But when Phantom of the Opera arrived in cinemas 20 years in the past this month, it was obtained with a whimper and handled like an afterthought largely ignored by audiences and awards voters on the time. Conversely, Wicked’s reputation has by no means been greater than when it grossed $450 million (and counting) in its first few weeks and have become one of many attainable frontrunners for Best Picture this awards season. What are the variations between these movies which may clarify the change in notion and reception, and what would possibly it say in regards to the state of the film musical?
Emphasis on Casting
Perhaps essentially the most placing distinction between what had been imagined to be two landmark diversifications of Broadway favorites is how they approached their casting. On paper, it could appear that director Joel Schumacher—who captained Webber’s Phantom of the Opera to the display after greater than a decade of discussing the mission—took extra dangers. When Schumacher was caught in Webber’s orbit, POTO was nonetheless the most well liked ticket on Broadway the place star Michael Crawford had simply gained a Tony to accompany his Olivier for enjoying the self-described Angel of Music. Webber’s personal spouse on the time, Sarah Brightman, additionally originated the function of Christine in each London and New York.
Yet it was the top of Brightman and Webber’s marriage that triggered Schumacher’s first stab at Phantom to be waylaid till the 2000s, and by the point the mission rolled again round, a alternative was made to forged primarily unknown expertise. Emmy Rossum was solely 17 when forged within the function of Christine Daaé for the display, with just one main movie function on her resume as much as that second: as Sean Penn’s murdered daughter in Mystic River (2003). However, she was additionally filming The Day After Tomorrow whereas auditioning. Meanwhile Patrick Wilson was identified on Broadway for enjoying Curly in a revival of Oklahoma! (the identical manufacturing that made Hugh Jackman a star on the West End, in actual fact), in addition to showing within the authentic forged of The Full Monty. Neither although had been a family title.
The greatest and most necessary piece of casting, nevertheless, was that of comparatively obscure Scottish actor Gerard Butler within the title function of the Phantom. Keep in thoughts this was almost half a decade from 300’s launch, and the factor Butler was greatest identified for on the time was taking part in a shirtless vampire in leather-based pants through Dracula 2000.
Intriguingly, director Jon M. Chu took virtually a diametrically opposed tact when tackling Wicked 20 years later. When it got here to his two main women, the filmmaker, Universal Pictures, and Wicked maestro Stephen Schwartz both solely pursued or settled on main names within the trendy world of social media customers who would already be attuned to Wicked’s theatrical and YA-adjacent roots. Think Cynthia Erivo, who gained a Tony for super work in The Color Purple, as Elphaba and Jonathan Bailey recent off Netflix’s steamy Bridgerton as Fiyero. But most clearly this is applicable to Ariana Grande, some of the in style pop stars on the earth in 2024, as Glinda, the Good Witch whose apparel within the film musical veers straight into princess iconography.
At a look, one would possibly assume Schumacher took larger probabilities than Chu. And but, that’s true in additional methods than one. While Phantom of the Opera didn’t characteristic a starry forged, it’s ironic to know Webber’s first decisions for the roles of the Phantom and Christine had been future stars of the Les Misérables film, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. And when these didn’t occur, he nonetheless went for a casting that might mirror Tom Hooper’s later, extremely divisive Les Mis movie: he picked a film actor who couldn’t deal with the musical materials he was given.
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