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Awestruck After having watched it, I have only really one main reaction: ALW, shut up and take my money!
I've only seen the movie before and so didn't really have anything to compare that to, this however, is a totally different slice of cake. First of all, Sierra Boggess is fantastic as Christine and miles above Emmy Rossum's bland depiction. She's bright-eyed and radiant and brings a kind of almost impish mischievousness to the role. Here in SA, we'd say she's 'op en wakker' but I can't think of a proper translation.
Hadley Frasier's Raoul and the Phantom played well too – and certainly sang fantastically. This Raoul has a definite thread of badassery running through him (and looks disconcertingly like Cpt. Jack Harkness) which is great, and doesn't have that stupid long hair cut, which is even better, but every now and again seemed to me a little harsh. But still, definitely a worthy opponent for the Phantom for once.
Ramin's Phantom was also brilliantly sung, but at a few points here and there I rather missed Gerard Butler's acting (not his singing, mind) and couldn't help thinking: better in the movie, but at other points he was better than Butler, so I guess in the end it evens out. Also, they both have nasty hands. (Don't mind me, I just have a hand thing and imagine Erik's hands to be more like David Tennant's than Butler's or Karimloo's. I'll shut up now.) And any shortcomings I still felt he had evaporated when I watched the final lair scene. He was utterly terrifying and heartbreakingly pitiable at the same time, and you're sitting there watching thinking: What are my feelings doing??!
Now, a few words about the supporting roles: they were glorious! Normally, when I watch the movie, I tend to skip the bits with the managers and Carlotta – not here I don't, that's for sure! The managers are hilarious (I had no idea they had wives...), and Carlotta is sublime. Her actress brings subtle nuances to her role that makes her so much more interesting to watch than the movie version, especially those smug little glances we get every now and again, and, oddly enough, something that looked a lot like genuine surprise and sympathy when she says of Christine, "She's mad..." Interesting... Also, Piangi is epic. End of story. With an oddly beautiful voice, too.
Finally, my favourite character: Mme. Giry. Yes, Miranda Richardson still wins this hands down, but I think this is largely because she was given complete full reign when she played her and added a lot of interesting facets because she could. This Mme. Giry looks terrifying, yes, but she definitely makes it clear, with very little stage time and even fewer lines, that she's the one who runs the men who run the theatre. I haven't yet worked out whether I include Erik in this or not. Her actress portrayed her brilliantly, one of the most mysterious characters in the story, more mysterious, I think, than Erik himself. Think about it: by the end of the show, we know a great deal more about him than we know of Mme. Giry – we know pretty much nothing about her – and that's part of her great fascination. But now I'm sidetracking myself with my fangirling. Moving on...
Their take (or maybe that's how the musical always does it) on how DJT panned out was refreshingly different and a damn good idea – I loved it to bits and, by gum, it certainly makes a good deal more sense than the movie version's did: how it was plausible that Christine not know, not until Erik was tempted into breaking character and she, rightfully, became suspicious. Love it!! Right up until she pulls the hood off and he just stands there all: "Oh deary me, what to do, what to do—oh, I know: I'll propose!!" and I'm all: "Seriously, Erik? Seriously?"
But the best bit, by far, was the extra stuff at the end. There's something so chokingly emotional about seeing the whole original cast assemble on the stage, seeing Michael and Sarah together on the stage again, and, especially, seeing Sarah and the old Phantoms singing the theme together. That took watching in small instalments because I had to stop and breathe deeply and calm down every few seconds.
(Also: LOL at Tim Rice watching that performance! 
)But what can we take away from this: Colm Wilkinson still has it, as does Sarah Brightman (...eventually) and John Owen-Jones OWNS ALL!!!!!! Seriously. I kid you not – that man outsang every other Phantom on the stage. When he started to sing, pretty much everyone else could just pack up and go home. Did they record a soundtrack while he was still the Phantom? Because if so someone has to PLEASE let me know where I can buy it!
Bloody FANTASTIC! There are just no words. That this musical has lasted a quarter of a century is an amazing feat in and of itself, but if there is one thing that Phantom 25 shows us, it is that neither the show nor the story have aged in the least. They've stood the test of time and passed with flying colours, just as appealing and "mitreissend" today as they were in 1987.
