...DUN DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNNN DUN DUN DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNNNNNN. (DUN DUN)
I saw the film before I first saw the play (which I regret.) Now after attending the play (twice) the film seems mediocre. The opening seen is good, but the rest of it is just Hollywood. They even managed to botch the Masquerade scene! (MASQUREADEALSKDALSKDJALKSDJMASQUERADETURNAROUNDANDTHERE'SANOTHERONEBEHINDYOUdundundunddundunMASQUREADEASDSALKDSJA)
I thought it was VERY sped up, and Christine's part was in spoken word.
Story has it that Andrew Lloyd Weber was looking through his grandmother (or similar relation's) library and he came across this dusty old book called "The Phantom of the Opera". He read it, and was fascinated by it, and the rest is history. Though after reading the book, I have second thoughts to Andrew Lloyd Weber's sanity. The play is completely different form the theater version.
But apparently the London version was different from the NYC version. The London version wasn't around for long.
I'll have to check out the books you got. Sounds interesting.