#west end revival cast

[operafantomet]

First glimpse of Joanna Ampil as Carlotta in the POTO West End revival

( from her Instagram )

[plounce]

elle and emmett from the legally blonde musical are one of those m/f couples that i think work best as a woman and a man purely because their relationship and how elle wouldn't stay at harvard for him because she has grown to want true respect & success more than a man she loves' approval/desire is like so important to the themes of the story and it's the whole point and it's part of what makes them so good. on the other hand emmett could be such a hot butch lesbian it's crazy i want to eat drywall when i think about emmett forrest but a butch lesbian BUT it simply would not improve and in fact would detract from the themes of the story. they have to be m/f

[phantomtrader19]

(HALF*) 2024/25 cast REVIEW 31.08.2024

Spent 2 shows yesterday at phantom which I haven’t done in a while! Planned this couple months ago to see the new cast however I had covers for Raoul, Mme Giry & Piangi and all swings on too! There was a lot of people off!

First off it felt so strange to not see some cast members who had been there since 2021!

Ensemble was made up of all 5 swings being on which is a first for me I think?

Overall lovely performances from all, new corps de ballet were gorgeous as always!

For the Principals I’ll start with Millie Lyon as Meg who was brilliant - lovely youthful voice, feisty characterisation and a BLONDE wig! I’ve missed the blonde wig! Fantastic Meg looking forward to seeing her much more.

Martin Ball as Firmin is an absolute triumph! Hilariously pompous and arrogant and such a grumbly kind of voice he was a standout last night, he seemed to play the role like he was tipsy drunk the majority of the time and he was just not interested in all the dramas going on. Great chemistry with Adam which I admittedly thought may have been difficult to achieve after Matt Harrop but I absolutely loved his take on the character!

Hywel Dowsell was on for Piangi, last time I seen him he was second cover and was on for the first time in 18 months! Lovely nuanced performance with little ad-libs and added acting pieces - really enjoyed!

Victoria Ward was on for Mme Giry I’ve seen her once before and I really enjoyed her and even yesterday she was such a standout! Beautiful voice and again such nuanced acting and more motherly to Meg!

Joanna Ampil as Carlotta was very different to what we’ve seen before, less operatic and more ever so slightly belty sometimes her voice got a little lost in the music, still some gorgeous top notes but I just was hoping for a little more oomph from her voice. acting wise was generally great but I did hope for a little more over the top like Carlotta should be, looking forward to seeing how she grows into the role over the next year!

Enjoyed Michael as Raoul - super strong voice and some great acting choices! I’ve now seen him as many times as I’ve seen Joe! (6 times) Joe is admittedly more my cup of tea acting wise but I enjoyed him nonetheless.

Lily was on fire yesterday, gorgeous voice and acting was out of this world, a top tier Christine by miles! My only slight gripe is her last note in think of me I’m not sure if the orchestra is rushing her or something else but it’s very short, her other high notes are held much longer but I just wish she got to hold it slightly longer as it felt super rushed, 8th time seeing her and always finding new things I love about her Portrayal! Her chemistry with Dean was also insane!!!

Now for Dean, I heard the opening night audio and I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about his voice and didn’t hear too much acting albeit through audio so my expectations were mid however, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY that was how a Phantom should sound his voice literally vibrated the auditorium and was just ridiculously gorgeous!!! Acting wise he was more gentler with Christine until the final lair when he let loose. I’ll go out on a limb and say from all the Phantoms I’ve seen he may have been my favourite in line with Earl Carpenter - vocally 100% my favourite he reminded me of Colm Wilkinson, Tim Howar & Killian Donnelly in some musical points. a firm favourite!

Really great cast, will be back to catch the full principal cast so I can see Helen Hobson as Mme Giry!

Aiming to see Eve with the new cast too as I last saw her nearly a year ago and must’ve caught an off show as she wasn’t sounding great but after hearing more recent audios she sounded as beautiful as her debut! Would also love to see Zoe on as Carlotta as she has a voice that lifts the ensemble to new heights!

I do have audios from the 2 shows yesterday, please message me to trade but disclaimer that my replies are not great rn as work has been super hectic!

