The Phantoms of the Opera And The Things They Do To Annoy Nadir.

An introduction.

If you're here because I accidentally on purpose wrote all those script comments on about as many phanfics as there are Phantom adaptations, raise your hand.

I wrote, and am indeed writing, this book because I really wanted to do more script-based Phantom scenarios (should I be a screen-writer?..... Holy Smokes, I need to do some research!), and, this time, instead of using a singular Erik, I thought it would be much more fun if we had, say, the whole bundle? Inside a town-house? On the edge of a regular street? With Christine?

For those who don't know, there are five 'main' Phantoms. In (rough?) order of appearance, they are:

Lerik: The original Erik, written by Gaston Leroux in 1910, who inspired the 1925 silent film with Lon Chaney playing the lead. This is where the Phantom's story began.

Merik: The Phantom most people are familiar with, unless you've been living under a rock, or an Opera House. Andrew Lloyd Webber invented this drama-queen when he publicised his Musical with the original book title. This is the typical image of the Phantom: white, half mask, candles everywhere, bed-boat, Ramin Karimloo, Hugh Panaro, etc.

Merik also refers to the sequel of Lloyd Webber's musical, Love Never Dies, which was based off a book by a Mr Frederick Forsyth. It tells the story of how Erik fled Paris in search of freedom in America, setting up an amusement park on Coney Island, outside Manhattan. The first US tour is currently running (April, 2018) with Gardar Thor Cortes (Bronson Norris Murphy alternate, who also does most matinee performances) in the lead as The Phantom, Meghan Picerno as Christine de Changy (Rachel Moore alternate), and Sean Thompson as Vicomte Raoul de Changy. This musical has not met with much acclaim, probably because of its origins in The Phantom of Manhattan by Forsyth, who helped write the muscial.

Cherik: This Phantom has to be my favourite! In the late 1980's, musician Maury Yeston wrote a musical called PHANTOM: An Ameican Musical. When Lloyd Webber's musical of the same story became such a big hit, the investors backed out of Yeston's project. Unwilling to accept defeat, Yeston and Arthur Kopit rewrote the story and adapted it to the screen, which meant removing the original music. Charles Dance, Terri Polo and Burt Lancaster starred in the tv mini-series (two episodes, both over an hour long), and because of the interest it gained, the musical was recently (within the last decade) given a chance on minor stages across the USA (there are recordings on Youtube, but you didn't hear that from me).

Unlike Merik, Lerik and Gerik, we are never given the opportunity to see Cherik's face. When he removes one mask, it is almost always hiding his regular, cream one beneath it! On the rare occasion that he removes it for Christine, we see only her horror and not what she is so terrified of, which I, personally, thought was a rather good move by Kopit.

Cherik has to be my favourite because, not only was the miniseries filmed in the Palais Garnier, but they also gave him an element of petulance, which I thought fitting as his childhood was taken from him at a very early age and he never truly learned how to react properly.

Kerik: In the 1990's, author Susan Kay wrote a prequel to the original Leroux novel, entitled Phantom: His Life Story. It's a little on the expensive side, which means I haven't been able to read a full copy, but I picked up what I could of his character and exaggerated a few points. The book tells the story of Erik's life before he met Christine Daae, of his travels of the world and affairs with various people. It shows how he came to be the feared Phantom of the Opera, turned from an innocent babe to a tragic anti-hero, and, from what I've heard and read snippets of, Kay did a wonderful with Erik's character, which is indeed a very difficult thing to write, as I have found when writing my own retelling.

Gerik: Probably the most controversial Phantom. In 2004, due to the almighty success of Lloyd Webber's musical (see Merik), the creator employed director Joel Schumacher to create a feature-length film of the musical. Cast in the leads were: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum and Patrick Wilson, with BBC star Miranda Richardson as the formidable Mme Giry, and Simon Callow and Ciarán Hinds as the managers. The film hit its target at the Box Office but was met with equal parts annoyance and admiration. The casting was the main issue people found with the film, though others thought, and still do fourteen years later, it a perfect match to the characters. Gerik was also not nearly as horrifically deformed as Lerik and Kerik, or even Merik, based on Schumacher's intention to make the Phantom more romantic.

Personally, I think the film isn't all that bad, but if a different director could have been chosen, I'd switch in an instant.

These are the five Phantoms I picked to tell the stories with, simply because they are the ones that spring to mind first and are considered 'the canon versions'. I try to keep the main elements of their characters intact to the best of my ability.

With that little essay completed, I hope you enjoy the antics created for, and by, this misfit bunch. Thank you for reading!