#Phantom Bway

[nyphantomphan]

The Phantom of the Opera performed its first preview at the Majestic Theatre 36 years ago today.

[withallthingslove]

The Phantom of the Opera Broadway Thoughts/Review - April 4, 2023

The main trio was Jeremy Stolle, Julia Udine, John Riddle and it was my first time seeing all three of them in these roles! Unless I win the lottery tomorrow for the final performance this was my last time seeing Phantom on Broadway before it closes and it proved to be the performance I needed to have closure.

Nehal Joshi continues to add something every performance as Andre. During Hannibal, he linked arms with Piangi during a choreography bit and then he went to stand by the elephant to sing like he was a member of the ensemble. 

Julia really comes alive during Think of Me it’s obvious that her Christine loves performing once she gets over her initial nervousness.

As the candles rose during the title song, Jeremy was feeling himself and he spun the boat pole in a circle like it was a lightsaber before starting to row again and it was ~ hot ~

When Julia got out of the boat, he grabbed her hips and kind of spun her to look at him and it was also hot. His cape twirl and the way he throws it down onto the bed boat while not breaking eye contact with Christine is also hot. His phantom definitely has some Leo somewhere in his chart he is a slutty showman

I had seen some reviews on here saying that in recent months Jeremy’s voice has sounded strained while playing the Phantom. Vocally he struggled with the “I have brought you” part of MOTN, the end of AIAOY reprise, and “deep as hell” in Down Once More but those were the only parts he had to adjust the notes.

The Phantom and Christine almost kissed while leaning up against the portcullis. Which made the phantom chasing her to that corner of the lair in STYDI feel like a cruel parallel

During I Remember... Julia starts singing while lying down which seemed more realistic.

John’s Raoul is so so so earnest. That’s the best word to describe him. Right before Primadonna when the managers said Christine would play the page boy his head jerked up like “say what?”

When they are scrambling to read the Phantoms note from Madame Giry Firmin dropped the note to the ground

Jeremy’s Phantom really shines while messing with Carlotta he soaks up taunting her and is having a ball stealing the attention away (again there is Leo somewhere in his chart)

During the ballet scene, all of the ballerinas were adding little extra things in their performance while the shadows and murder are happening like adding lines saying “Did you see that?” and playing up the humor and fear. 

John’s love language as Raoul is definitely physical touch but before kissing Christine for the first time he seemed so hesitant and nervous even though it was so apparent he wanted to.

During Wishing, it comes across like Julia’s Christine has been compartmentalizing or was in denial about her dad’s death. And her “her father promised her” is very pointed like she’s angry at her dad for dying

In Wandering Child, Jeremy isn’t really paternal he’s more of a patronizing “I know you have daddy issues” and he caressed his face during “far from my fathering gaze.” Julia was actively trying to resist it like physically trying to fight against the trance which I appreciated

John was ready to FIGHT in Wandering Child he charged up to the grave and it seemed like if Julia didn’t stop him he would have climbed up the wall to the Phantom. 

An overall note about John… he seems to really pay attention to what the Phantom does. He keeps glancing at the chandelier during Il Muto and he notices the Phantom almost as early as Christine does in Masquerade. And while he’s protective of Christine he seems to be analyzing the Phantom, possibly sizing him up or trying to figure out what he’s going to do next. And I think this works really well in the last half of act II where Raoul is leading the charge because of course he is. He’s like “I’ve been studying this guy I have an idea” which also plays into the earnestness of John’s portrayal.

Jeremy’s vocals I think were strongest during PONR and his character really leans into the horniness of the song. Once Julia realizes it’s him she performed the most over-the-top sexy I’ve seen Christine do but it seemed to be to taunt the phantom. Like fully flashed her entire leg when she put her foot up on the bench.

When the Phantom proposes, Julia gently shook her head with her eyes pleading “please don’t ask that of me” and god it was such a subtle acting moment but it stood out to me so much. And then she ripped off his mask to get him to stfu

Jeremy’s Phantom has a strong attachment to his mask. As soon as he gets it back in STYDI, you can see his whole demeanor change. In the Final Lair, when he sang “A mask my first unfeeling scrape of clothing” he started to cry as if he was truly remembering his first mask. And then he realizes he’s being vulnerable in front of Christine and he gets mad at her pitying him 

John is the only Raoul I’ve seen act like he’s being strangled the whole time during the final lair. Some eventually stop struggling but he kept it up the whole time. His energy was just really refreshing.