[devil-takethe-hindmost]

this might be the biggest downgrade in history

wait no the massacre of the star princess is worse

[thesongofpurplesummer]

So I read some Newsies head canons that Elmer is Jewish, and also some that he is of the youngest newsies, so can you guys tell me some of your head canons for what happens at Elmer’s bar mitzvah cuz I think they would be awesome 😂

[littleeliza-lotte]

29/07/23 stagedoor, I was so happy to see some of the cast here one more time, such beautiful and talented people. And Matt told me I leveled up my game every time I came 😅

[phantomchristinesuk]

Are there any rumours about January/February cast change in London? Do you know if there will be a new Christine?

The only rumour I have heard (in relation to Christine) is that Paige will leaving.

Which would kind of make sense if she signed a 12 month contract as that is when her one will finish.

I believe everyone else signed a 12 month one from July but some could have signed 6 months.

The only other person I think could leave is Jon, unconfirmed and I don’t know what his contract was and since he started in April it makes it a bit more confusing.

[all-seeing-ifer]

been chewing over my helen k wint cord thoughts for the past 24 hours (my actual serious thoughts. not just my "lesbian cord elam hot please please please wife me" thoughts) and I can't stop thinking about how different a female cord elam hits. particularly when it comes to the trial scene I was feeling a very different vibe watching her trying to take a stand against this miscarriage of justice and getting told essentially that she doesn't know what she's talking about and should shut the fuck up. like don't get me wrong it's always been an uncomfortable moment especially bc cord in this revival has already always been played by actors of colour (and i'm pretty sure specifically black actors) but having the actor also be a woman is definitely a notable additional layer to that. pretty much every version of revival cord has had a rough deal but with helen k wint it feels like there's now even more that she'd have had to overcome to be in a position of authority in this community and even more excuse for the other characters to dismiss her as soon as it's convenient for them

[flagbridge]

"There will never be a day when I won't think of you."

Paige Blankson as Christine Daaé in Phantom of the Opera, West End Revival, 2023 (also feat, James Gant lurking in the mirror) , @lasagnatrades, master.

Farewell, Paige. It seems like this year's Christine alternate, Paige Blankson, has quietly left the London cast. There have been no social media posts about her departure, and she's been removed from the website. It's not clear why--she has only done a handful of shows since October after otherwise nearly perfect attendance. Wishing her happy trails and the best in everything.

I tried, but never got to see her live. Fortunately, there are several videos of her portrayal of the Swedish soprano. She seemed to be like a sweet Disney princess lost in the Paris Opera, ready to sing amongst the birds, and who genuinely cared for the Phantom because her Christine was compassionate and kind. I loved how she smiled when the Phantom appeared--if you look at my Gantom gifset, you also see her smiling during First Lair a bunch.

She was a pleasure to watch and a difference amongst other 2023 anglophone Christines in how she approached the character. She was one of only a handful of Black Christines ever, and for a time we had Christines of color in both New York and London (Emilie Kouatchou, Kanisha Marie Feliciano in New York, Lucy St. Louis in London, and then Paige as alt after Holly-Anne Hull became principal). (Also--Phans correct me/add here if I'm missing anyone)

There should be a new Alternate announcement soon, and Colleen Curran will likely be going on Tuesdays and Fridays for a bit as Eve Shanu-Wilson announced she's going on vacation. Paige had a lot of promise and whatever reason she needed to step back, the Phans are supportive. Cheers, Paige!

[wherebettertoescape]

Thoughts on The Outsiders Album

Okay, as I said yesterday, I have a LOT of thoughts on the album and I decided to revive this page so I stop bothering everyone IRL with my thoughts about it 😂 I figure there must be a good amount of people on tumblr who are down to listen to my rants about the album, so here goes.

I'll put it under a cut so there aren't any spoilers for anyone who hasn't listened yet, and I know there's one or two things which I've heard about the prouction via other posts and such. But I will stress that I haven't actually seen it, I've only listened to the album and obsessed over it 😂

It's also below the cut because it's fucking LOOOOONG

Please reply to this or send in your own thoughts - I have so much I want to talk about to do with this album and I'm like... shaking with the need to talk about it with people who actually want to listen 😂

(sad times living in the UK 🥲)

I'm gonna go through the album sequentially, like track by track, because that feels like the thing to do, even though I will say right off that I definitely have more thoughts about some tracks than others. And I will also give my favourite line from each song. But for a just, like, general overview to begin with - I love the album so much?

I will fully admit that I was kinda preparing myself for it to be bad - it's a book that I love and I wasn't the biggest fan of the movie adaptation for a few key reasons, but I was so pleasantly surprised by the musical soundtrack.

