#phantom of the opera fan cast

[luigisvampirebae]

FINALLY.

Anyways here are the Christine and Erik fan cast polls.

[kimwexlers-brownhair]

Lena Olin is so Christine coded.

[iamthecomet]

𝔐𝔲𝔰𝔥𝔶 𝔐𝔞𝔶 𝔇𝔞𝔶 𝔒𝔫𝔢: ℭ𝔲𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰 𝔄𝔤𝔤𝔯𝔢𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫

Pairing: Raindrop Rating: G Words: 885 Mushy May prompts by @forlorn-crows Divider by @ghuleh-recs

Rain finds it hard to look at Dew when he’s like this. Hyper focused. Hands full. A little furrow dug in between fair eyebrows. Tongue pinned between his fangs, poking out just enough. Corners of his lips pulling down as he really gets into it. The world dissolving around him. 

It makes Rain want to kiss him. Or strangle him. Both. He should look away. They’re doing the sort of parallel play that they always do after a tour winds down. Instrument maintenance in an otherwise empty practice room. Dew cleaning and restringing guitar after guitar. Making little changes to help him out next time–things that are still fresh on his mind since they’ve only been home a few days. 

Dew’s sitting on the floor, cross legged. Guitar on his lap. Fingers flying over the frets. Headphones on–whatever he’s playing piped into his head alone. Rain gave up on his bass a while ago. It’s restrung, it’s clean. He has other things he could do–practice. Work on the little things he kept fumbling over. Start plucking out new bass lines for the album Papa says they need written write away. But he doesn’t bother.  He can’t imagine anything else he’d rather do than watch Dew. 

Dew’s one crooked fang digs into his lip when he really concentrates. He’s bent over the guitar now, head bobbing. Foot bouncing where it’s trapped beneath one of his skinny thighs. 

Rain loves to watch him play. He doesn’t get to often. Even when they practice it feels like a performance. And Rain has to focus on hitting all his marks, and not falling up the stairs, and not fucking up the song. And Dew–in those cases–isn’t like this. Isn’t small and quiet and himself. He is a persona on stage–most of it true to life, but this feels more genuine. 

And, he’s fucking adorable. The fans will never see him like this–Dew would see it as a weakness. Rain thinks that’s stupid but secretly he’s glad he gets to call this version of Dew his. 

He stands–he can’t help it. Can’t wait anymore. He puts his bass away. Dew doesn’t notice or look up–engrossed in his guitar, in the music. Head swaying, whisps of long golden hair coming loose from the bun at the back of his head to fall over his cheeks. Rain sits down behind him. Brackets Dew with his legs, careful not to bump the guitar as he does. He presses his chest right up against Dew’s chest, hands slipping down to rest at Dew’s waist. Gentle. 

He smells like weed and cinnamon. Rain inhales. Dew leans back against him a little. That’s the only indication Rain gets that Dew knows he’s there at all. That’s ok, Rain doesn’t really want attention. He just wants to watch. 

He hooks his chin over Dew’s shoulder and casts his eyes down. Watches those lithe fingers fly over the frets. Rain can hear the headphones now–can tell he’s practicing Phantom of the Opera solos–a song they’ve never even played live. Leave it to Dew to be the over achiever. Rain turns his head to look at Dew’s profile. Sharp cheekbones. Furrowed brow. A little peek of pink tongue sticking out between his fangs–both of them really digging into that bottom lip now. 

Rain wants to press his thumb to it–pull it free. But that seems–invasive. Distracting.  He nuzzles against him instead, tucking his face into Dew’s neck and shuffling as close as he can, like he wants to crawl into Dew’s skin with him. 

Dew picks up a raspy purr. It’s quiet–but Rain feels it. He’s not even sure Dew knows he’s doing it. Satanas he’s adorable like this. It’s unfair. Criminal. Rain can’t stand it. 

Before he realizes he’s doing it he’s opened his jaw and clamped down on the juncture between Dew’s neck and shoulder. He can’t help it–he doesn’t even know why he’s doing it. He just knows if he doesn’t put Dew in his mouth and rattle him around like a chew toy right now he’s going to lose it. 

Dew jolts.  “What the fuck, dude?” 

Dew stops playing, rips the headphones off, he looks down at Rain. Furrow in his brow gone now–instead his eyebrows are up by his hairline. The puzzled look on his face doesn’t help. Rain bites down a little harder before he gets a hold of himself again. 

“Sorry,” Rain mumbles, unlatching his jaw to talk. He wants to dig in again. Wants to sink his teeth in and carry Dew around in his jaw for the rest of eternity. 

“You bit me,” Dew laughs. He’s looking at Rain like he’s lost his mind–maybe he has. But the way he reaches over to tuck a dark curl behind Rain’s ear makes the water ghouls heart swell. Doesn’t matter if Dew thinks he’s insane, because Dew loves him all the same. 

Rain nuzzles against him again. “You looked cute,” he mumbles.

Dew blinks at him, that little crease in his eyebrow comes back as he works it out in his head. But he doesn’t pull away. He doesn’t stop purring. If anything, he leans more of his weight onto Rain. Rain’s purr kicks up in return. 

Dew sighs. “Just…not so hard next time.” 

Rain huffs out a little laugh, “no promises.”

