yeah. Arguments. Right. Well, the only argument that I think has any substance is the whole Christine going to the Phantom thing. And everyone is welcome to think what they like about that. From the original I think that there was a part of Christine that loved the Phantom. How she managed to find him when the whole of Paris was obviously having a problem doing just that I don’t know but if that little plot point wasn’t in the show then the show would be very different and no doubt my favourite song (Beneath a Moonless Sky) wouldn’t be there because there would be no need. But whatever.

I can understand the character changes. They could happen. After all ten years is a long time! A lot can happen and a person can change on the outside and the inside. So the changes are more than possible. In fact I think the only person who experienced the least character change was Christine. But that one is open to debate I suppose.

It is true that by the end of the show I felt sorriest for Meg than anyone else but that did not take away from my enjoyment of the whole show and the utter despair at the fact that the Phantom is holding the love of his life in his arms as she dies. Now I am sorry, but that sight must have caused even the most hardened hater of this show to melt a little.

I do not want to get into an argument but the haters of this show do need to get something into perspective. Marmite people! (see the post on the characters here).

I personally was bursting to tell someone about the show and was straight on the phone to my mother to gush about it as soon as I was in the foyer. I was smiling like an idiot to. The emotion of the show was wonderful and I would have happily gone in straight away to see it again (and if I had the cast probably wouldn't have been very happy but these posts would be a lot more detailed :))

And so to bring this post to an end I shall say that this is one good show. It is entertaining and has gorgeous songs.

The haters in the audience don't need any help from me in finding their groups since chances are you already knew you hated the show before you went to go and see it.

But for the lovers amongst us *cough* me *cough* here are some links that you might like to have a look at and follow and like away to show your support.

Love Shouldn't Die Facebook Page

Love Shouldn't Die on Twitter

Love Never Dies and Proud Facebook Page

Love Never Dies and Proud on Twitter

Pictures are not owned by me! There is this amazing thing called the internet and a google search engine.

Through Phantom Eyes Book 2 - Forsaken by Theodora Bruns Part 2

2011-05-08T18:16:00.002+01:00

Finally a book post for you all!

Right, this post has taken so long to get up because life, the universe and everything was conspiring against me, and then when they backed off I kept putting it off. I don’t think I even procrastinated this much over my exam revision at school.

But really, come on. Can’t the poor kid get a break?

Obviously not. And I had to retreat into my happy place of dissecting Christine and gorging myself on ‘happy’ DVDs while working my way through this section (I recommend Curious George and Top Gear Special re-runs) and I haven’t even got to the end yet! But, I keep telling myself that the destination will be worth the journey.

So, moving on for my deep and profound (yeah right) metaphors let’s get going.

Heart breaking peeps (yip, there is a conversation killer right there for you). Utter heart break and stress - that is what I experienced as I read of Erik’s panic and soul-sickness when he realises that his worst fear has been realised, He is caged like an animal and being treated like one. Bought like a beast and put on display as an oddity. And what is even worse is that he has been in that condition for 6 months and can’t remember any of it. To read of Erik’s – an 11 year old boy’s – reaction to this treatment was gut-wrenching especially on the occasions when the emotional trauma has a direct physical effect on him.

But there are those who treat him like a human being and it is the presence of the man Tanner that I believe will help Erik keep a hold on reality and not sink into the darkness that he has been a risk from. I think that he needs a steadying influence in his life to ground him. At first it was his father and now it will be interesting to see who fills the roll.

And speaking of Tanner I found a quote from him that nails everything that I was trying to say about Erik in my posts on book 1 but couldn’t find the words. This is it perfectly-

“I’m not sure which one of your characters I like the most. Your innocent childlike qualities are most endearing, and the tortured soul is heart rending…”

That just nailed it!

Now something that I found amazing is Erik change in view of what he places value on. In book one when this fear of being put behind bars was first implanted in his mind it was his music that he most feared being separated from. And now that his worse fear has actually been realised although he does feel the absence of his music it is Molly that he misses the most and worries for. Whether this change is intentional, accidental or I am just picking up on something that isn’t even there I don’t know but I like how his strongest link isn’t to his music (which I suspect it will be in the future) but to a living, breathing thing.

And onwards I go…

http://www.throughphantomeyes.com/