I'm in love with the style of music, I love the entire cast (all of them have such different singing voices and styles and I think that they merge together so beautifully), and it has most of the things that I love in a musical - for me, it's got the right balance of the talking sections included with the singing, as well, which I know some people aren't huge fans of, but I might be biased because Soda is and always has been my favourite character and most of the talking is by him 😂 (I love Jason Schmidt, but we'll talk about that later), and as well as that the style of music and singing like gives me a good picture of what the actual choreography might look like, which I'm obsessed with, since I probably won't get to see it unless it somehow gets to the West End (🤞🏻)

Tulsa '67

Okay so this song is just like ✨exposition ✨ but it's done in a fun way, and I've decided it's worth it just for the finale reprise

I was also like stupidly emotional the first time I heard it and it opened with the opening line of the book

I was wary because of the immediate characterisation of Sodapop as being the brother "with a broken heart" (side note - does this mean Sandy broke his heart before the show rather than after it? I've goes QUESTIONS) - I'll go into it again when we get into Grease Got a Hold for obvious reasons, but I was worried that Soda was gonna be reduced into just being a womaniser again, which is something that bothered me about the movie adaptation

Favourite line: "all the girls are pretty there, and all the guys are mean"

Grease Got a Hold

right so it has no right to be as much of a bop as it is, it's been stuck in my head for the past week since it came out and I can't even be mad about it 😂

It's essentially just a typical "gang" song to introduce and characterise all the different members

Dally always saying "Little brother" got me so emotional like immediately

And I know I just said that I was upset with Soda's characterisation as a womaniser, but considering later songs, I will say I do find it really funny that he basically just goes "yeah I'm a greaser bc I love women 😊"

I LOVE TWO-BIT MATTHEWS - I would die for Daryl Tofa, just something soooooo good about the line he gives after Soda's verse

I have to admit, I was a little worried that they were gonna be pushing some anti-Darry propaganda, but I had no cause to worry, as he's an actual angel. Also it's so funny how fucking Done he is the moment he starts speaking

Something really funny about Steve not getting a verse, but something really sad about Johnny not getting one, but I don't have fully fleshed out thoughts yet so I'm gonna leave that there

But also there's just something about all of them trying to act tough, but all of them just have the voices of angels

Favourite line: "I'm a latch-key kid but they keep changing the locks" and also "you wanna be a fighter? then know just what you're fighting for"

Runs in the Family

I'm upset because this song has been such an ear-worm for me, but it's actually just so sad? There are a couple of these, but this is one of the main ones for me

It immediately makes Darry just such a sympathetic character - it's well documented that Ponyboy doesn't feel like he's enough of a greaser, but I don't think we talk enough about Darry is a reluctant greaser

Side note: but I'm really glad that they included Darry having dropped out of school to look after Soda and Pony, because that was kinda glossed over in the movie, which I felt did Darry a disservice

I just want to hug Brent Comer and tell Darry that he's doing a good job and everything will be okay 🥲

Favourite line: "I don't know what them boys would ever do without me - and what would I do on my own?"

Great Expectations

honestly this song deserves a post all of it's own, and maybe one day I'll do a full analysis of it

but in the meantime, it's fucking GORGEOUS, like Brody Grant has NO RIGHT to sound like this I'm so mad

THE FUCKING HARMONIES I WANNA SCREAM THEY'RE SO GOOD

One of the things I've loved about the soundtrack in general is how Pony in particular draws parallels and comparrisons between Johnny and the other greasers - here it's between Darry and Johnny, and I love it because Pony references in the book that he feels like he and Johnny are the outsiders in the greasers, he feels like neither of them really belong there, and they convey that so well in the musical with these constant comparisons in the songs and music

The continual return back to this idea of a self-fulfilling prophechy - trying to prove that they're not all the same just because they're greasers (like with the different verses in Grease Got a Hold), and this striving for individuality despite the overarching label they've been given

Favourite line: "It's hard to write this story, when this story's writing me"

Friday at the Drive-in

they all just sound so young - that's my main take-away from this song

I love songs in musicals like this where you're forced to be reminded how young the characters are and you have to humanise them a bit more - a bit like with "Drink with Me" in Les Mis

Also anytime that a soundtrack includes the dance-break it makes me so happy 🥲

Favourite Line: "Got no more stress, nothing to worry me - no more teacher's pet or trigonometry"

I Could Talk to You All Night

I need to say that I love this song, but the opening from Cherry is so fucking savage - like fucking hell there's no need to do that to Pony 😂

