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This article investigates the ambivalent relationship between Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 megamusical The Phantom of the Opera and its 1910 source novel, Gaston Leroux's Le Fantôme de l'Opéra. Lloyd Webber and his collaborators initially differentiated the megamusical from previous adaptations by heralding a return to the spirit of Leroux's narrative. In doing so, however, Lloyd Webber lay down the limitations of his own creative authority over the material by establishing a 'knowing audience' primed to experience both the 'hypotext' of the novel and the 'hypertext' of the musical through the prism of the other. This article demonstrates how Leroux's novel was subsequently marginalized via a strategic project of displacement in the megamusical's 'paratexts', such as programme notes and media interviews. Examining these paratexts and Lloyd Webber's later reworkings of the material (as seen in its 2004 film adaptation and its 2010 sequel), this article argues that the composer-producer's attempts to appropriate the 'phantom' legend have been repeatedly disrupted by the novel's spectral resurgences in the public imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wicked falls into the mold of shows like Cats and Phantom of the Opera, which had mixed reviews from critics but became enormously popular with the public. Such shows are sometimes called 'critic-proof', meaning that the opinions of reviewers have little influence on the public. This article examines the status of Wicked as a 'critic-proof' show with a detailed survey of its critical reception by New York City reviewers and consideration of the reasons for its great popularity, including the continuing resonance of L. Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz stories, book writer Winnie Holzman's successful portrayal of young female relationships in the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda and Stephen Schwartz's popular score. Each of Schwartz's major songs for Wicked is described in terms of its musical models and effectiveness, demonstrating how important the score of Wicked was in securing the show's unofficial designation as 'critic-proof'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most controversial aspects of the megamusical is the stage spectacle it offers. The aim of this article is to define this spectacle as an aesthetic category and analyse the reasons for its vast popularity in postmodern culture. A cultural reading of the megamusical's staging vocabulary will show that the genre's prodigious emphasis on the visual aspects of the performance is an integral part of a postmodern masscultural aesthetic that emphasizes aesthetic form instead of narrative content. This aesthetic, which has its roots in modernist and avant-garde practices, can be defined as 'postdramatic' and its commodification in postmodern culture is closely related to the late-capitalist reorganization of social life in spectacular terms. Moreover, cultural critics, from Walter Benjamin to Gut Debord and Fredric Jameson, have shown that this spectacularization of social life has a century-long history and intensifies over the years. Based on this theorization of spectacular transformation as an ongoing socio-economic process, this article will also trace the history of the megamusical's postdramatic spectacle. It will show how capitalism, throughout the twentieth century, cultivated new modes of perception that made possible the introduction on the musical stage of new methods of postdramatic organization, which affected Broadway's aesthetic production from the book musical, dance musical and concept musical to the megamusical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to investigate the reasons for Lloyd Webber's vast popularity in postmodern culture. The overarching theoretical concept through which the composer's oeuvre will be analysed is 'the culture of narcissism', introduced by Christopher Lasch. His insights will help us investigate the cultural forces that made possible the emergence of the megamusical, as exemplified in Lloyd Webber's two enormously successful collaborations with lyricist Tim Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita. The towering focal characters of these shows, Jesus Christ and Eva Peron, will be read as powerful symbols of a declining counterculture and an exploding narcissistic culture. Particular attention will be paid to Lloyd Webber's creation of a pop-operatic sound that communicates in aural terms all the excess, grandeur and larger-than-life emotions that Rice's universe of collapsing countercultural heroes and self-absorbed narcissistic goddesses generates. Finally, the development of the theme of narcissism will be traced in Lloyd Webber's shows that followed the termination of his collaboration with Rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Image & Narrative is the property of Image & Narrative and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)