Hans
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POTO dilemmaSo. My mother is going to London. They will try to get tickets for a show. She wondered if I could recommend that show by Andrew Webb Lloyder (!), The Phantom of the Opera.
She is rather ignorant. This is the woman who didn't enjoy A Midsummernight's Dream because she thinks fairies are unrealistic and therefore redundant.
Should I recommend her to see something that is good, which she'll probably not understand - or should she see something crap that she'll possibly not understand either, though the chances are somewhat better she will understand it?
Keep in mind - she understands some English, but is Norwegian.
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MunkustrapQC
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Well, Phantom is IMO a classic. The music is good, but the staging, the set design and the costumes are amazing! It's a great show for non-theatregoers people who just wanna have a great time!
If I were going to London, I wouldn't go see Phantom, but with your mother's description, I think it's a really good choice.
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nickhutson
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Well, it's all relative. Just because someone don't like it, doesn't mean that someone else won't! As it's the only ALW show playing in London, she doesn't have much choice as what to see if her mind is set on seeing an ALW show.
Not the nicest thing to call your mother ignorant 
Lots of other empty calorie shows - that are more enjoyable than Phantom: Sister Act, Wicked, Lion King, Les Miserables etc. Let her choose As long as she doesn't drag you along!
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actor
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Re: POTO dilemma | MunkustrapQC wrote: | Well, Phantom is IMO a classic. The music is good, but the staging, the set design and the costumes are amazing! It's a great show for non-theatregoers people who just wanna have a great time!
If I were going to London, I wouldn't go see Phantom, but with your mother's description, I think it's a really good choice. |
The only thing I enjoy about Phantom of the Opera is the music is quite "pretty" (although it can be over simplistic and repetative) and the spectacle (sets, costumes, lights, effects etc...). But the lyrics do very little to advance the plot or add to the characters and almost every character is very dull and 2-dimentional (except maybe Carlotta and the theatre owners are decent).
| Dvarg wrote: | | She wondered if I could recommend that show by Andrew Webb Lloyder (!) |
I would actually recommend her seeing Les Miserables (if she hasn't already). It has all of the spectacle and nice music without being crap like Phantom of the Opera.
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actor
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Nick, Les Miserables is far from an "empty calorie" show. Sure it's not a Sondheim masterpiece but it's got depth.
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Jester-Jester Johnson
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I don't think POTO is "crap" by any means, I think's it's amazing and is what inspired me to love musical theatre in the first place. Go see it.
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Hans
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| nickhutson wrote: | | As it's the only ALW show playing in London, she doesn't have much choice as what to see if her mind is set on seeing an ALW show. |
She's not specifically interested in seeing an ALW show. She'd just discussed seeing POTO with the friends she's going along with.
| nickhutson wrote: | | Not the nicest thing to call your mother ignorant |
Well, when it comes to theatre or any other thing that involves imagination, she's rather inexperienced.
| MunkustrapQC wrote: | It's a great show for non-theatregoers people who just wanna have a great time!
If I were going to London, I wouldn't go see Phantom, but with your mother's description, I think it's a really good choice. |
Even though I think she deserves to see something I consider better than POTO, his is kind of what I think.
| actor wrote: | | I would actually recommend her seeing Les Miserables (if she hasn't already). It has all of the spectacle and nice music without being crap like Phantom of the Opera. |
That is also a good idea. Although I think she saw Les Mis in Norway many years ago.
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Pounce
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Re: POTO dilemma | Dvarg wrote: | So. My mother is going to London. They will try to get tickets for a show. She wondered if I could recommend that show by Andrew Webb Lloyder (!), The Phantom of the Opera.
She is rather ignorant. This is the woman who didn't enjoy A Midsummernight's Dream because she thinks fairies are unrealistic and therefore redundant. |
Yes, I can see some of what you are is from your mother. 
| Dvarg wrote: | Should I recommend her to see something that is good, which she'll probably not understand - or should she see something crap that she'll possibly not understand either, though the chances are somewhat better she will understand it?
Keep in mind - she understands some English, but is Norwegian. |
Obviously Mamma Mia! Swedish is close to Norwegian and I'm sure the ABBAness will come through. Plus it is a simple story, she probably knows the songs.
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Matthew
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| Jester-Jester Johnson wrote: | | I...think POTO is "crap"... |
Good!
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Hans
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Re: POTO dilemma | Pounce wrote: | | Yes, I can see some of what you are is from your mother. |
I didn't understand that.
| Pounce wrote: | | Obviously Mamma Mia! Swedish is close to Norwegian and I'm sure the ABBAness will come through. Plus it is a simple story, she probably knows the songs. |
They had thought about it, but some of them had seen it earlier. And I really don't like the thought of my mother prancing around to Mamma Mia tunes. My sister doing it is awful enough 
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Nettik
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I think for the non-theatregoer that POTO is a fine choice. The storyline's easy enough to understand and the music, while repetitive, is enjoyable.
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dolbinau
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When my mum came out of POTO she said she'd be "humming the tunes all night", and she did mean that as a positive thing, hehe.
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hyperactress23
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| Nettik wrote: | | I think for the non-theatregoer that POTO is a fine choice. The storyline's easy enough to understand and the music, while repetitive, is enjoyable. |
My dad was confused and claims he got nothing out of it. I don't know if he really couldn't understand, didn't care to understand, or was just asleep.
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Nettik
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Hm, most of my non-theatre friends all adore POTO, so that's what I was going off of.
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jackrussell
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The Phantom of the Opera is a good show. It's not to everyone's taste and it has its faults, but that doesn't make it rubbish.
Mamma Mia, on the other hand, is fun, but is still basically a very successful low-risk attempt to cash in on Abba's back catalogue.
I know which I'd rather see.
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bittenbythetheatrebug
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Let her pick. Give her the pros and cons of each and let her decide.
| Nettik wrote: | | The storyline's easy enough to understand and the music, while repetitive, is enjoyable. |
Andrew Lloyd Webber? Repetitive? Noooooo!
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wolfenflautist
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I think that certain melodies repeat themselves but I still adore PotO. That, and Evita are both amazing! I actually don't mind the repetitiveness one bit. It's the good kind of repetitiveness, imo.
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jackrussell
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And somebody seeing it for the first time is unlikely to notice all the repetition.
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Damask and Dark
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| jackrussell wrote: | | And somebody seeing it for the first time is unlikely to notice all the repetition. |
Especially if that person isn't extremely familiar with musical theater and doesn't have much to compare it to. And anyway, the repetition will make the songs seem "more hummable," which to some people equals good music. Personally, the repetition in Phantom has never bothered me too much. I definitely noticed it the first time I heard it, but then again I'm a musician, so I might remember things like that better.
I think POTO's a good show for casual theater-goers. The music is quite pretty, there's a lot of spectacle, and the plot's not hard to follow. You can basically walk into it knowing nothing about it and understand/enjoy it just fine, whereas with some other more complex shows, (e.g., certain Sondheim shows) people would probably benefit from researching the show a bit first.
I think POTO is a better choice than Mamma Mia too. The idea of constructing a show around already-famous pop songs doesn't really appeal to me. I though the same thing about the Moulin Rouge! movie. It felt contrived despite its inherent chaos.
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