Again obsessed with Pony not feeling like enough of a Greaser

I'm a sucker for two people who feel lost in their own worlds finding each other and bonding because they can be themselves in a way that they can never be around their other friends

It's just such a pretty duet, and I want more of Brody Grant and Emma Pittman singing - we could have a million songs of the two of them and it wouldn't be enough

Favourite line: "I'd rather read then fight a rumble, but Greasers have to go along"

Runs in the Family (Reprise)

Dude it's such a serious song, and I'm obsessed that despite that there's just Soda being a little shit in the background

"I'll fold your laundry - I'LL FOLD ALL OF IT"

I love that even in this song it's like you can tell he's just so worried about Pony but it's coming out so angry and frustrated

So full of grief for the life he almost had

He's just so angry at Pony for still being able to dream, and it's like he feels like he needs to prepare Pony for real life, because he feels like he can't dream or wish for things anymore

And then just the screeching violin at the end of the song followed by DEAD FUCKING SILENCE, and then it switches to the next song where Pony starts singing acapella it's just herugighadlsiughukdhjsak, y'know?

Favourite line: "Whats the use in dreaming, about a life I'll never know? That ship sailed long ago"

Far Away from Tulsa

okay so I've already said that I'm obsessed with it beginning with Brody Grant acapella, and I know that the songs probably don't flow straight from one to the other in the actual production, but for the sake of the cast recording the effect is incredible

But also, there was absolutely no need to make this song so gay 😂 - Ponyboy, the bisexual icon we all need

It's very reminiscent of Santa Fe, with just kids dreaming for a life that they could have outside of their big city. Especially with the line "this place is real, it's not just in my head", which is VERY similar to "just be real is all I'm asking, not some painting in my head", but I'm okay with it because Brody Grant is incredible

But that line, as well as the one "'Ponyboy you're just a dreamer', that's what both my brothers say" are also really great links back to the previous song with the references of him being a dreamer, and that being what sets him apart from the other Greasers

I also just wanna say that I think it's criminal that there weren't more Pony/Johnny duets. Sky Lakota-Lynch and Brody Grant own my soul

Also catch me being emotional over Johnny's dream being wanting a family - he doesn't realise that he's already got one in the gang 🥺 (I could write an essay about this and Dally's continued use of 'little brother')

OKAY ALSO OBSESSED WITH THE CIRCLE BACK TO GREAT EXPECTATIONS, AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE LYRICS CHANGE FROM

"Torn between what is and what could be. It's hard to write this story when this story's writing me"

TO

"It's all becoming clear, there's no way we're gonna find that here"

GOTTA ESCAPE TULSA TO ESCAPE THEIR FATE, SOMETHING AGAIN ABOUT SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECIES, I JUST CAN'T

Favourite line: "I'm tired of blindly watching as we're inching towards the ground"

Run Run Brother

There's so much to say about this song, but I literally can't formulate the words, so it's probably gonna be one that I come back to and properly analyse later. so in the meantime, here are my key take-aways

right from the beginning, it gives just an "oh-shit" feeling, just so much urgency and desperation

All three of them have such different singing voices and styles and the combination of the three just makes me so happy and I don't even know how to like express what I'm feeling

Back to the thing about Dally always calling Johnny (and Pony, but we're emotional about Johnny here) "brother"

the music is just so fitting - I feel like I need to be up and moving every time I hear it, like if I ran ever this would be on the playlist 😂

And I'm going insane over the echoes of what has been previously been said - the "grease isn't given it's something you earn", and "let's leave this behind, let's just get up and go" like you're FORCED to face that they are being given what they want but in a really terrible way

Favourite line: "I hate to make you go, but there ain't no other way"

Justice for Tulsa

okay so I know that this is a really important song and everything, but I will admit this is the one I tend to skip most

I will say I think this song would hit harder if they kept with the themes of police brutality that there are in the novel and movie with regards to Dally's death (going off what I've heard about the script changes from people who have seen it, I can't verify myself)

The song feels very claustrophobic, with everyone just trying to blame everyone else, which I think is really well done. Especially with the multiple voices coming in with "you know just what you did"

And it does show the bias of the world trying to blame the Greasers just by reputation alone, which is thematically nice

and also just the kinda mob mentality of the whole thing, especially at the end, with a declaration of war

Favourite line: "or we could send them back a message, take an eye for an eye"

Death's at My Door

I think I've seen somewhere that this is the opening song for the second act and I just - fucking hell, what an opener 😂 they really just wanna destroy all of us, huh?

