#GP gets asks

[glassprism]

Believe it or not, I have never watched the ALW Phantom of the Opera. So.. Seeing as you are the POTO expert here on Tumblr, what would you say is the best video for me to start with and watch first? I’m open to any English or German recs!

Oh, I doubt I'm the POTO expert on here, but when it comes to bootlegs, I can make some updated recommendations. I'll try not to go nuts and just pick one from each of the major productions.

West End - August 18, 2010: If you can get your hands on this one, this is a nicely filmed video of the original West End production with a great Christine and a Phantom who could have been good were he not actively hampered by the direction. At the time this was released, this was considered a really good quality video; now in the days of 4K boots, it's not, but it's still decent.

West End revival - January 2023: This is probably still one of my favorite videos in recent years - high quality, shot steadily and from the center of the audience, with a really good cast, especially Lucy St Louis as Christine and Matt Blaker as Raoul. It's also a good look at the various changes made to the production.

Broadway - May 17, 2014: There are so many good Broadway videos and casts that I ultimately chose this one for its accessibility and commonality. This was filmed in the first few days of Norm Lewis and Sierra Boggess's run together as the Phantom and Christine on Broadway. As with the West End video above, this video was considered good quality in 2014.

US Tour - April 6, 2006: People always recommend this video for a first time viewing experience and it's not hard to see why. This performance was filmed by two people who divided up the shots beforehand, then edited their videos together so that you get the best possible views together. It was also Gary Mauer (the Phantom) and Elizabeth Southard's (Christine) last show in the tour, and as they are married IRL, their chemistry and energy together are fire.

Vienna - June 30, 1993: This was the last show of the original Vienna production and two of the original cast members (Alexander Goebel as the Phantom and Luzia Nistler as Christine) returned for it. Both are great, especially Goebel's eerily haunting Phantom, and the video is pretty good for something from the 90s. There are also numerous little jokes and ad-libs for the last show. Just watch out for those sudden zooms.

Hamburg - June 30, 2001: Another last show, this one being source #2 of the original Hamburg production. A little shakier in filming but the detail is sharper than the also available source #1 of the same show, with Ian Jon Bourg being a commanding, old school Phantom. This video also includes the after show, particularly the fantastic and emotional mash-up of 'Think of Me' and 'Music of the Night' sung by the whole cast.

Stuttgart - May 23, 2004: Yet another last show, I'm on a roll! Had things worked out, this would have had Ian Jon Bourg again as the Phantom, but he was out on the last day and we got understudy Thomas Schulze instead, who is more bombastic. As with the other last shows, there are tons of jokes and ad-libs, including a famous "third kiss" between the Phantom and Christine.

Essen - April 20, 2006: I went back and forth between this, a similar video of Thomas Borchert, and a video of Uwe Kroger. The video of Borchert is steadier in filming but filmed earlier in the run, and I'm not trying to torture you with Kroger (but do watch him at some point for the entertainment value). This video is shakier and more obstructed, but worth it for the pairing of Ethan Freeman, a Leroux Phantom par excellence, and Anne Gorner. This was also Freeman's last ever as the Phantom, so extra emotional.

Hamburg revival - April 11, 2014: The Hamburg revival had some excellent videos, but I like this one best since it's steady, unobstructed, and doesn't have some unusual coloring or bad frame rates. I also think the cast is interesting: Nicky Wuchinger's Raoul is very strong, David Arnsperger's Phantom feels like he was directly inspired by the likes of Ian Jon Bourg, and Lauri Brons's Christine is just the weirdest.

Oberhausen - March 24, 2016: There's only one video from the Oberhausen production so this was an easy pick! It's technically highlights but it has all the major scenes, and though it's shot from near the front and at a bit of an angle it's HD quality and well filmed. It's also really cool to see perennial Broadway understudy Elizabeth Welch as principal Christine, and in German!

World Tour - January 26, 2014: The most recent World Tour boots all seem to be NFT, so I'm going with this, an oldie but goodie. Brad Little is the longest-running Phantom in the world so far, so it's worth it to see his performance, even if his vocals are much rougher here. Kristi Holden and Anthony Downing also round out the cast nicely.

25th anniversary concert: Not a bootleg but a professionally filmed and officially released proshot of the show's 25th anniversary concert, held at the Royal Albert Hall. This is easily one of the most accessible and viewable versions and you should probably watch this first to get an overall idea of what the show is like before venturing into one of the bootlegs. Given the venue, the concert made some changes to the staging and what-not, but it is 90% accurate to what goes on in the replica anyway.

[ef-1]

Lewis Hamilton on the undue scrutiny he faced regarding his radio ft a lil swipe at other drivers 📻

[maxedes]

sooo,,,, wHO WAS GONNA TELL ME THAT MY WIFE HAS COME HOME

[28ms28]

Folks, you wouldn't believe it, but January is OVEERR. I have lived 10 different lives since New Year's. SO as a happy gift please accept part 13 of f1 textposts <33

[valyrfia]

still not over the national anthem incident yesterday btw because max verstappen throughout his career has constantly been disrespected either by those he has been nothing but friendly and encouraging towards and it pissed me off a great deal that three world championships under his belt later some drivers still don’t respect that he is THE generational talent

can i ask what exactly happend, i turned off before the podium

Crowd started chanting “Lando” during the podium, which in itself is a little disrespectful but nothing we haven’t seen before (ie. chanting Charles during Imola). The national anthem started and Lando put his fist in the air cheering them on/encouraging them DURING the national anthem. Needless to say, Max and George gave him the biggest side eye. A lot of people have also drawn comparisons to Charles’ behaviour during Monza qualifying last year, where the tifosi booed Max and Charles told them off/shook his head.

