You know what entertains me even more than dancing Danish monkeys in yellow bikinis?

Industry scandal.

Yes, I'm a bit of a controversy whore, at least when it comes to things I find interesting (feuds between people I don't know or in, say, most of politics or the movie industry just make me yawn). And what's more fun than a musical theatre scandal involving one composer biting on another's "turf"?

As everyone (meaning me and the other ten people who care, plus probably most of Britain) knows, Andrew Lloyd Webber is working on a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, supposedly tentatively titled The Phantom of Manhattan and based on the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name. However, my powers of internet research have today uncovered that respected German composer Peer Raben, who has a list of musicals and movie music credits almost as impressive as Webber's (though less well known in the U.S.) has ALREADY written one. No, really. It's called The Phantom of Paris and was completed shortly before his death last January (as far as I can tell, it bears no relation to the Gwenith M. Vehlow novel with the same title). A Portuguese theatre company is even now putting it on, and states that it has plans to take it all the way up to London's West End (there to, I surmise, thumb their noses at Webber and laugh themselves silly).

I even saw this excellently surreal trailer for the production (sorry, folks, but it's in German, as is the show... nevertheless, check it out to hear a snatch or two of the music and giggle at the chubbytastic Raoul).

Webber so far has no comment.

Is this not fabulous? I imagine even if Webber is annoyed, there is A) pretty much nothing he can do about it, and B) little chance his legions of fans won't make his version just as successful if not more so. But still, my evil little mind thinks it's hilarious to posit how cranky he might be over the whole thing. Can you guys imagine his little old self jumping up and down in a fit of pique with me? It's great.

I must find a soundtrack to this show the instant it is produced.