EDIT: I've been corrected, and it's Justice for Tulsa that starts act 2 - my bad guys, I don't know where I saw otherwise. JfT starting act 2 makes soo much more sense 😂

I wanted to like reach through my headphones somehow and hug Brody Grant, like holy shit

The first time I heard it all I could think about was how much he's going to blame himself when Johnny (and Dally) do die - especially with Johnny having comforted Pony about it

And I'm just emotional about the exploration of Pony thinking of himself as a burden on everyone he loves, especially going back to what Darry says to him in Runs in the Family reprise, just confirming everything that Pony already worries about himself

Favourite line: "I don't believe in the death that you're bringing - the reason I'm living is you"

Throwing in the Towel

I just love brothers okay? This song made me want to like message all my siblings and tell them I love them

I loved that we see Pony's inner thoughts and fears about being a burden on his brothers, immediately followed by seeing Darry's own thoughts and feelings - the two of them being so similar in how they blame themselves for everything

All three of the Curtis brothers being terrified of losing anyone else

AND THIS IS THE SODA CHARACTER REDEPTION I NEEDED - he becomes more than just the womaniser, you can see him having like actual thought and feelings, and the amount of emotion in Jason Schmidt's voice as he's trying to reassure Darry, like this song and Soda's letter gets across everything that makes Soda my favourite character

And there's something to be said about how they're finally like communicating their emotions 😂

Favourite line: "I know your head is full of doubt, but brother that's what love is all about"

Soda's Letter

Musical letters my beloved ❤️

I love songs like these - they're always just so vulnerable

It links to Tulsa '67 Reprise with the reference to how Soda kinda keeps the family all together. This song you can like see the strain that it has on him, trying to keep the brothers who he loves so much together, by trying to tell Pony that Darry does love him even though he shows it in a very different way

also anyone who has seen it and made it this far in the post can you tell me whether they keep in the bit about Pony reading this really heartfelt letter only to go "Soda's so dumb he can't fucking spell" because it's all I could think about when I listened to it for the first time

Favourite line: "Your brother needs you just as much as you need him, and brother we ain't doing to good alone"

Hoods Turned Heroes

The triumphant return of my beloved Two-Bit, and he's doing some king shit

I love him, okay?

This is another song where I know it's really important, but I actually don't have much to say about it, other than I do really enjoy it

Favourite line: "It's time to celebrate Greasers, take pride in the Greaser name"

Hopeless War

I love that it's just Cherry begging Pony not to change, and hoping that he's still an outsider of the Greasers like she is for the Socs, a hope that the two of them are still kindred spirits even after everything that happened

She knows that the rumble is gonna be where Pony loses that last bit of dreamer in him because he's holding just so much anger at the world - I dunno, there's something there I'm sure 😂

it's such a smooth transition into "Trouble" and I wanna SCREAM it's so good

Favourite line: "even if you win, it doesn't change a thing"

Trouble

It feels like a war chant or something

The music is just so agitated

It's like Run Run Brother where I feel the need to be up and moving

Favourite line: "Do it for Johnny, even the scores, time to rally the crew"

Little Brother

I get chills every time I listen to it

Something about Joshua Boone's voice guys, I don't even know like how someone goes about beginning to talk about it, but whoever takes over as Dally has got some big shoes to fill

It's a lament to Johnny, and I feel like I listen to it and I feel the same anger and indignation that Dally feels

It's a song where I listen to it and I know, even without having seen the production, how I'd stage it and that always makes me excited

The longer the song goes on, the more uneasy you feel listening to it

It links him and Darry together again, with how he blames himself for everything that happened to his little brother, he feels like he should have been able to protect Johnny, the way that Darry always tries to protect Ponyboy

The final tempo increase and the discordant violin at the end, and it feels like even just listening to it you're watching him fall into a grief-led madness, and his certainty that there's only one way that his story can end

Favourite line: "They can't take anymore from me - if I ain't got you, then I ain't got nothing else"

Stay Gold

It feels somehow criminal to put these songs next to each other, but I mean obviously they have to be - that's how they want you to feel, but it doesn't mean that I'm not mad about it

I've listened to it like a million times and it still brings me to tears every now and then

There's something about having the hopelessness of "Little Brother", with Dally bring so apologetic at having failed Johny, followed by Johnny asking Pony to tell him that there's still good in the world

Just how much everyone in this story needs each other and they don't realise that the others need them too, yknow?