Lando also went on to blab about how he would’ve won if not for the safety car, which a lot of Max fans were a little ?! about because Max’s skill definitely made the difference during this race. Also Max would have won Miami if not for the safety car, but you didn’t hear him say any of that directly to the press, instead he just praised Lando’s skill.

All in all it’s plain disrespect and immature as hell. I would NOT guess that Lando, George, Charles, and Max all fall within the same two year age range. Also it’s disheartening because this level of entitlement and general non-awareness is nothing new, lest we forget when he broke the Hungarian GP trophy last year (which takes like 4-6 months to make) and he said some pretty dismissive stuff about it forcing McLaren PR to go into overdrive, or him saying that Trump is his lucky charm after his Miami win. I’m sort of done making allowances for some rich asshole’s behaviour, especially because the media seems ready to glorify him. If a non-British driver had pulled that same shit during the national anthem you bet all English-speaking F1 media would be up in arms but no Lando gets a pass because the British are desperate to have a second coming of Lewis Hamilton.

[mgu-h]

Q: Max starting a couple of positions back, looking good for the championship battle? Are you feeling confident— A: I don't care. I hate this question so much. I'm just going to race. I don't care about where he qualifies, for me it's just focus on my own job and that's it, you know? It's the same question every time, but it doesn't matter. If he's first, if he's last, I'll do the best I can.

post sprint quali • brazilian gp 2024

[hitthatapex]

AUS GP Qualifying 2025.

I got some pretty goddamn good seats. The podium, start finish line are like 50m away from me! I was soo surprised!

We did have to sit in the 35°C sun and then the rain tomorrow but still wouldn't have it any other way.

Here's some blurry pics I took of Osc and Max!

They were both so cute and chatted A LOT.

Still hoping for a Lestapiastri podium!

[motof1bfs]

joan yapping while luca dissociates

[muxas-world2]

Lewis fans who still can’t move on from 2016 and want him to be a saint in Brocedes are so funny 😭 Like “Nico is evil, he hides his bad behavior” WHEN??? Nico has always said he played mind games, that 2016 was toxic on both sides. The reason we know so much in detail at times about who bad it was is because he’s the one who talks most about it. He’s biased, sure, but he never pretended to be a white dove.

[glassprism]

here's a thought. do you have any favorite reactions raoul's have after being freed from the noose? i've seen some much more unwell, some entirely focused on christine, some baffled to hell and back by the phantom. apologies if you already have a post on this, i did give a search.

Heh, good luck searching Tumblr, its search function is notoriously unreliable.

Anyway, I did make a post a while ago comparing the different reactions Raoul has after being freed, but I don't think I ever said on there which was my favorite! Out of all those I listed, I have to admit that I enjoy the ones where Raoul attempts to shield or protect Christine. I just find it endearing that after nearly dying (and having to be saved by Christine), Raoul's first reaction is still "MUST PROTECT CHRISTINE!" But I do also like Evgeny Zaycev's reaction as well. Man goes on an entire emotional journey in the span of a minute there.

Another that I find interesting, and one that does not appear on that post, is what's done in the Greece / Middle East / European Tour, where, after being freed, Raoul tries to hand the mask back to the Phantom. I like the implication that, in that moment, Raoul appears to have some understanding of the Phantom as a human being and is maybe attempting to offer some dignity back. And I'm sure the E/R shippers like it too for very different reasons. Anyway, here's a screenshot of it because I don't have the energy to make a gif:

[feketeribizli]

idk if Kendall’s schedule will allow for her to be at Miami but I think either way she should find a screen grab of Marci looking stupid on the podium and send it to him like ‘lol’ and then ghost him for a couple weeks. Give him something to crash out about (and then eventually,, apologise)😊

she was in miami! watched the broadcast in the merc garages phone out ready to take a billion screenshots of her flop on the podium (goes into a secret passcoded folder. you didnt hear of this)

[souvenir116]

If the Monza pole ring doesn't go to Charles, hopefully it will go to Max, so he can pocket it and propose to Charles when the weekend is over.

thats the best ring he can use in a proposal, charles' two love mixed in one ring, Ferrari and Max.

[starscream-is-my-wife]

Starscream goes to the local military base in town and takes the jet paints for himself.

Town people mad at him for what he did, but some people see him dolling himself up. (Probably thinks ‘she’s’ getting ready for a date with Bucket head)

Megatron beats him after they get into a verbal altercation

People now feel bad for being mean to Starscream cause now they think ‘Siren was just trying to get pretty for her shitty boyfriend using things we use for jets like her. And now she got pretty for nothing and hurt again’

Now Starscream next day sees jet wax and cleaners and paints in front of whatever building the town’s people let them live in with letters saying how beautiful he was and stuff before the accident.

Megatron: I hate it here

Starscream: These people will ruin my image, they must die before someone like Skywarp finds out

Megatron: I wish I was trapped here with skywarp instead

Starscream: Wtf??!?

And then another fight ensues

Tbh Starscream and Megatron get along best when commiting genocides together

[britney-rosberg06]

two siblings btw

[valyrfia]

max and carlos yearning for charles’ attention as he is getting lifted up by ferrari oh oh oh

“when you love charles leclerc it’s like loving the stars themselves, you don’t expect a sunset to admire you back” - carlos & max, probably

[jyjkj]

Never change Oscar. Never change.

Words of wisdom from Oscar Piastri: shut up and drive, don’t be an idiot, get food poisoning ✨

@goodnighttravelwell :)