[mournersandfunerals]

Friendly reminder that people are allowed to be apprehensive about the Wicked movie. Fans of the Broadway show have been waiting YEARS for this movie to be made, but unfortunately it's being dropped during a time where adaptations of Broadway shows just aren't hitting the same, because they're not being catered to the right audience.

Even if you overlook the casting, and the fact that they're not even being marketed as the genre (the saving grace with this one is that most people know that Wicked is a musical), the actual musical aspect is enough to trigger a fear of the unknown.

I've seen a lot of people defending the most recent Mean Girls movie by saying, of course the music is going to be different, because it's a different medium and the stage version won't translate well on screen. And I do partially understand that, I get that changes need to be made for it to work better, but they changed the arrangements of the songs entirely, and I think that has more to do with trying to hit a different audience than it does about screen translation. It's a weak excuse when you look at the bigger picture.

Movie adaptions of musicals have been made throughout cinema history, and SO many of them have been successful for the right reasons, and some of them were even recent. Grease, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, Tick, Tick... Boom!, Chicago, The Sound of Music, In the Heights, Matilda—the list is endless. And, sure, there are issues with each and every one of them, things we can complain about, stuff we can pick apart, but the one thing that's consistent is that they all have the right energy. Changes were made because they needed to be, but the music and the vibe stayed the same. There's no excuse to revamp the entire thing.

Which brings us back to the fear of how they're going to handle Wicked. If "movie musicals shouldn't have as much music in them to balance it out" then what are we doing here? Because Wicked, in particular, is a musical where the score acts as a driving force for the plot, and if you're going to take half of that out to cater to an audience that doesn't like musicals, or change the arrangements, revamp the numbers etc. then it isn't going to work.

Obviously, we can't judge it too harshly yet, because we've had a 1 minute teaser trailer, but please remember that fans are allowed to be apprehensive.

And, side note, creators of movie musicals need to stop trying to make musicals for people that don't like them. If they focus on their target audience, then they'll be successful—that's filmmaking 101 and should not have to be said but here we are.

[phantoonsoftheopera]

Fan-(Voice) Casting Leroux's "The Phantom of the Opera"

I've been thinking a lot lately about how in the past 115 years we've never gotten a faithful film adaptation of Leroux's novel. But I believe technology has advanced far enough for CG artists to make the Living Corpse a reality. Personally, I see the character of Erik as taking an amalgam of artists to bring to life (much like Darth Vader) - an actor to perform him physically, CGI artists to accurately capture his likeness and enhance the acting, and another performer to provide his voice. Based on Leroux's novel, how do you imagine Erik's voice? If you were to cast someone for the vocal performance, who in your opinion who would fit that voice best? Is there an artist (present or past) that is comparable?

[uppastthejelliclemoon]

cats the musical isn't bad, y'all are just mean: sincerely, a cats fan who is exhausted with having to defend her favorite show

every time one of those theater polls pops up with a show against cats the musical, it's inevitable that the other show's fans, despite cats fans never saying anything negative, decide to make really negative and rude comments towards the musical and the fans.

most of the comments always say that no one understands how anyone can like cats the musical, or how the other musical is superior, or how the other musical is so incredibly important to the fans.

a show being important to someone is extremely valid, but people who are fans of other shows seem to always forget that there is also a reason why cats the musical has fans.

so allow me to provide some reasons as to why someone might be a fan of cats the musical:

the dancing, which is incredibly athletic and impressive

the songs, which provide a way for different actors and actresses to show off their vocal prowess, and have different tempos and meanings and also, you know, include one of the most iconic Broadway songs that has ever existed

the costumes, which have specifically character-oriented designs

the countless number of non-replica productions that take different interpretations of the show, and create incredibly creative designs for costumes and sets

the amount of LGBTQIA+ coded characters and relationships that take on different interpretations based around how they are played and portrayed.

the amount of LGBTQIA+/POC actors who have portrayed characters in the musical throughout the years, many of which put their own gender/sexual identity into their portrayal of the character.

cast members who directly interact with the fandom, and who encourage fanworks and posts about the musical with excitement

the different countries that have pulled Cats the Musical into their culture, and that have allowed countless groups of fans to be able to see the show live

but you know what?

People don't have to give a reason for why they love a show. If someone is asked why they enjoy a show like, say, Newsies, or Phantom of the Opera, or Falsettos, those fans don't have to go into a deep dive defending their love of the show.

There's a type of stigma that Cats is cringey because of the costumes, or because it "doesn't have a story", which is something that people say that I always find funny, as the story of the show is described in one of the FIRST songs of the show.

Jellicle Cats meet once a year At the Jellicle Ball where we all rejoice And the Jellicle leader will soon appear And make what is known as the Jellicle Choice When Old Deuteronomy just before dawn Through a silence you feel could cut with a knife Announces the Cat who can now be reborn And come back to a different Jellicle life For waiting up there is the Heaviside Layer Full of wonders one Jellicle only will see And Jellicles ask because Jellicles dare Who will it be? Who will it be?

If anyone ever gave a second of thought and research, they would see that the show's premise is literally sung about at the start of the show. It's something kind of important called exposition that actually happens in a lot of shows, but apparently Cats isn't allowed to have exposition.

There's also the matter of characters.

There are multiple different characters, both within the main singing cast and the ensemble, who provide fantastic layers to the show itself.