Johnny being Dally's "gold" - a lot to say about that but yknow, this is already long as fuck

The simplicity of the music itself (same as with Soda's letter - makes them thematically the same blah blah blah with them both being letters and all that), but it makes the song much more vulnerable than some of the others - nothing for Sky Lakota-Lynch to hide behind

Also that line: "I have looked into a thankful father's eyes, telling me I've saved his daughters life", and how that links to what Johnny says in the book about the little girl's life being worth more than his - I dunno, it just got me emotional, okay?

Favourite line: "I hold on to the good 'cause I've made my peace with all the bad" and also "It's easy to forget when you're trying just to make it through"

Tulsa '67 Reprise

WE MADE IT BOYS (seriously though, for real, if you made it this far, thanks for reading through my descent into madness 😂 and please send your own thoughts and such, bc I'm desperate to hear other people's thoughts)

I said it at the beginning, but I think the reprise of this song makes the exposition at the beginning worth it

At the beginning we hear Ponyboy as a dreamer, and at the end he still has that, but rather than idolising and making everything spectacular, he sees beauty in the mundane - he sees it in his brothers, his friends, all of that

The call backs to the original song as well, which allow us to go back to the theme of looking at individuality - the Greasers wanting to be seen as more than just characatures, and by the end they are like fully-fleshed out people rather than just the basic stock figures we initially get them introduced as in Grease Got a Hold

The clearest examples are, of course, Darry and Soda

Darry goes from being "could have been a football star, people say he had a ticket out" to instead being "the toughest guy I've ever known"

Soda goes from "suffers from a broken heart" to "this family's life and soul"

and then it goes from "got no parents, we fend for ourselves" to "can you imagine how proud mum and dad would be"

just something so beautiful about that, I dunno

There's more I could say about the themes of brotherhood and individuality ("grease as their disguise", for example), but I'll spare it for now

Favourite line: "Just too damn good for growing old, and in his memory I stay gold"

(finally - if you've stuck around to the end, I've also recently set up an instagram account, just for me, so please also check that out if you wanna hear more about my thoughts about random musicals and stuff!)

Freddie 🐸 (Instagram)

[andrewlloydwebber]

FAMILY MEMBERS WORKING ON THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: A Fairly Exhaustive List

Note: I spent a significant time researching this post, searching for photos (thank you @operafantomet), and editing the photos (in some cases, significantly enhancing low quality photos). If you repost this content on another platform, credit would be much appreciated.

Annemarijn Maandag (u/s Christine in Oberhausen) and her sister Lillian Maandag (u/s Christine in the Vienna revival)

Rebecca Pitcher (Christine in the US tour, Broadway, and World Tour) and her brother Rob Pitcher (u/s Phantom, Raoul, and Piangi in Antwerp, Hamburg, and Oberhausen)

Mark Jacoby (Phantom in Chicago and Broadway) and his son Ben Jacoby (Raoul in the restaged US tour)

Ayumi Hikasa (ballerina in the 90s West End cast) and her daughter Maiya Hikasa (Meg in the West End revival)

Alexander Lewis (Raoul and u/s Phantom in the first Australian revival/World Tour) and his brother Ben Lewis (Phantom in the West End)

Morgan Cowling (Meg in the Restaged US tour) and Corinne Cowling (u/s Christine in the West End)

Per Engström (conductor in Stockholm and Copenhagen) and his daughter Christine (dresser in Copenhagen, and yes, she's named after Christine Daaé)

Sierra Boggess (Christine in Las Vegas, Royal Albert Hall, Broadway, and cancelled Paris) and Summer Boggess (cello player on Broadway)

George Lee Andrews (André and Firmin on Broadway) and his son-in-law Aaron Galligan-Stierle (André on Broadway)

In addition, there's Jan Kyhle (Raoul in Stockholm) and Magnus Kyhle (ensemble in Stockholm) but I don't have photos of Magnus in Phantom

[calvincell]

I’ve been making my way through my 3rd re-listen of the incredible podcast - Batman: The Audio Adventures & just appreciating once more not only how terrifically written it is by showrunner Dennis McNicholas but also incredibly well acted by all of the amazing cast. For any unaware, the podcast is an audio fiction blend of comedy & superhero drama that was previously only an exclusive for HBO MAX subscribers back in 2021 but now both released seasons are freely available on literally every podcast app including on MAX’s own YT Channel itself, no subscription required.

