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Do you have some least favorite final lair kisses or least favorite return of the ring scenes?

I don't think I have any least favorites because, for me, I don't think there's many ways to play this scene "wrong". Well, maybe during the kiss Christine could slobber her tongue all over the Phantom's face or something, but even then I wouldn't make it my least favorite, because it's entertaining! Heck, it'd probably be my ultimate favorite for the sheer hilarity.

The same goes for the returning of the ring scene; I'm pretty open to any and all interpretations, so short of Christine, I don't know, hurling the ring back at the Phantom's face whilst singing, "Sayonara, sucker!" I don't have any individual least favorites that I've seen. At worst, they're unmemorable, but that's also the majority of kiss and ring returning scenes.

No, I think my least favorite ring returning scene is from a specific production, and that is the scene from the restaged tours (the kiss scene is fine). If you don't know, in that version, after chasing Raoul and Christine out, the Phantom cries over his torn up music sheets (clearly the most important thing in his life) and sings, "Christine, I love you" to the audience. Unbeknownst to him, Christine has returned to his lair to return the ring, but the Phantom does not see her as his back is to her. Rather than facing him, Christine simply places the ring down on his table and leaves. The Phantom then turns around and sees the ring and cries some more, I guess, before diving under the bed to hide from the incoming mob.

And man, I just don't like this interpretation. First, it deprives us of that emotional, final face-to-face moment between the Phantom and Christine. Second, we lose out on the endpoint of the Phantom's arc from seemingly mystical, manipulative being to a sad, broken man; he's no longer the Angel of Music, no longer the Opera Ghost, no longer trying to force Christine's hand, entrance her into loving him, or manipulate her feelings, he's just a lonely man, telling her that he loves her. (Though the restaged tour overly humanizes the Phantom so much that it probably doesn't even matter much.) And third, Christine loses out on that final moment of choice, of agency. She doesn't get to look at the Phantom and decide, once and for all, "No, I can't stay with him, whatever I feel." Instead she avoids the entire moment, dropping the ring and fleeing. Her arc is all about seeing behind the Phantom's many masks and personas and finding the strength to face him, but then at this moment, maybe the most important moment of all, she's robbed of it. Blargh.

Anyway this turned into yet another "I hate the restaged tour" post so I'm going to stop. I actually do enjoy some aspects of it, I swear! But boy do I not like how they blocked some scenes.

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Marina Brisa, u/s Meg Giry in Madrid. She also understudy Christine.

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Judith Tobella (alternate Christine) and Manu Pilas (alternate Phantom) in Madrid. And yes, also a real-life couple!

From her Instagram

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West End Phantom Audio + Video

Time for another video release, so here is a gift of the corresponding audio!

This video is from Jan '24 and will be available to order in the usual place. Mastered with help from the wonderful @hyperfixatra!

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Opinion on chumisa? She’s gorgeous but haven’t heard much of her

So, keeping in mind that I tend to just skim over reviews and I don't really get hyped over actors a lot...

I really liked her. Like, she was very, very good.

And it's pretty incredible considering the video I have of her that she's only barely started the role, but there we are: Chumisa Dornford-May feels like she came into the production already having a good idea of exactly how she wanted to play Christine and how she wanted to act certain scenes and string it all together to show her character's arc, and she went and did it. Now all that's left is for her to refine it.

Some highlights: from the get-go I loved how she played 'Think of Me'; I think it's very tempting to go the happy, joyful route a la Gina Beck, and I like that interpretation! But she acted the song in a way that was more appropriate to the lyrics she was singing, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes wistful, sometimes distant and grieving. It gave me a great sense of Christine as not only a good singer but a good performer too.

In terms of whether she was a Phantom or Raoul girlie, I'd honestly say neither, though if pushed I'd say she maybe leans a little more towards Raoul. Her Christine in the lair scenes was not necessarily afraid or angry at the Phantom, but she did feel rather resistant to him, especially compared to some of the other Christines in the role right now (e.g. Lily Kerhoas and Colleen Rose Curran). There were moment where she would melt a little, seemingly going, "Oh, this is kind of nice", but much of the time, she appeared more wary than anything else, unsure of what the Phantom was up to.

I also say she's not quite a Raoul girlie because she acts similarly in the rooftop scenes. In particular, her 'Why Have You Brought Me Here' was played like she was trying very hard to convince Raoul of what she saw and was angered that he kept trying to calm her down rather than actually attempting to understand her. Her Christine doesn't just want to tell Raoul what's going on, she wants him to believe her. She was also noticeably less giggly than other Christines during 'All I Ask of You', at least in this performance, and I liked how it kind of flips the dynamic between them: whereas earlier it was Christine trying to convince Raoul, now he has to be the one to convince her that all is goodness and light, and I'm not fully sure she bought into it.