Grizabella, the outsider character who is redeemed and gets to become the Jellicle Choice, and who happens to have the aforementioned most iconic Broadway song, "Memory", a character who provides a contrast to other characters such as Victoria, who is the featured character during the Jellicle Ball

The Rum Tum Tugger, a seemingly selfish and haughty character, who also provides the song for Mr. Mistoffelees, a magical cat who is able to summon back the Jellicle Leader, Old Deuteronomy, who was kidnapped by Macavity, the antagonist of the musical.

It is a show that has so much emotion and meaning, which can be seen even on the most surface viewing. It doesn't take a genius to understand that there is a message of redemption and acceptance within the show as well.

and while i don't like using the awards Cats has been nominated for in order to discuss how impressive the musical is, because I absolutely think it doesn't need the awards to describe how amazing it is, but like... just look at the list of awards for the original London and original Broadway productions:

Cats the Musical was nominated for these awards, and won many of them, for a reason.

People don't want to admit that Cats the Musical is a good show because it is nothing like what has been on Broadway. There is a reason a lot of shows on Broadway right now are revivals, jukebox musicals, or based off of previous media. While, of course, Cats is based off of T.S. Elliot's poetry, it is done in a way that is incredibly original and unique. People are afraid of original ideas on Broadway. It's the reason why, along with Cats the Musical, Starlight Express is also seen as a weird show, because despite the fantastic music and costumes and storyline, because the actors and actresses are dressed as trains or cats, it's a weird show, and the fans are weird.

(though, as you can see above, I am NOT against revivals, jukeboxes, or media-based shows when they are done well. If you're familiar with my main blog, @tending-the-hearth, you are well aware of how much I adore the Outsiders musical, which is just one example of quite a few shows.)

I don't personally like Falsettos. On the poll putting Cats against Falsettos, I did not discuss why I disliked the show, or that it was a crime people were voting for the show.

I adore Newsies. I have a Cats/Newsies crossover fanfiction. My brother and I are obsessed with it. I love Cats more. I'm not writing on the poll that I'm disgusted people are voting for Newsies over Cats.

It is so genuinely unfortunate that, while every other musical and its fans are given love and support by the musical theater community, Cats the Musical and its fans are consistently ostracized and made fun of. (Rather ironic, considering the entire story of Cats the Musical and Grizabella's character)

You can talk about how much you love a show, or why a show is important to you, but you have to understand that for every person who loves a different show, there's someone who loves Cats the Musical for a similar reason.

Me personally? I love Cats the Musical because it's fun. It's an entertaining show with incredible music and characters. I love the show because it is the reason I've met some of my best friends in the entire world. The show got me through COVID, and some very difficult times with my mental health. It's the show I've been lucky enough to see live multiple times, with the most fantastic and kind cast. It is the show that helped me learn about the LGBTQIA+ community via the fandom, understand and become comfortable with being bisexual, and provided characters that I can identify on a personal level. It is the show that made me fall back in love with writing, and helped to create one of my most favorite OCs in the entire world.

I genuinely say that Cats the Musical saved my life.

And that's just my experience.

There are people who have had experiences with other musicals. They see the show as having saved their life, or giving them new experiences. I love that. I love seeing how musical theater has impacted the people who experience it. I think it's wonderful, and it's amazing that there are so many different shows that people can see and fall in love with.

Why are the experiences of Cats the Musical fans suddenly deemed inferior just because of the show they enjoy? Why do we, as fans, have to defend our enjoyment of a show?

You're not cool for hating on Cats the Musical.

You're not cool for hating on fans of the show.

Cats the Musical is a good show, it ran for years in London for a reason, it ran for years on Broadway for a reason, and it's STILL running in Japan for a reason.

Cats the Musical isn't bad, y'all just hate fun.

[behindthemirrorofmusic]

This Saturday on Behind the Mirror of Music

This Saturday (September 21) we reach the highpoint of our Phantom of the Opera celebrations as Dannii Cohen is joined by four Phantoms to celebrate 115 years since the first chapter of the novel was published in the Gaulois (on September 23 1909.)

-

Ethan Freeman performed the role of Erik The Phantom many times on West End as well as in Vienna, Toronto and Essen, Germany.

During his run he received the nickname "The Leroux Phantom" for his very Leroux accurate take on the role.

His West End run was so well received that he was voted "Most Popular Phantom" in a poll by the International Phantom Of The Opera Fan Club which brought him the opportunity to record a Phantom highlights album for Jay Records together with Claire Moore whom was voted most popular Christine. In 2009 it was updated with songs from Love Never Dies.

-

Peter Karrie performed the role of Erik, The Phantom on the West End, the Canadian (Far East) Tour, Toronto and the UK Tour. Well known for his expressive body language and hand gestures, he’s considered to be among one of the finest “old school” Phantoms.

-

Ciaran Sheehan was understudy Phantom and first cast Raoul on Broadway before landing the position of first cast Phantom in Toronto.

Currently he is touring the USA with three other Phantoms as "The Four Phantoms".

-

Jonathan Roxmouth performed the role of The Phantom in various South African productions and two world/Asian tours.

During the pandemic this production was the only one that continued making him "The only Phantom in the world" for several months.