In particular, I love the Harvey Dent moment we get in Season 1 - Episode 6 - “The Whale of Damocles”:

I have to first off praise the inspired creative choice the series makes to give Two-Face the dynamic that his personas are essentially like constantly bickering twin brothers - arguing, name calling & posturing but still inseparable at the end of the day.

In the scene in question, Harvey’s binary obsession has allowed The Penguin to easily lure Dent to his favorite pier on the Gotham Wharf, Pier 2, to prevent a planted bomb from destroying it. Batman arrives soon after as Dent’s desperate search brings him to the most perilous part of the pier. Batman is so earnestly trying to appeal to Harvey to stop that he almost can’t prevent slipping into his Bruce Wayne voice when we then get an excellent memorable moment (@ ~31:50) where we get a glimpse at the tortorus psychosis Harvey is living through:

Harvey gives this tragic peek into his mind as he extols the awe-inspiring & nightmarish gospel he shares with his violent other half. It’s not only a very well written torrent of mad thoughts but also brilliantly & emotionally performed by Harvey/Two-Face’s VA: Ike Barinholtz. Batinholtz truly makes Harvey sound simultaneously mesmerized, terrified & sorrowful - on the verge of tears as he tells his former friend about the completely fractured way he views the world now & Batman’s actor Jeffrey Wright matches it with his desperate pleas to Harvey’s true self colored by the unflinching compassion he has for Dent.

For how invested the show is in genuinely trying to revive a bit of the Adam West era charm and fun camp & IMO successfully making the show legitimately funny, I believe it’s also equally in touch with the aspects of the franchise exemplified in shows like BTAS ie the darkness of the setting & emotionally resonant tragedy of both Batman himself and the different members within his rogues gallery. The show is not just sharp on a comedic level but also earnestly intriguing & engaging dramatically as well.

I have no doubt sung this show’s praises before but I don’t plan to stop anytime soon because I truly believe that the series is a must listen for every fan of Batman, superheroes & audio fiction/audio dramas generally. From top to bottom, the series is a brilliant production and stands to me personally as amongst the best content within the umbrella of DC Comics at least within the last decade.

[opera-ghost]

cabaret audio gift - october 23, 2024

[untracked audio]

please do not share outside of tumblr

CAST: adam lambert (emcee), ayla ciccone-burton (u/s sally bowles), bebe neuwirth (fraulein schneider), calvin leon smith (clifford bradshaw), steven skybell (herr schultz), ... cast info & playbill insert included in linked folder.

notes: adam lambert's emcee is astounding. vocally, he's the best emcee to come out of this production, and he has the acting chops to match. ayla ciccone-burton's sally seems a bit more worldly than auliʻi cravalho's, whose sally comes across as very young. i think i prefer cravalho's interpretation, but they're both amazing. bebe neuwirth is stunning as fraulein schneider, of course, and her chemistry with steven skybell as herr schultz is off the charts. as my relationship with cabaret has developed over time, i've become more and more invested in schneider and schultz's story over sally and cliff's, so i really love what neuwirth and skybell are able to do with the characters. i still love cliff and sally though, and calvin leon smith as cliff is possibly my favorite cliff out of all i've seen. he's so sweet and caring, and really plays the softness of the role so well. henry gottfried humanizes ernst a lot in his portrayal, which the character obviously doesn't deserve, but gottfried is great no less and what he brings to the role is impressive. his ernst comes off kind of queer in my opinion, at least in his interactions with cliff, which i think is in line with the direction from the west end. overall, i just love this show and while i was initially hesitant about this revival (as a huge fan of the mendes version), they really knocked it out of the park

[phantomtrader19]

2024/25 cast announcement should be right round the corner now! Hearing it’s a big one this year

Anyone got any speculations ? 👀

[highlordofkrypton]

PROLOGUE SUMMARY:

The world is in ruins. Humans and Faeries pick at each other’s teeth until the bone is whittled from flesh and all that is left is blood in their wake. They had been created equal, once. To think, they’d all fall prey to their own hubris. This is not what the Goddesses wanted. To Prythian, they are sending scouts to decide whether their world is worth saving, or whether it should be devoured and remade anew.

This is a dark fantasy, eldritch horror fic that may end up being unserious more often than not.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Hey, remember that You Wanted a Villain snippet? It's now a fic! I probably won't post the updates here, so follow on AO3 if you like. I'm just gonna be vibing with this one, writing that self-indulgent shit 👌

READ ON AO3 OR BELOW THE CUT

The world is in ruins.

