The Phantom of the Opera/Trivia: Difference between revisions

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* [[Executive Meddling]]: The original screenplay of the 1943 version revealed that Erique was Christine's father. But the execs at Universal were afraid that viewers would think the relationship between Christine and The Phantom had [[Squick|incestuous overtones]], so that revelation was cut out.

** Incidentally, it's entirely possible to watch the movie with this in mind, and it makes just as much sense as the canonical unrequited-love plot (since Erique's interest in Christine, unlike his counterparts in other versions, ''is'' more of an ambiguous deep concern for her that could go either way).

** THIS IS [[Incredibly Lame Pun|OPERA!]]

* [[The Other Marty]]: Steve Harley (see [[What Could Have Been]] below).

* [[Throw It In]]: At the end of the show, as Christine leaves the Phantom, he picks up her discarded wedding veil and cradles it as he weeps her name. This was never in the original script and was ad-libbed by Michael Crawford at some point in the show's original run. Earlier in the show, when Christine faints at the end of "The Music of the Night", the Phantom kneels beside her and takes her hand as he sings the final lyrics. This too was not part of the original script and was improvised by a Phantom during a production in San Francisco. When word spread about how well this gesture was received by the audience, it quickly became part of the standard Phantom performance.

** An inverted example: In the original London production, the Phantom catches Christine as she faints and carries her to the bed (see the [[Music Video]] that was made for "The Music of the Night"). This was initially done in the Broadway version, but when an actor injured his back during the stunt, the actors' union forbade it. Ever since then, London is the only venue where the Phantom carries Christine. In every other location, she faints and falls to the floor.

** Said script's first draft had Phantom ''getting into bed with Christine'' as "The Music of the Night" ended and for the scene to fade out as he drew the curtain around them, leaving little doubt as to his intentions. Probably changed as it would have been hard to continue presenting him as a romantic hero after such a blatant violation.

** On the casting of the musical side of things, Steve Harley, an UK singer trying to make a comeback, was actually cast to star as the Phantom and went as far as recording the first single of the titular [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny5H9GiVP_0&feature=related "Phantom of the Opera"] song, but was sacked just before rehearsals began and replaced with Michael Crawford. Needless to say, the comeback never happened.

** Back in the late '80s, [[Michael Jackson]] tried to convince Lloyd Webber ''he'' should play the Phantom in the movie!

** Alan Jay Lerner, one of the most renowned librettists of all time and co-writer of shows like ''[[My Fair Lady]]'', was going to write the words for ''Phantom'' but died when he had only just started.

** Why is the Phantom's mask on the poster different from the one seen in the show? It's because that was the original mask design. However, it was soon realized that this 3/4 mask would make it REALLY hard for the Phantom to emote for the cheap seats, so the mask was cut in half.

 

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