The "Phan"-dom of the Opera: Gothic Fan Cultures and Intertextual Otherness

Adam Rush

doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95359-2

The "Phan"-dom of the Opera: Gothic Fan Cultures and Intertextual Otherness

Adam Rush

Performing Arts (PAR)

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter

Abstract

The Phantom of the Opera, the 1986 musical, is a Gothic megahit with a global appeal. Having been performed to audiences around the world, the musical has inspired a multitude of “Phans” to extend the production’s central theme of obsession beyond the auditorium walls and into their intertextual fan practices. That said, such responses stem from a narrative which is ultimately about fandom itself (where the Phantom’s obsession with Christine causes him to haunt, and even murder, the occupants of a fictional Paris opera house). Drawing from musical theatre, popular culture, and fan studies, this chapter argues that there is a direct correlation between the content and presentation of The Phantom of the Opera and the type of fan response it tends to evoke.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Contemporary Gothic Drama
Subtitle of host publication	Attraction, Consummation and Consumption on the Modern British Stage
Editors	Kelly Jones, Benjamin Poore, Robert Dean
Place of Publication	London
Chapter	8
Pages	139-158
Number of pages	20
ISBN (Electronic)	978-1-349-95359-2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95359-2
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2018

Publication series

Name	Palgrave Gothic
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan

Access to Document

10.1057/978-1-349-95359-2

Cite this

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