The Episode will premiere on Saturday 20.00 UK time on YouTube

[andrewlloydwebber]

so basically what happened last night at the penultimate performance of the phantom of the opera on broadway!

there wasn't like a formal after curtain call performance and it initially was treated like a regular, random show. it was kristen blodgette's (conductor and musical director for a lot of alw's shows) last time conducting, when the cast was gesturing to her during the end of the curtain call, they all stomped their feet in appreciation for her. And then the curtain went down as if it was a normal show. But as the play out music played, someone of the cast opened the curtain at the side to watch her conduct the play out music.

And then usually at this point most of the audience would have left, so the crew started resetting the chandelier to the position it hangs in when the show isn't playing. But no one would leave so we all started cheering and the stage manager had us give the cue to call "chandelier out!"

And then there was a bunch of people chanting and cheering and clapping, someone started up "one more song!" a lot of the cast came out in their street clothes and just kind of soaked in the moment, they were filming the audience and hugging each other (check people's instagram stories), a few people did extra bows, giselle alvarez did the monkey dance from masquerade, kristen blodgette took an onstage bow, raquel suarez groen brought out her dog, etc. someone started the chant "one more song" and the cast sang "happy trails". and then nehal joshi gave a speech that began with "as this theatre's faux owner" and thanked the crew, front of house team, and all the fans for "taking care of us for the last 35 years". he told us it was probably time to go home and then there was some more cheering and clapping and the ushers finally made us leave.

as much as i wish there was something preplanned by the production to mark the occasion and the producers didn't treat it like "just another show", i really was touched by the genuine spontaneous outpouring of mutual love and appreciation from the cast to the audience and vice versa. i won't forget it

[steve-hen-grant]

Pas de deux (Jake Lockley x reader ) 🌙🩰

A/N: So! Kinda my first fic? Trying to exercise my writing skills. (You won’t believe how many times I had to just write “excersize” for autocorrect to save me.) So I hope y’all can enjoy the product of my practice!

In a previous post, I mentioned Jake crying while watching ballet. But what I meant to say was I had already developed a fic to this very concept. Needed the confidence to post it- which the reception to the first post got! It said Swan Lake, but for the plot’s conflict it’s Nutcracker.

Warnings: Fluff, mild comfort, reference to MK lore but you can pretend it isn’t, reference to Tchaikovsky mourning his sister, No use of Y/N, may be read as the POV of Layla, or yourself, mentions of Marc and Steven, no direct use of Spanish but reference to Jake speaking it, Reader may or may not know Spanish, it’s ambiguous this way for a self insert!, and again, my first full fan fiction. That is a warning. Surprisingly unserious. implied that narrator and the moon guys are visiting the US for this show.

Gender Neutral reader, but with uncomfortable formal shoes because they plague us all no matter

Word count: the word counter website broke so let me know when you get down there kk

You and Jake go to the Opera house in downtown Chicago. However, the loyal servant of the Moon God reacts unexpectedly…

Hours earlier, Jake struggled with his tie while I mulled over walking into the opera house together. His dark mustache furled as I helped arrange the black fabric and romanticized the pair of us strolling down the Chicago street: dressed to the nines, my arm in his, with the Christmas lights illuminating our path to the theater. Jake refused, mumbling something about how he didn’t want to make me walk longer in formal shoes than I had to. Knowing how I wouldn’t say anything, refusing to complain or burden the evening, until my Achilles tendons were shot by the time we got back to the hotel.

Among the three of them, Jake’s love language was having foresight to make life as accommodated and comfortable. But he forgets that he has a place in it.

Right now, in the brisk December evening, I trotted towards the warmly lit-refuge of the Civic Opera House. Jake dropped me off directly in front, rolling away to park his sleek Rolls Royce Phantom somewhere secure.

The exterior was like that of most concrete high-riser buildings. Though at ground level, in stark contrast, a sculpted arc entrance stood on the corner of the street. A light snow casted over the figures shaped into the stone. Tall preview posters displayed the principal dancer for the evening: the sugar plum fairy.

My pace towards the ticket booth was quick in the biting cold. The Opera house clerk smiled.

“Reservations under… Spector?”

“No- wait, yes. Yes.”

At my hesitation, I was rightfully earned a disconcerted expression. Marc must have booked the tickets. Before the words left her mouth, Jake appeared to save the day. Showing his- or Marc’s- ID. The clerk was satisfied and gave us two red tickets for entree. Jake took my arm in his, like a Highschool couple in a 50s movie. Between the regal opera house, the way he supports my arm, and opens the car door- truly old fashioned.

“Thanks, Marc,” I teased. He nudged me with his arm.

“Oh please, he made Steven book them,” Jake took off his gloves and stuffed them into his pocket. We handed our tickets off, and at last, we were on our way through marble floors and high ceilings to find seating.

Maybe that’s why we both enjoyed viewings in this specific opera house. It was completed in 1929, yet shined as brightly as ever. Velvet red fabrics and amber blown lights. If you weren’t careful, you could become easily motivated to write a romanticized novel.

In a world of my own, I don’t notice Jake looking over my face. But he wasn’t appreciating the interior of the architecture. Maybe the exterior of me.

Some hors d’oeuvres later, we situated in a balcony, closest to the stage. Jake insisted this would be ‘the best spot in the house’. From the balcony overview, patterns in the snow droplet’s sequence could be figured into the shape of snowflakes. Once again, Jake’s love language would make the evening special, by meticulous design. Jake’s prior knowledge of ballet was limited, yet his relationship to the music goes back.

