This musical was actually written before Lloyd Webber's version, but the first production was in 1991. Since then it's been performed many times, including by the Takarazuka Revue. It was the basis for the 1990 miniseries The Phantom of the Opera. (Yes, the series based on it was shown before the musical was performed. It's confusing.)
Unfortunately, the video quality of this version is very poor, so taking screenshots is a waste of time. The sound quality is also poor; there's a constant droning noise in the background that makes watching it a trial.
Christine in this version is selling flowers when Count Philippe (the musical's equivalent of Raoul; no idea why they gave him the name of Raoul's brother and changed his title 😑) hears her sing and tells her to go the Paris Opera to get singing lessons. At the same time, the Opera House has changed managers: Alain (who isn't in any other version, as far as I can tell) and Carlotta. Erik is not amused. He's even less amused by Carlotta's singing. If you thought Carlotta's singing in the other musical is ear-splitting, wait until you hear this one.
Carlotta gives Christine a job sorting out costumes. Erik hears her singing and offers to give her lessons. I'm sure you can already see where this is going. It ends... badly. The ending is simultaneously better and worse than the other musical's. (Figuring out how to differentiate between two shows with similar titles and the same basic story is a pain!) ALW!Phantom never made me cry at the end. This one does.
Like the other musical, this version deviates pretty sharply from the novel's plot. Sometimes this is a good thing. Other times, not so much. Erik/the Phantom is much more human and less of a psychopathic murderer in this version. (Side note: I was amazed to realise this Phantom is played by the same guy who voiced Gaston in Beauty and the Beast!) But the sub-plot about his parents and his past isn't particularly interesting, and the story stops for about fifteen minutes for this sub-plot. I would really have preferred if they'd stayed closer to Erik's history as shown in the book.
Philippe is even less interesting than Raoul, and I usually skip his scenes. But Carlotta is so melodramatic and diva-ish that she's probably my favourite character. I'm afraid Christine doesn't make much impression on me until the final scene. Speaking of the final scene, it took me fifteen minutes to stop crying when I watched it ðŸ˜
If you're new to this musical, it would be better to watch a different version first. But if you know the story and don't mind the poor quality, this is definitely worth watching.
Is it available online?: Yes, on YouTube.
Rating: The musical gets 7/10, but the terrible quality of this video knocks the rating down to 5/10.
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