Another difference to the movie that I loved was the clear Raoul/Erik mirroring going on - instead of it being a "Betty and Veronica" (sweet, kind, and safe versus sexy, dangerous and exciting) situation, Raoul and Erik are more similar than you would expect. They repeat each other's lines; they both vocally declare that "then it is to be war between us!" (oh, I wish movie!Raoul had been given that line, it was SO FREAKING BADASS), both sing exactly the same "Christine, I love you" line. When Erik hears Christine and Raoul singing "All I Ask of You", he covers his ears and is on the verge of tears, and when Raoul sees Christine kiss the Phantom, he closes his eyes, grimaces in pain, and looks like he is about to cry himself. While Raoul's body count is significantly smaller, he does tell the guard that if he has to shoot Erik, he should "shoot to kill", and is, unusually for portrayals of Raoul, probably just as aggressive as the Phantom himself. I've probably read too far into this...but I really like the idea of them being mirror image equals
I see what you mean about balancing their sexual power, although I feel that Christine's sexyness in the PoNT scene was more her acting her part than her actually trying to seduce what she knew could potentially be Erik. However, woah-hoah, Christine! Dear Lord, the seduction scene! And who was calling her an ingenue again?
What I meant about the sexualness is that in the movie, it wasn't subtle enough. It was glaringly sexual, uncomfortably so because in the movie Christine is so damn *stupid* that she comes across as believing 100%, for most of the film, that the Phantom is her dad. Yes, even when she's in the freaking graveyard, declaring to the world that she's done mourning, that she's moving on- OOH BIG RED LIGHT AND OMINOUS MUSIC COMING FROM DADDY'S TOMB AND FAMILIAR SINISTER VOICE THAT I RECOGNISE FROM SOMEWHERE...LOOKS LEGIT! MUST BE DADDY! I was pleased that in this version, Raoul actually gets annoyed with her and is like AGAIN?! CHRISTINE WE'VE BEEN THROUGH THIS, HE'S NOT YOUR DAD! And then she snaps out of it, looks horrified, and runs over to him - you can actually see her mouthing "sorry" over and over again as Raoul hugs her. This one implies that Erik has her under some sort of spell, rather than her just being...very stupid.
...Where was I? XD oh yeah, the sexual tension has to be more subtle because otherwise, A. Christine being overtly sexy with a man WHO SHE THINKS IS HER DAD'S SPIRIT is seriously, seriously creepy, and B. Its very difficult to sympathise with a man who is taking advantage of the fact that a young woman believes him to be her father to seduce her. And above all, you are supposed to LIKE the Phantom, for all the nasty things he does. To quote the Greaty Gatsby, you are "simultaneously charmed and repelled" by him. Though more charmed really
As you said, Christine's many attempts to grab his mask make for a much more realisitic unmasking scene and a far more likeable, interesting character - the initial fainting is either her physical exersion from singing that crazy high note, which seems to take her by surprise as she grabs her throat afterwards, or, my personal favourite, a distraction to give her an opportuinty to grab his mask - as the moment she opens her eyes, she tries to get it again, but he catches her hand before she can. The second time she faints does seem a bit weird, but the only explanation I can see is that Erik sneaks up behind her and grabs her shoulder, which makes her jump quite a bit, then she faints - so she faints from shock? I think they just needed a reason for her to pass out so she could be put into the bed-thing. I'm actually rather glad they took out the Christine-doll thing, as it was seriously freaky, even for the Phantom! I imagine it was taken out because it would have been confusing for anyone futher away from the stage in the audience, as they wouldn't realise that it was a doll, and it would look like another Christine had just appeared on the stage for no apparent reason.
And the CONCERT. Oh my, it was beautiful! I loved it
And yes, I am indeed a fan of the strong Raoul. Because that’s who Christine goes for in the end and it would be a total insult if she left him for a loser Raoul. Strangely enough then, the more badass the Raoul, the more of a compliment towards Erik.