No one would assume that, from what meets the eye. Even if you knew of his nightly servitude to Khonshu- there was less reason to believe he keeps a special mix of Tchaikovsky’s Greatest in his car’s dash. His work isn’t easy, and who doesn’t wind down to music? An avatar to the god of the moon is no exception.

Live orchestra has become a small thing for us. One that Marc chuffs at and Steven… would probably like to be apart of.

The elevated booth was tailored to the best view possible of the tilted stage. Below, forms of people moved to their seats, shed overcoats, and checked the time. Soon, the red curtains would pull apart to reveal the iconic home of the Stahlbaum’s, and delicate Clara center stage. It was a matter of time, and based on Jake’s mild leg bounce, not soon enough. I place a hand over his palm, steadying his nervous habit to a somber sway.

INTERMISSION

We returned to our secluded seats from the main area. Maybe or maybe not, pocketing some cheese squares and fancy crackers in napkins. Jake put his arm over the back of my seat and smirked, “You think I could do that?”

“Do what?”

“The dancing,” He grinned like a ferret. I pause for a moment to process the idea literally. You know what? Maybe. I’ve stayed in the car while Marc or Steven took care of their missions. From what I’ve seen, Moonknight is pretty agile. Mr. Knight is comparably a Gymnast. Making- often unnecessary- flips and turns over bullets and blades.

“Try asking Khonshu when you can take classes- conveniently between delivering justice.”

To which, Jake snickers. He takes his contraband-horderve from the lobby and speaks, “Oh yeah, it will happen. I’ll just borrow Steven’s tutu.” Jake looks aloft and grins, for a moment, it’s like I can hear his alter too.

“THOSE CLASSES WERE A ONE-OFF TIME!”

The second act. Clara and the Nutcracker prince have crossed the forest into a world of her childlike creation. Her and the prince are welcomed by flowers, candy, and snow. It seems like the defeat of the rat king would be the last of the room’s worries. Except for me.

Nearing a majestic finale, the nutcracker prince shares a dance with her majesty, the sugar plum fairy. He takes her hand and holds it, as her powder pink leg ascends. But this isn’t what Jake is thinking about. His eyes are hardly on the scene below, but he is paying attention to the music. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act II: No. 14a, Pas de deux. He holds his breath for a moment. A small gesture I might have missed if he didn’t drop my hand when he does so. I glanced at him, not wanting to disturb his fixation to the show.

And maybe I didn’t want to disturb the way his locks messily fell on his forehead and ears. He’s a gentleman, so he wouldn’t wear his hat into the event. But by removing it, the bunched hair underneath fell loosely. Marc and Steven were supposedly relentless about on the way downtown, if his passive looks to the rear view mirror meant anything.

Does a family of birds live in your hat, mate?

Cmon, Jake, everytime I get the body I have to run a comb through it.

After Jake lowered his hands from applause, he took mine in his again. As if he six whole minutes without it was too much. I press my thumb into his knuckles. He pulls my hand closer to him, holding it totally casually to his heart.

The Finale had wrapped up in a roar of an audience. The evening’s dancers made their bows and the orchestra had begun to pack up their bows and sheet music. Neither me nor Jake were one for crowds, but fortunately, the box seats were close enough to a flight of stairs that crew members likely took. We stood and peeked down the flight that turned around the ivory painted walls.

Jake held my arm and smirked, “Do you want to take a shortcut?”

I gave him a puzzled look. “That way? Are you sure there is an exit? We might get a meet and greet with the rat king,” I half-joke. Jake grins and his eyes light up at that risk.

My eyes narrow,

“You want to meet the rat king don’t y-“

“Yes.”

It’s Christmas. Might as well give Jake the gift of following through one of his mischievous schemes- together. Jake is laughing and throughly unserious as we move closer to the landing of the stairwell. I slide my hand down the glossy railing, “If we find this rat thing-“

“When. When we find the rat thing,” Jake interrupts.

I pause and continue, “Yes, my apologies. When we find the rat, are you going to valiantly slay it, and save me?”

Jake thinks for a moment, stopping on the stairs. He responds, “I’ve fought weirder.” I nod agreeably as we continue hand in hand. But he mumbled something I couldn’t hear, perhaps some Spanish intonations, but too low to react to.

But I had a pretty good idea what he meant to say out loud. Jake will show his affection in careful planning, a car ride anywhere, but not typically his words. In those tender instances where he has to resort to sweet nothings, he expresses it in Spanish. The words flow so naturally that they aren’t being filtered by a process of translation. Just his feelings, as they are.

I smile, and pull him into my arm tighter. It was more than likely he was protectively, lovingly ranting about how well he would protect me. How he would welcome the chance to prove it. In the dimly lit corridor we found ourselves in, we located an exit door and push it. I recall the December air and hold his arm closer.

Jake holds up his keys and presses down on his buttons. Immediately after leaving the back door, we are greeted by the flashing headlights of his car in a neighboring lot. Jake looks at my face of surprise and laughs, “You thought I was going to let you walk so far in those shoes?”