At one point Julia tried to put her arms around the Phantom’s shoulders to plead with him, and Jeremy ducked out from her (I don’t know how since he’s so much taller) 

Jeremy was scaryyyyyy when he leaned over Christine before “you try my patience” and even after he turned around Julia was still frozen terrified. I think that was the first time I’ve ever watched it live and actually felt really really scared for Christine. Her fear was just so palpable.

After the kiss, when the Phantom walks up to Raoul, John started breathing really hard like he thought the Phantom was going to kill him and Julia’s desperate “No!” showed that she thought the same.

Because of how much Julia’s Christine wanted to be free of the Phantom it surprised my how sad her Christine seemed during the ring return. It did seem to be the mostly out of pity though. 

There was no second “I love you.” When Jeremy was standing watching Christine and Raoul ride off on the boat together, something about his body language really captured the finality of his loneliness in that moment.

When I saw Phantom in December after so many years away all it did was reawaken my love of the show, and when I saw it in March the performance was so chaotic I was distraught (an understatement) when it ended because I knew I needed to go again. Something about this performance brought a lot of closure and as soon as it ended, I didn’t cry like I did in March. I just felt content. 

I think that’s partially because every cast member is just doing the most so there were so many small moments to savor, but I also think it’s because I got to see Jeremy’s Phantom. I met him twice back in 2013/2014 when I was deep in the Phandom and him being so involved with fans was a huge part of my formative love of Phantom in high school. And when I wasn’t following the show as much I still kept up with a lot of backstage stuff through his Instagram. So it felt very full circle to finally catch him as the Phantom.

[devil-takethe-hindmost]

a quick little wip from @wheel-of-fish’s stolleboot stream today!

[opera-ghost]

Could we get a compilation of times Jeremy Stolle heard “slut” when the director called “cut”? 👀

(ask is referencing this post) yes! in my research i found myself only able to focus on this one specific show towards the end of the broadway run, amazingly captured by @angelofmusicishere. and you can see why

like. come on. the flourish when he grabs the hat? the unwavering eye contact? the cape flip????????

slutcullis sprawl. (also him lingering after,,,,,,,)

dude is getting his shit ROCKED

and then he's just annoying! (slut)

and as a bonus, i have to include that time he went feral when half the set pieces stopped working during the first lair

[anecdotal-acorn]

It's over now the music of the night etc etc…I'm listening to All I Ask of You right now and there's a deep sadness in my bones. An ache I don't think will ever go all the way away because even when it reopens or there's a tour it'll never be the same. Thank you Phantom for being there for me when I didn't want to get out of bed every day and not just because I was tired, thank you for all the nights spent listening to All I Ask of You (just like this but not like this at all) raving about Raoulstine. Thank you for making me laugh and my heart pound in my throat during TWO (TWO!!!!!!!!!!!) chandelier rises, thank you for giving me strength and brainrot and making me happy. I can't believe you’re gone. It feels like you faded into nothingness. But you didn't. You touched me and so many other people, and though the tagline for the closing has been help us say goodbye I’m not going to because it's not the end. With luck I'll see the London production one day, I'll watch the 25th anniversary over and over again until and after then, I’ll think of you every day because you're just a part of me now. Just. Thank you. Forever.

[littleeliza-lotte]

Coneyislanddesigns

Part two

Part one

So my friend posted on their story how the shoe bows were a scam, and Rory found it then made this very mature response /sar

Then Rory talks about where she got the fabrics from and how she got them, but I mainly wanted to talk about the bows, since they are very expensive and also being sold separately for what they are.

This is part of her response from her story and it also says a little bit in the description of the bows where she got them from, but what I thought was interesting is that she even says they were probably never even used on stage. Her explanation is that since Peter Fox wasn’t making the shoes anymore that they had to make cheaper pieces to use instead, which was why the bows look different to what was actually used on stage. Speaking of that, she also says that the bows were never even worn on stage because they do appear to be very clean and new.

Let’s say I do believe that she did get these bows from Phantom and didn’t just make them herself, why would I pay $100+ each for cheaply made bows that were never even used on stage. And what’s sad is, people are buying it and I don’t blame them because she is being very manipulative.

Once again, some of these could be real, yes, but she doesn’t deserve any support.

It is sad and pathetic that she acts like this and I’m very hopeful that @saltiestsoprano will get their money back and win the case because this is absolutely ridiculous and she needs to be knocked down a peg. And again, if you have anything else to add on or your opinion on this please reblog with it.