Humans and Faeries pick at each other’s teeth until the bone is whittled from flesh and all that is left is blood in their wake. They had been created equal, once. One people who would breathe life from and into nature, the other that would build upon it in ways that even the gods could not imagine. It was thought that they would complete each other, those who danced in between the trees as spirits and the mortals who sacrificed immortality for knowledge.

To think, they’d all fall prey to the same selfishness.

This is not what the Goddesses wanted.

Creatures skitter across the cracked dry ground, gathering their offerings in the form of sticks, grain and withering greens. Very little survives in the Black Lands, an old forgotten place where myth and legends roamed free. The mound grows and grows until it overflows, a tidal wave of activity where not even the wind dares to blow. 

A wolf lopes towards the pile and the vermin part in reverence. It bows its head, honouring the ghost that sleeps here.

Smoke billows to the West, another prickle of life in this forgotten place. A small spark blooms into a shy flame; it casts dancing shadows across the withered bark of the Black Forest (now made only of skeletons). It distracts from the cloaked figure haunting these lands.

He darts into the wide maw of an unlit cave, clothes billowing behind him with just a breadth of magic. He hides from no one, but he makes no noise, giving way to stirring of the Black Lands—a quiet, haunting symphony. (It can be heard by those who listen with more than their mortal tools. Its revival should wring in their guts, twist them into knots and let bile rise back up into their gullets.) 

The Stranger clenches his fist, tighter and tighter, until the strength of his nails cut into his palm. Blood trickles down his palm and into a small black bowl on the ground.

Awaken, he beckons, not with words, but his entire being.

The Black Lands shudder.

They are coming.

***

Late.

A sentiment that echoes through the Black Lands, like a steady unimpressed voice. The Wolf and the Billowing Smoke met the Stranger, the former’s shoulders stuttering in muffled laughter. The Smoke simply laughs openly without a care in the world.

“Is our little Nightshade upset?”

The Stranger’s ethereal blue eyes narrow and his nostrils flare in clear annoyance. Beings of their age need not words, those are a creation of later when the abundance of races needed some universal language that was not power. He says nothing, jaw flexing in all the things he won’t be goaded into saying. There is only one creature in the world that breaks the Stranger’s composure and it is of the greatest unfortunate that it is made of smoke and sass.

“He is so angy,” the Smoke continues, a wicked smile forming on its pale imitation of a face.

“Angy is not a word,” the Stranger finally snaps.

“And he speaks the mortal tongue! Oh, it sounds good on you, angry one.”

The Wolf’s tail sways side to side, content to be in the presence of its missing counterparts. Johannes, Ballika, it growls through their minds and through the very Earth itself. There is no one here to hear them, no use in containing themselves, but soon—soon, they will need to exist as a fraction of themselves. It has been too long. Tipping its head, it acknowledges them both as peers.

Johannes, the Stranger from the Black Lands, halts his inner machinations on how to exhort physical pain on something intangible. (He would, first, have to change its shape from vapid smoke to something heavier. Perhaps a different element, something so leaded he’d find himself trapped within layers and layers of ground. Bye, bye, Johan would wiggle his fingers and enjoy the peace he’s claimed for himself. A mere fantasy, but a comforting one.) He nods in return.

We have work to do.

The mission sobers them up from bickering and heartfelt reunions. Somewhere in this world, a fracture has widened and widened, disconnecting it from its roots—from what it should be: a Sanctuary. There are others, places where Gods have had their fill of Creation, but those were made in their image and turned to poison as soon as they were left on their own. This world, their world and former home, was built on billions of years of hope. Hope that it would be better than any other existence. It is their job to restore the heart of the Goddesses, but they can only do that by finding the source of the discord.

We will begin with Prythian. My initial investigation points to there.

The Wolf and Ballika nod. Each of them is to return to their home Continent, to the Courts they once commanded. Johan, the former yawning abyss that darkened the Northern skies. The Wolf will return to its prowl across the South and the West. Ballika will swallow the lands made of Smoke. Back to the homes in which they were each born.

“Shall we place bets?” Smoke billows around his younger brother, perching on the shoulders of his little nightshade only to be shaken off.

The Goddess coddled you far too much, Ballika, if you think this is a game, the Wolf grumbles and begins his journey towards the Spring Court. 

“Oh, it’s been millenia since we’ve been let out. Let’s have a little fun.” He looks around to hound Johan instead, but finds him to be gone. “I wager there won’t be a continent left by the time we join him. Hold, Wolf, hold. Let us watch and see.”

[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!