While in the car, on the way back to the flat, Swan Lake plays over the radio. I clutch my coat in the warm embrace of the car’s heating system. Jake is tapping his finger along while letting cars through, but he stops as the piece ends and the next begins. The Pas de deux. This time, I don’t miss my chance to ask. My hand grazes his leather coated arm, “You alright?” Jake keeps a deadpan look through the droplets on the windshield, blinking several times. I lean in a touch closer, “Jake?”

“Uhm, I just read where, you know, what’s-his-face, wrote this piece for his sister who passed. It uhm…” Jake, agitated by the way his mouth wants to curl into a grimace in front of me, lays his arm down in a finalizing gesture. He was done talking about it, not without losing clear vision while driving. I hold his gloved hand, and without thinking, hold it to his chest. His shoulders finally lowered. The light turned green. The music filling the gentle silence.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~🌙~~~~~~~~~~~~

[operafantomet]

Just saw phantom live at west end and wow! The sets were big! Now I wonder if other replicas had bigger sets.

For a second I read that as "West End Live", AKA the annual concert thingie with led screens... And I was like HUH?

Then I understood what you meant. Heh.

First and foremost, I am so happy you had a good time at POTO. It is a beautiful show. I am a huge fan of Maria Bjørnson's set and costume design, and still today - some 30 years after I became a fan - I can be utterly floored by certain scenes.

As far as set size goes West End is actually one of the smaller. Not SMALL, but smaller. Some of the biggest to date include (in no particular order):

The Las Vegas production 2006-2012, with its especially-built theatre with gigantic stage, dome, and "chandelier in pieces". Huge production, larger-than-life details.

The original Hamburg production 1990-2001. Another theatre built to house Phantom (and today one of the top musical theatre buildings in Germany). Extremely wide stage, to the point where Maria Bjørnson was not entirely happy with the proscenium layout. It didn't blend as well as elsewhere. In some scenes it also felt like the cast literally had to run across stage to get into position in time. Oh Hamburg. Needless to say, they narrowed the stage for the revival 2013-2015.

The Stuttgart production 2002-2004 also featured a big stage. I can't tell if it was bigger than Neue Flora in Hamburg or not, but it was in the same vein.

Oh! But also the original Los Angeles production (1989-1993). Massive proscenium and stage. And yet I don't have a single good photo showing the proscenium or its scale. Hmpf.

I would also mention the World Tour, which has toured in at times huge arenas. It didn't necessarily make the proscenium bigger, but they sometimes did the extended side sculpture look, where there is a drape structure under the sculptures. This was the case when I saw the show in the fairly brand new Zorlu Theatre in Istanbul 2015:

This could even be considered one of the smaller World Tour stages. In other cases they've been in huge operas or also arenas. Again, it doesn't necessarily mean the set-up on stage is bigger, but it does something with the overall scale. Here's Hong Kong 2014:

Compared to these Her Majesty's Theatre is way more intimate, both in Maria Bjørnson's original proscenium design and chandelier:

And the new wider and angel-less design for the revival:

Just to continue showing the range of set-ups... I suspect one of the smallest stages they've performed the show has been in Copenhagen. The stage is tall, but narrow, and quite cramped backstage. They were originally told no when they wanted to do the show, due to the backstage and understage space. But they came up with lots of methods to make sets foldable, collapable or deconstructable, and hoisting furniture and set pieces up in the air. And they made it work. Very well! But this production didn't feature any side sculptures, just like the riginal Stockholm production where they got the sets from, to not obstruct side view of the already narrow stage.

Now compare those proportions (and especially the Golden Angel, which I don't think differ a lot in size between productions) to the Las Vegas stage... quite the difference, both with and without the side boxes in the auditorium.

...and that has been today's proscenium and stage nerding... Hah!

[wheel-of-fish]

Videos from stream 200

I've gotten a lot of requests for links to the videos we watched last night, so here's a list! Let me know if I missed anything, and thanks so much for celebrating with me!

Cast vlogs Daae Days with Sierra Boggess (ep. 2 | ep. 5) Dear Daae with Ali Ewoldt (ep. 4 | ep. 6) John Cudia's video diary (ep. 1 | ep. 2 | ep. 3)

Character studies Hugh Panaro Gardar Thor Cortes Peter Jöback

Holiday stuff Phantom Australia cast sings carols Broadway cast sings "All I Want for Christmas" Opera owners sing "I Have a Little Dreidel" Opera owners sing "All I Want for Christmas"

Various Stolle videos Raoul Vine Backstage makeup Backstage costumes Backstage warmups and rituals Mahna Mahna

Favorite fan edits Hugh had a bad day (@box5intern) Hugh and "ignorant FøöLé" (@box5intern) YK Seoul alternate ending (@box5intern) Saulo hands (@box5intern) Howard McGillin yelling "AHHH" over and over (@glassprism) Yankee Doodle LND (@glassprism) Hold on for one more day (@les-gnossiennes-fantomatiques)

Misc. behind-the-scenes Laird Mackintosh shares Phantom Broadway secrets Kelly Mathieson dressing room confessions

Actor performances Ted Keegan - "Music of the Night" Emilie Kouatchou - "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" Norm/Ben/Howard/Hugh - "Music of the Night" Emilie Kouatchou & Jordan Donica - "All I Ask of You"

Miscellaneous Peter Karrie—warring ducks Phantom trying to dock his boat during winter (Chris Fleming) Cocktails with Paul Schaefer: masquerade margarita Cocktails with Paul Schaefer: sweet intoxication Vintage promotional video (Crawford/Brightman) Sierra, Peter and Norm helping Ramin with sound check

[tarabyte3]

Enjoy some photos I took of Andy while waiting in line at PopCon Indy 2024!