What else? Oh, in 'Twisted Every Way', she did something that I first saw Yang Chen Xiuyi do in the Chinese production, which was to turn very hopefully towards Raoul when he says, "Christine, Christine, don't think that I don't care..." It's like she thinks, or wants to think, that Raoul is going to back down and call off his plan, which makes it all the more devastating when he doesn't.

And finally, by 'Point of No Return' and 'Final Lair', her Christine had definitely reached her limit with the Phantom. I really enjoyed how you can see Christine working out that it's the Phantom onstage with her during 'Point of No Return', slowly drawing out her phrases as the wheels in her head spin and then committing to continuing the show to catch him. (Never mind about the stuff after.) She delivered a truly contemptuous, "Please, Raoul, it's useless" in the 'Final Lair', and I think she gave a truly angry kiss to the Phantom. It felt very similar, interestingly, to her dynamic with Raoul on the rooftop; she seemed to be using the kiss to desperately try to convince the Phantom away from his current path (using the power of making out to stop the cycle of abuse and trauma!). Such was the quality of the video that I'm pretty sure I saw tears on her face during the kiss, and Chumisa Dornford-May played it, I feel, like it was due to the overwhelming catharsis of emotions she was experiencing: anger, grief, betrayal, terror, all of it being released into this one grand moment.

The only flaws I really noticed had to do with her singing. Most reviews have pointed out she belts some of the score; I didn't notice it too much, but I definitely heard it during 'Wishing'. It wasn't the worst place to belt - she did it during the last stanza, where Christine is usually singing pretty loudly anyway, likely to add volume to her singing - and I didn't mind it too much, but it was jarring. There were also a few parts where her voice was a little quiet, and small scenes where Christine was not the focal point but she could done a little more in her acting, or just paused and let the scene "breathe" a little (which, in fairness, is something most actors new to a role will do, rush through the show).

But honestly, those were minor nitpicks in what was otherwise a really great performance. And this is her early in her run? I can only imagine what she'll be like with a few more months under her belt!

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Short clip of Grace Chapman as Christine from her debut! Also with Nadim Naaman as the Phantom. From boyan_goryanov’s Instagram story.

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Hi everyone especially phans,

Just wanna let you know that all my Phantom Broadway masters are open for trade starting April 16, 2024, one year since its closing on Broadway.

Pls don’t email me for trading though, I don’t have the time or the energy. I recommend you trade with our beloved @glassprism who has got most of my videos. She’s literally a living phantom museum so please pay tribute to her work.

Sorry if I didn’t reply to some trading requests last year. I feel too overwhelmed.

Thank you all! Hope the phandom has recovered a bit throughout the year.

- Amy

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Photos from rehearsals for POTO Japan! More photos can be found here (x).

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Hi GP! I know in Restaged Tour, we could see (many times) how Christine's skirt falls off. I was wondering if that flub happend in the original production.

Have a great day😊

Hmm, did we see it happen that many times where Christine's skirt falls off? I can only recall one that was ever caught on video, and that was Eva Tavares (there's two videos but it's by the same filmer and very likely from the same night, just two different scenes).

As for the original production, yes, it has definitely happened, in multiple productions, some of which are documented on the Lamentable Mess website (now defunct but still accessibly via the Wayback Machine). It's happened enough times that the actresses know, or can figure out, a way to deal with it, which is simply to hold onto the skirt and perform the song as best as they could... unless, of course, you're they're unlucky enough to be in the situation where the skirt gets taken backstage, which (depending on the production) means performing the song in the equivalent of a bathing suit. Which is exactly what happened to Viktoria Krantz in the original Copenhagen production.

At any rate, the point here is that the Elissa skirt is constructed, and placed on Christine, very similarly in both the replica and restaged productions, so the amount of times it has fallen or slipped off because of some mishap during the quick change is very likely the same amount proportional to the amount of performances they've had! Nothing to do with the production itself, just a costume mishap that has happened several times before, in multiple places.

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The official photo!

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Manu Pilas in the chandelier crash in Madrid ( from his Instagram )

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Dougie Carter, Georgia Wilkinson and Nadim Naaman as the Andrew Riley production AKA Middle East Tour returns to Europe - this time Sofia in Bulgaria

( from here and here )

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First photo of Chumisa is up outside the theatre!

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Grace Chapman made her Christine debut in Sofia, Bulgaria tonight (12/4/24)

(Pictures smiller777, conwayjackjack & jessicahackett_soprano instagrams)

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The Phantom of the Opera Ugandan Premiere

The Phantom of the Opera will premiere in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda in May 2024 starring Peace Ayikoru and Joy Victoria Geria as Christine, as well as Mukiza and Gilbert Byamugisha as the Phantom.

I'm not seeing a ton of information like further casting, I believe this is associated with or using the performance spaces of Makerere University in Kampala. But the use of the full face mask logo makes me think this is actually the ALW/Hart/Stilgoe version

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Bridget Costello as Christine, from the Middle East Tour.

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Georgie Ashford made her Christine debut today in China!

(Pictures from her Instagram, Britt Lenting & espritperformingarts)