Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical interpretation of Gustav Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera took the theater world by storm since its debut in 1986. Hordes of “Phans” fell in love with the tormented and tortured young singer, Chrstine Daae, and her complicated love triangle with the monstrous Phantom: The Phantom had provided her with a unique musical gift and her childhood love – Viscount Raoul de Chagny – had tracked her down after a stunning performance at the Paris Opera House. Author and self-proclaimed Phan Erin A. Craig was invited to reinterpret the story by focusing on Christine and her emotional journey as a celebration of the musical’s 40th anniversary. Many creators have tackled expansions or alternate takes on The Phantom of the Opera. Does this version help give the haunted heroine agency, or is it just another pale imitation of the original works?

My biggest concern with any reimagining of Phantom, especially by someone who loves the musical, is that they often lose sight of Gaston Leroux’s intent with his original work: It is a horror tale of a deformed monster who has been shunned and mistreated by humanity for so long that he has no capacity for true compassion. Many Andrew Lloyd Webber aficionados latch onto the dark love story between Eric and Christine without analyzing the unhealthy nature of the outcast’s obsession with a deeply traumatized young woman. Craig does a better job than many at balancing Christine’s fascination and fear of her mysterious music teacher, especially as she realizes the depth of Eric’s cruelty (the falling of the chandelier). Our Strange Duet’s Christine is an innocent, but she is not blind to what occurs between men and women, so I could believe that her fantasy of the Angel of Music (and lingering grief for her father’s death) created a bond with an unseen man who offered a magical chance to rise in the opera’s hierarchy; however, I never have believed that Christine truly loved Eric. She was infatuated with him and pitied him, but the young diva who would follow the Phantom into the opera house’s depths is a broken young woman searching for her lost father, not someone capable of an adult relationship.

Craig’s prose excels at building relationships between Christine and the other women in the Paris Opera House community. Madame Giry takes on a role of providing a home for the orphaned girl and helping her gain a position in the dance corps while Meg Giry becomes Christine’s closest friend. Even snobby, aging Carlotta receives a more feminist treatment with a touching scene as she warns Christine of the perils of becoming older in entertainment where there are always young, hungry competitors hoping to grasp key parts.

The author’s interpretation of Christine also builds her as a full character rather than a pawn being manipulated by the men in her orbit. She chooses to follow Eric into the labyrinth and reveal his face due to burning curiosity and later chooses to use her love for Raoul and the members of the Paris Opera House as a guide when asked to become the bait to draw out Eric and end the tyrannical reign of the Phantom of the Opera forever. The interactions between Raoul’s mother and Christine reveal a naïve young woman who wants to believe that love can overcome all (even intense class differences) that will put in the effort to become the wife Raoul deserves. This heroine decides how she will proceed; she does not let the opera managers or her fiancé force her into anything.

While I wouldn’t say that Our Strange Duet is a must-read for fans of either the original novel or the musical, it definitely functions as a slightly modernized introduction of the story for new readers. It offers one explanation for Christine’s final choice, and while I don’t agree with all of it, I felt satisfied. Nothing was groundbreaking, but Craig’s addition to the multiple takes on The Phantom of the Opera sticks the landing. I would give it to a high school theater kid to expand their understanding of this popular musical.

4 Cases of Choosing the Light out of 5

Creative Team: Erin A. Craig (author)
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books / Delacorte Press
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