Saturday:

Sunday:

And the one mediocre shot I took of him during the panel Saturday:

The microphone wasn't working during the Q&A, so he walked over and handed the fan his own, and then stayed there while he answered the question. 🥺

Panel highlights:

- The Lord of the Rings cast once threw a Hedwig and the Angry Inch party where they all dressed in drag and drank heavily.

- Bill Nighy was apparently so funny during the making of Flushed Away that Andy struggled to get through takes.

- One of his big hobbies when he was a kid was collecting the model kits of classic monsters like Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Phantom of the Opera. (God I fucking love him so much)

- He said that, after Animal Farm is finally finished, one of his dream projects would be to adapt The Phantom Tollbooth! AND that he would love to play The Humbug! (Of course 😂)

- Speaking of: Animal Farm finally has an animation studio signed on and is fully locked in, so it's closer to being finished! Andy said the cast list will probably be announced soon, and that's it's an incredible list of actors he's very excited about.

- He did the Gollum voice and told the Diz story 😍

Side note: The reason I only took one picture is because, while I was watching him talk (I was smack in the middle of the second row!!), I noticed everyone around me had their phones out and pointed at him. And they were looking at their screens more than they were at him. So for the entire panel, he was basically looking out into a sea of phones instead of real, engaged humans. And I ABSOLUTELY get being excited and snapping some pictures (because I do it to capture the moment too!), but it was constant. For 45 minutes. I felt so bad watching him glance around, and I've been trying to be more present in my life anyway, so I put my phone away and enjoyed listening to him talk.

[luvhughes43]

surprise at the theatre | luca fantilli

[luvhughes43 masterlist🌷]

request: Hi, I have a request for Luca! So reader is at Michigan and she’s maybe involved with like show choir or theater or something like that and Luca is just her biggest number one fan. Just something cute and fluffy with Luca please

word count: 0.3k

the opening night of your schools production of phantom of the opera was tonight, and after many years of hard work in your department's theatre program you had finally scored yourself the position of the musical's lead. 

with all the excitement though, you were sad that your boyfriend of three years - luca fantilli - had a hockey commitment that he couldn’t get out of. 

however as a true performer does, you push past any of your disappointments and channel all of your energy into the music and into your performance. 

the crowd was lit with excitement for the show, and you had never sang better as you fed off the crowd's energy and your own feelings. 

finally, when you sing your last note and bowed in front of the blinding crowd you finally pause and let yourself take in your surroundings. while the stage light was absolutely blinding making it impossible to discern the faces in the crowd, there was one unmistakable voice louder than the rest. 

your face hurt from the strength of your smile as you recognize lucas loud voice coming from the cheering crowd. you bow graciously with the rest of the cast, so beyond excited to get out of your costume and meet your boyfriend outside. 

“baby! you were on fire tonight!” luca shouts as soon as he sees you leaving the theatre's backstage door. 

“lu! you came!” you shriek, running into your boyfriends outstretched arms. 

“of course i did, i wouldn't miss this for the world,” his eyes are shinning, heart so full of love for you. 

when you pull away from him you notice the bouquet of gorgeous flowers in his hands. “these are for you!” he laughs, gently passing you the bouquet.

“i thought you had a hockey thing?” you question, still in shock that luca was standing in front of you. “and thank you for the flowers!”

“i negotiated myself out of it,” luca smiles, pressing a tender kiss to your lips which you can’t help but smile into. 

“i love you,” 

“i love you too,” 

the rest of the night your smile was etched upon your face. you were completely infatuated with this boy and he was with you.

[nicolovespancakes]

Time I added something to the Sebaciel train-

The band Ghost, whom I love dearly and have seen live, (I have a limited edition black batwing hoodie with the Grucifix on the back, it was over 100 dollars 🥰😭), which I have heard every song of,

Is literally just Sebastian-coded. Specifically Sebastian @ Ciel coded.

Mary on a cross? Absolutely about Sebastian face-fucking Ciel Phantomhive. Get recked.

"If you choose to run away with me, I will tickle you internally, and I see nothing wrong with that."

Square Hammer? Absolutely about the moment they made their contract, from Sebastian's Point of View.

"Living in the night, 'neath heavens torn asunder, you call on me to solve a crooked rhyme. As I'm closing in, imposing on your slumber. You call on me as bells begin to chime.

Are you on the square? Are you on the level? Are you ready to swear right here, right now, before the devil?"

Call Me Little Sunshine? Absolutely their bond.

"You will never walk alone. You can always reach me. You will never ever walk alone. All you have to do is call me,

- Ease up to the hunter from the prey,"

Cirice? Sebastian's view of Ciel when they first meet, and whilst they make the contract.

"I know your soul is not tainted, even though you've been told so. Can you hear the rumble? Can you hear the rumble that's calling?

I can feel the thunder that's breaking in your heart. I can see through the scars inside you. I can feel the thunder that's breaking in your heart. I can see through the scars inside you,

A candle casting a faint glow. You and I see eye to eye,

Now there is nothing between us. From now our merge is eternal. Can't you see that you're lost? Can't you see that you're lost without me?"