I also liked how this is one of the few Raouls that actually react when Erik walks up to them to free them. I was surprised at how many of them just stand there and stare through him. Like they don’t have their most hated rival and homicidal maniac advancing on them! They don’t know he wants to free him! For all Raoul knows at this point, he could be coming to kill him! When Erik walks up to him, you can see this Raoul tensing for the fight.
Also, and this is just a random aside on my part: anyone who can yell “Why make her lie to you to save me!” to said homicidal madman whilst he and his fiancée are completely within in power and he’s being garrotted by said madman is no pansy. I am sorry, but that is a totally badass thing to do – you’re totally at his mercy and yet you’re still taunting him with the truth and – and this is a very Raoul trait – a total unfailing trust in what you know to be true. Badass!
Oh yes, she was certainly acting – you can tell because she didn’t seem very happy when she suspected it was Erik, but the point still stands: she owned that stage!
I KNOW, RIGHT?? I mean, I know its supposed to be serious and momentous and sad and all, but I can’t help but laugh whenever I watch that bit now. I think its my favourite interpretation of that scene – it’s an unbelievably clever interpretation (I think, at any rate – maybe I’m just easily impressed) and I can believe it completely. But really now, Erik, there is a time and a place and frankly that was neither. Tsk, tsk.
I hear you! I too prefer a hypnotised Christine to a downright stupid Christine. Seriously? I don’t even know how movie Christine functions. She’s all ‘ooh, pretty colours’ all the time – I was so pleased to watch a version of Phantom where I wasn’t constantly facepalming every time Christine walked into view.
I was just upset that they changed the lyrics back to ‘fathering gaze’ which was the original lyric, but I preferred ‘far-reaching gaze’ as used in the movie. A good deal less creepy. It’s weird enough when Christine thinks the phantom’s her dad, but when Erik starts abusing this belief, then that’s just crossing a line. Truth be told, I never actually worked out WHAT Christine thought Erik was in the musical. First she’s all ANGEL OF MUSIC and then she’s all THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA IS THERRRRRRE and then she’s back to ANGEL and then suddenly it’s FATHER OR PHANTOM and then PHANTOM and so by the time she gets to PITIFUL CREATURE OF DARKNESS I’m so damn confused I don’t know what to think!
Oh, but the doll in wedding dress has been in there since 1987. It was originally supposed to be shown to Christine, and then, as she first claps eyes on it, it falls forward, hands outstretched and THAT gives her such a shock she passes out. Which I can sort of believe, I mean, it must be creepy. But this time around, no doll.
That doll I don’t find that weird, because it’s shown to be nothing more than a mannequin or a shop window dummy – more to hold the dress than look creepily like Christine (movieversioniamlookingatyou).
The one from Love Never Dies, on the other hand, looks EXACTLY like Christine and is fully anatomically correct, as in, not just a jumble of loosely connected limbs as we see the other one is when Erik takes the dress of it. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, it’s an automaton – it moves. Now try scrubbing that and the implications thereof out of your brain!
Oh gosh, that concert... there was just so much of epicness in there I could never list it all. I cried like a baby from beginning to end. I loved how the audience totally lost it whenever Crawford walked onto stage. After he sang that Ramin said something to Michael and I wish I would lip read but I have no idea what it was. Whatever it was, Michael beams back and says what I’m pretty sure is ‘Pleasure!’ DAMMIT, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT RAMIN SAID!! I just wish he could have sung, though I respect his decision not to do so. Sad, but hey...
Oh yes, no doubt about it JOJ is phenomenal. But what you ought to watch out for is Tim Rice, ALW and Charles Hart in the background. Especially Tim Rice and Charles Hart – they were hilarious! During ‘he’s there, the Phantom of the Opera, beware, the Phantom of the Opera’ they were miming it out to ALW, who was standing between them, and every now and again the camera focuses on Time Rice’s face, and he’s laughing and bopping along there and having the time of his life and every time I see that I pack out laughing like a damn hyena! So good!
And then that last encore when Colm shoves Ramin out there and he’s all ‘thank you, thank you...’ and then Christine sneaks up behind him and glomps him. Gosh, look on his face... I laugh every time I see it. And then he picks her up and carries her off – and he audience freaking loses it! Love it!!
