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| re: Had Jim been the lyricist for Phantom.... | |
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rockfenris2005 03:00 am UTC 05/24/21 |
| In reply to: | re: Had Jim been the lyricist for Phantom.... - steven_stuart 08:07 pm UTC 05/23/21 |
Andrew and Cameron had gotten the idea to do "Phantom" because Ken Hill had approached Sarah Brightman about playing Christine in his version and they saw it and wanted to bring it to the West End. Jim Sharman (there's another Jim, confusing!) convinced Andrew that he should write a completely original score, and that he was missing out on a huge opportunity if he didn't. At some point, Cameron and Andrew met up with Jim in Paris, the result of which Jim was going to write lyrics to Andrew's music. This didn't happen, as we know, and then Alan Jay Lerner ("My Fair Lady", I mentioned that twice now on the Rockman haha because I brought it up in the Terminator thread LOL) was going to write lyrics. Andrew was actually going to work with the legendary Lerner himself, and Alan's wife did end up playing Madame Giry in one of the productions. If you want to get a sense of what it might have been like, I suppose just listen to "Unsettled Scores" and "A Kiss" from "Whistle". I'm glad they eventually did "Whistle" together, although it wasn't really one of Andrew's big successes, (it gets performed all over the world now though so it hasn't done too badly after all), BUT it gave them both "No Matter What". That was huge for the both of them. If Andrew hadn't worked with Jim, that probably wouldn't have happened. > I guess Jim would have made it a very different kind of > show. The lyrics they ended up with were bland in > comparison to what Jim would have given them but they sort > of suited what Andrew and Cameron ended up trying to > achieve. At one point they were going to go for a much > more rocky show and Steve Harley from Cockney Rebel was > the Phantom. They even released a successful single and > video with him to promote the show. I wonder if Jim was > approached during this phase (I am not sure - hopefully > Ryan The Historian will know). It is always possible that > Jim would have been replaced the way Steve was replaced > when they decided to go in a different direction. But it > is interesting to wonder about what Jim's career might > have been like if he had written the lyrics for Phantom > and it had been massively successful. At first Andrew and > Cameron were just going to produce. Imagine if Jim had > written music and lyrics for Phantom. I am sure that would > have been a very interesting show. Probably I would have > prefered that show to what we got. And would there have > been a BOOH 2? > > > So here’s a what if. It’s well known Jim was originally > > sought out to write the lyrics for Phantom of the Opera > > but had to decline due to prior obligations. My question, > > how do you feel Jim’s career would’ve changed had he been > > able to write the lyrics for Phantom as initially > > intended? > > > > Now there are a lot of different dynamics at play here > > such as, would the musical still have been as successful? > > Let’s say in this hypothetical situation it’s still just > > as successful. How does it impact Jim’s career? Instantly, > > I feel that some variation of Neverland/Bat out of Hell > > the Musical would have gotten produced much quicker. > > Another thing to ponder, does Jim still reunite with Meat > > for Bat II? Does this make Jim such a hot commodity that > > many other artists are seeking him out to collaborate > > with? Does Meat Loaf give interviews insisting many of the > > songs from Phantom were originally written for him (more > > of a comedic suggestion there.) What else can anyone think > > of? > > > > I understand there are those who may feel it’s a little > > pointless to wonder about this, however I feel that as a > > Jim fan it’s disappointing to know he could’ve been > > involved in the longest running musical in Broadway > > history and instead was involved with one of the shortest. > > | |
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| Previous: | re: Had Jim been the lyricist for Phantom.... - rockfenris2005 12:06 am UTC 05/25/21 |
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