And I cannot HELP but think of Rats as Sebastian seeing what's happening at the Kelvin Mansion at the end of BoC, and the servants subsequently killing the circus troop.

"Into your sanctum. You let them in. Now all your loved ones, and all your kin, will suffer punishments beneath the wrath of God. Never to forgive,"

Kiss The Go-Goat is self explanatory. Ciel fucks a demon. Moving on.

"Osculum Obscenum, *kiss*"

Ritual is Sebastian being summoned by the cult.

"Tonight, we're summoned for a divine cause. Remembrance, no. But for their future loss.

This chapel of ritual, smells of dead human sacrifices, from the altar."

Spillways is what I feel like Sebastian would think of his and Ciel's ever-evolving game, and Ciel's revenge.

"Through benediction, you tried to rid your mind of malediction. But through all this time, you try to peel it off, and it's such a ride.

All your faith, all your rage, all your pain, it ain't over now. And I ain't talking about forgiveness. All your faith, all your rage, all your pain, it ain't over now.

It's the cruel beast that you feed. It's your burning yearning need to bleed."

Phantom Of The Opera? Reminds me of when Sebastian is ordered to commit acts of violence or savagery.

"I'm standing in the wings. There I wait for the curtain to fall, and knowing the terror and holding I have on you all,

Yeah, you know that I'm gonna scratch you and maim you and maul, and you know you're helpless from my mesmerizing catcall."

ANYWAY,

IF I MADE A PLAYLIST, FOR THEM, ITS ALL GHOST SONGS

LMAO.

That's all.

My contribution to the Sebaciel fans. Yall are lovely. I adore you.

Mwah.

[avaphantomau]

Welcome all, to the Phantom of the Opera AvA AU!

Fans of Alan Becker's incredible animations, as well as any who have ever seen the masterpiece that is Phantom of the Opera, I welcome you to this blog!

This world is still very much in the making, and I'd like to involve the AvA community as much as possible!!

That means I am asking for suggestions, requests, your involvement and interaction, because this world is for you!

Now, let's get to the primary information we have so far, starting with the cast!

The main characters of the ava will be taking the place of the main cast, but fear not! Should you want any of your oc's in this world, and now fear that they'll be hardly featured, let me put that to rest!

As this is an au, I want to keep the phantom of the opera vibes and main idea of course, but I also want to make changes, to help fit with ava better, to add more events involving the minor characters, and so forth!

This ask box will be open for suggestions or requests of that like, Indefinitely!

Now! I shall have my questions for you, after the Cast Listing we have so far!

Main Cast:

(PotO character: which stick will have that role)

Christine: Dark

Raul: Chosen

Phantom: Corrupted!Victim

The new theatre owners: King and Purple (Purple in this au will be about half King's age, in his mid twenties, with King in his forties)

That elder lady who tries to keep the others out of danger and knows the phantom: Second

The retiring theatre owner: Redwood(corn dog guy)

The Color Gang are part of the performance crew

Investor in the theatre that hangs around: Victim

OC cast roles so far:

Prima Donna: Savage

Second's secret daughter/eyes and ears: Fallen (referred to often as Effsie)

Prima Donna's minion: Cherry

Meg: Shin

Conductor: TTB

Background stage crew member #5: TLB

Background stage crew member #2: Yimbo

Performer/singer #6: Luna (TSL)

Backgound stage crew member #7: Heavy

Performer/singer #8: Light

That one guy who's somehow always lucky enough to miss or be missed by any damage: Greg

And that's all we have so far! If you'd like your oc to be in this, and or if you have a role/new role in mind, please please please ask me! I'd love to include them!

Now!

There are things about the au that haven't been settled or decided yet! I would love your help to decide these things, or to get new questions to answer!

Is there a major change we should make to this au to fit the theme? (For example, i found an rotg fic that changed the main theme from singing, to dancing, and there were many things that were different because of that, but it still felt like a phantom of the opera thing)

This one isn't as much of a major change, but should Chosen and Dark be brothers, or shipped? (I'll make a poll for this tbh)

What are some new events or scenes i could add to feature the ocs more? I already have ideas for a cast party scene :D

SPOILERS BELOW

Currently, I have C!Victim as a glitched stick, which is what earned him people seeing him as a freak, like phantom was in the thing. Is this a good idea? Should I change anything and are there any specifics I could do?

I want Dark to have some kind of cool and useful glitch that is really neat, but the mere fact of having a glitch is why Alan sent him to this performance theatre, as well as the reason for C!Victim's obsession with him. It would be something that would enhance him when performing in some way. What are some ideas y'all have for what it could be?

Since there is a Corrupted Victim, I want to have a non Corrupted victim that is more like some of the gentle phantom interpretations. I'm considering having him be some kind of investor in the theatre that is always hanging around. Is this a good role for him, and what could be a reason for there being two victims?

Alan would just be this larger than life background memory of a character that never makes an appearance, but is referenced when that scene of Dark and Chosen are talking about the past, when it is mentioned that he sent Dark away all that time ago. Should I do anything more with him?

And that is all I have so far!

Please spread this around to your ava friends or mutuals, as hopefully this will be a whole community thing!