[reginalds]

actually even more heartbroken about phantom broadway closing than I thought I would be

[na-page]

DARREN CRISS - Darren Criss is bringing you along for a press day adventure! 🎬 Join him tomorrow on the Maybe Happy Ending Instagram for a takeover. 🩵✨ | October 27, 2024 | 🎥 MHE

[britishchick09]

back when this majestic repaint pic was posted, i predicted that a show with a red color scheme would be shown...

and it looks like i was right! :o

[devil-takethe-hindmost]

this may be a super niche flex but here’s me wearing that same ring (ft jeremy’s legs 😂)

wait wait yes i have something for you weirdos, courtesy of r/box5--not my pic, obvs, but taken by a redditor after the Broadway closing party.

[nyphantomphan]

Why so green? Am I seeing Wicked or Phantom?

Did POTO Korean producers S&CO do something to make POTO Korea’s proscenium look so gross and green in order to discourage audiences from taking photos? (You bet this did not happen in NYC, London & China!!)

So S&CO in Korea has these extremely strict rules:

(1) Absolutely no curtain call photos/videos allowed.

(2) No designated day(s) for fans to meet & greet Phantom actors at all. Stage dooring for Phantom in Korea doesn’t exist. Actors either (a) stop to wave and bow and then get into a car or (b) walk quickly while smiling and bowing.

(3) No official curtain call photos/videos were ever released except a few seconds in promotional videos early in the production.

So one day, my phriend @jeremyonthelair and I were talking about POTO’s proscenium and how beautiful the angel statue is. But then he mentioned something that piqued my interest right away.

“Did you notice Korea proscenium in Charlotte theater has a green tint on all the golden sculptures? And the strangest thing is I didn’t see the green tint in person!! Only in photos!!”

Side note: Jeremy saw POTO China this past summer and POTO Korea in the fall, so you could say he had something to compare to in a short period of time.

We proceded to share proscenium photos – Jeremy with his China and Korea photos and me with Bway photos.

↑ Jeremy’s Korea photo

↑ My Majestic theatre photo taken on the day of the last public performance

↑ Jeremy’s Shanghai photo

Please note: I did not edit any photos in this post at all (other than a black oval to cover my phriend).

Here I have compiled some Korea proscenium photos as evidence. And for comparison, I also added some Majestic theatre photos provided by me and a fellow NY phan @flagbridge – along with some POTO China photos.

Jeremy’s Korea photos:

1) ↑ Taken with an iPhone

2) ↑ Taken with a Samsung

The weirdest thing is —

3) ↑ Film camera looks fine

4) ↑ Xiaomi phone is less affected, somewhat

Here are some Charlotte theater photos and videos I found online:

1) ↑ Click on the link below to view the video. Yikes, this does not look good!

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz09hP6rh-B

2) ↑ Another one from Mezzanine level

3) ↑ The current Korean Raoul, Gunha Hwang, posted this photo of the stage in Seoul – are these lights what’s turning everything green?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz0ZmborHIj

The same thing is happening in Daegu, Korea right now:

4) ↑ Posted Dec 23 in Daegu – click on the link to view the video

https://www.instagram.com/p/C1L4dEjBTkj

5) ↑ Another video from Daegu

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C1OnYyLJ6ry/

Now here are my Majestic theatre photos:

↑ Taken in April of 2023

↑ Here is another Majestic photo from a fellow NY phan @flagbridge

https://www.tumblr.com/flagbridge/728351820760612864/shows-i-saw-in-2023-part-1-phantom-of-the-opera Let’s take a look at POTO China proscenium taken by theatre-goers:

↑ https://weibo.com/1766731021/4959005917580968

↑ https://weibo.com/3965362386/4967561219803733 My question to @lucygold95 @roadtophantom @fadinglandtragedy who have seen POTO in Korea. Did you see the gross green tint on the proscenium in person? Why do you think this is only happening in Korea?

I’d love to hear other phans��� thoughts as well!

Lastly, I want to thank my phriends Jeremy and @flagbridge for letting me use their photos.

[king-kaliente]

My love for Phantom has been revived, can you tell? (It may or may not be because it closed on bway 😔)

[devil-takethe-hindmost]

today is for THEM!!!

[devil-takethe-hindmost]

i know i said no more stolle posts but

this came on shuffle and i’m feeling DISTRAUGHT

Me at the end of The Phantom of the Opera:

[opera-ghost]

the jump vs. the landing | matt blaker, west end

[anecdotal-acorn]

can't believe it's been a whole year since nighttime sharpened my soul