And I know! I just love their interaction the whole way through, the little there is. Even when Raoul is like NO DON'T SHOOT WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT and Erik is like HAHA YEAH I AGREE. I think the fact that Hadley and Ramin are BFFs in real life and have played against each other before really adds to their stage chemistry, they work so well together
ALSO, (I keep meaning to say it and keep forgetting!) I thought it was very interesting that in Phantom25...it is RAOUL who gives Christine a single red rose. It has always been a symbol of Erik's love for her, and when Raoul gives it to her, there is a super-zoom and Christine seems surprised, like she can sense than in an alternate universe, it should be coming from someone else. I dunno, I'd love to find out what was going through their heads when they decided on that. It probably has something to do with the uber-badassing of Raoul and his new comparison with Erik. I thought it was very interesting.
Having always loved Raoul, I have always loved that line. You know its badass when its under the PoTO "Crowning Moment of Awesome" section on TvTropes! Plus, everyone seems to forget, even in the movie where Raoul isn't quite as badass as Phantom25, he still manages to beat Erik in a swordfight, and it takes Christine's begging to stop this supposedly foppy, wimpy man from just killing Erik right there. I always think its stupid when they don't like, TIE HIM UP or anything. They're just like "Okay, we'll leave you here to wallow in your embarrassment, get angrier and come back to try and kill us, okay?
Euuughhh, even the name of the sequel makes me shudder
Yeah, the glomp was really sweet - and at the end, when the credits go up over them all on the stage, she runs over to Hadley and glomps him too, and he spins her around like in All I Ask of You. It's very cute
Wait-- the PotO tvtropes page has a CMOA section? Why have I not noticed this before?? *runs off to read* And yes, gosh, I hadn't even thought of that. Geez! Best would have been to tie him up and drag him back. But... how exactly would they haved tied up him? And they certainly wouldn't have been able to drag him back. Guess Raoul should have just knocked him out, tossed him over the horse and bring him back to the Opera.
Heheh, oh gosh, so dreadful.
Sierra was the most angelic Christie, her voice just shone with such a clarity.
And yes, finally, a Raoul who is not a pansy! He was quite he courteous yet kick ass gent!
Ooooh. Just looked it up on Amazon - 7 quid, with 63 5* reviews! Not bad. Not bad at all...
*bought*
7 quid, you say? That's roughly R150. Worth it!! *runs off to buy it too*
I regret nothing!!!!
I could watch that all over again! In fact, I think I shall, tomorrow night!
RAOUL. Just...Raoul! Genuinely jumped up and fistpumped in delight to finally see a Raoul who will stand up for himself, isn't a total idiot and who says, "Oi Phantom, you keep trying to kidnap my fiancée and you know what? That PISSES ME OFF. This, sir, is WAR!" He is quick-thinking, sweet with Christine, though, I agree, does sometimes come across as a little aggressive when he should be more gentle. But its so refreshing not to see him as a pansy that I quite like it XD
And Christine! I have so much love for this Christine, I really really didn't like her in the movie, she was so...dull. In this she is quick and cheerful, none of Emmy Rossum's blandness. My mum pointed out that she had never realised, until seeing this, that Christine was meant to be scared of the Phantom. And she really came across as terrified and conflicted, instead of just...weirdly sexually fixated with a man who she thinks is her dad...I'm so glad they took out the awkward sexyness that the movie had
And Erik. Dear Erik. I was so delighted with how he was portrayed - amazing, talented, heartwrenching, desperate, tragic, beautiful, yes, but not sexy. And really not a nice man. THAT is what the Phantom is. As much as I adore Gerard Butler...yeah. And his makeup! *flails* The face makeup was so beautifully done, so much more like in the book. It must have been weird trying to kiss with that fake lip bit XD
Carlotta and the managers were hilarious too
On the 27th December, my mum, my sister and I went to see Les Mis in London, and we were very excited when we realised that Erik and Raoul were, respectively, Jean Valjean and Javert in the show we saw!