Song 13: The Beauty Underneath

The Story:

Creepy!

The Phantom realizes something is not quite right and decides to show Gustave his world. The Phantom does this and tries to confirm his suspicions; can Gustave really be his son? I think the Phantom did this to prepare Gustave, if Gustave was his son, for the ultimate...um...surprise. He would reveal his face to Gustave. (Please excuse me for the photo festival. I just had to take a lot to emphasize on the art and decoration being a job well done!)

 The Lyrics:

PHANTOM
Have you ever yearned to go
Past the world you think you know? 
Been enthralled to the call  
Of the beauty underneath?
 

Have you let it draw you in  
Past the place where dreams begin?  
Felt the full breathless pull 
 Of the beauty underneath?
 
When the dark unfolds its wings  
Do you sense the strangest things?  
Things no one would ever guess  
Things mere words cannot express?

GUSTAVE
Yes!

PHANTOM
 Do you find yourself beguiled
By the dangerous and wild
Do you feed on the need
For the beauty underneath

Have you felt your senses surge
And surrender to the urge
And been hooked as you looked
At the beauty underneath

Gustave is eager to see new things

When you stare behind the night
Can you glimpse its primal might
Might you hunger to possess
Hunger that you can't repress

GUSTAVE
Yes!

It seems so beautiful
So strange yet beautiful
Everything's just as you said


PHANTOM
And he's so beautiful
Perhaps too beautiful
What I suspect cannot be
And yet somehow we both see
The very same way

GUSTAVE

Slowly but surely The Phantom is making Gustave part of his world.

 Is there music in your head
Have you followed where it led?
And be graced with the taste of the beauty underneath
Does it fill your every sense
Is it terribly intense
Tell me you need it too
Need the beauty underneath

BOTH
When he lifts his voice and sings,
Don't you feel amazing things?
Things you know you can't confess
Things you thirst for, nonetheless

GUSTAVE
It's all so beautiful

PHANTOM
Can it be?

# Mr. Pinstripe suit, hey mister hidy, hidy ho...#

GUSTAVE
Almost too beautiful

BOTH
Do you see what I see?

GUSTAVE
Heavenly

PHANTOM
To him it's beautiful
My world is beautiful

GUSTAVE
How can this be what it seems

Notice the skeleton in the background...

BOTH
All of my most secret dreams
Somehow set free!

PHANTOM
You can feel it

GUSTAVE
Yes

PHANTOM
Come closer

GUSTAVE
 Yes

PHANTOM
You've no fear of the beauty underneath
You can face it

Tinkerbell with a perm!

GUSTAVE
Yes

PHANTOM
You can take it

GUSTAVE
Yes

PHANTOM
You see through to the beauty underneath
 To the splendor

GUSTAVE
To the splendor

PHANTOM
And the glory

GUSTAVE

The all seeing guy.

And the glory

PHANTOM
 To the truth of the beauty underneath

GUSTAVE
The beauty underneath

PHANTOM
 You'll accept it

GUSTAVE
Yes

PHANTOM
You'll embrace it

GUSTAVE
Yes

Octopus dude

PHANTOM
Let me show you the beauty underneath
 To the splendor

GUSTAVE
Splendor

PHANTOM
And the glory


GUSTAVE
And the glory

PHANTOM
 To the truth of the beauty underneath

GUSTAVE
The beauty underneath

PHANTOM
 You'll accept it

GUSTAVE
Yes

And here we have Ariel!

PHANTOM
You'll embrace it

GUSTAVE
Yes

PHANTOM
 Let me show you the beauty under-

GUSTAVE
(screams)

 Why we think it rocks!:

The return of the evil skeleton thingy

1. 1. I had to BEG GreekGirl to let me do this post because this must be my all time favorite song! She did let me do it but on the one condition that she does "Devil Take the Hindmost".
2.  2. What doesn't rock in this song?! Seriously, what doesn't? This epic number performed by The Phantom and Gustave is certainly something different when it comes to musicals. I can remember seeing the film and giving my stepsister this "What the hell?" look when the guitars came on (unfortunately she didn't see me, she was transfixed to the screen). Is this supposed to be a musical or a rock concert? I thought. The answer was: both and at the end it totally rocked!
3.  3. This might have been one of the only sets where the designers were given permission to let their imaginations run free. While watching this song I saw stuff that not even my wildest dreams could come up with (and believe me, I have some pretty wild dreams...). I saw something that looks like a bird-thing skeleton attacking a human skeleton, some bald little kids, a fairy, a mermaid, a dude with long nails, a dude with and extra eye and one with a lot of extra arms. I saw the little (now big) cymbal-playing monkey being pulled by a guy riding a HUGE bicycle in a pinstripe suit. All and all, the scenery was awesome.
4. What amazes me of this scene is how quickly the scene can change. First it was Fleck, Gangle and Squelch playing on the piano, then it changed to a group of weirdly dressed people. Suddenly the children, a woman clothed in white and the monkey with the cycle-dude entered and the others disappeared. After a while they faded away and the pyramid shaped cases lit up to reveal the fairy, the mermaid, the guy with the nails, the all-seeing guy and the octopus guy along with the skeleton creation. It actually took ma a while to realize that the decoration was divided into sections. Very cleverly done.
5. After reading a few posts I saw that the main thing they all complained about was that this rockish number is similar to the title song in POTO and that it served the same purpose. So what? It was something new and original to put some kick in the musical/opera. Who cares if The Phantom likes to go all out when showing someone his lair? Everyone likes to make a good first impression, don't you?
6. Even if some people didn't like the musical that much, they all agreed that "The Beauty Underneath" was the best song of them all.