No title can do this justice
So much Phantom to relay! I've been over the moon since Saturday, so overwhelmed with emotion it's only this morning that I've fully calmed down. Prepare yourself for a long, long rambling entry.
Went to see the show on Saturday -- it was their second-last one and final night performance to boot. Naturally the cast were all magnificent again. Ana's voice struggled with reaching a few notes -- occasionally she'd open her mouth and nothing would come out -- but she hit them all eventually. The audience was fantastic, laughing and applauding and murmuring appreciatively. I was sitting right on the end of the second row, which is an obstructed seat (although the incompetent Ticketek people couldn't tell me how obstructed) and had been speculating on how decent/shocking the view would be. Thankfully the only portion I missed was any action in box 5 (i.e. not much) so the set obstruction wasn't major. Something that came as a surprise: I wasn't expecting to be obstructed by Ana herself! She was directly in my line of sight, blocking Anthony on the organ; couldn't have placed herself more perfectly.
Seated where I was -- about two or three metres from the performers! -- I shared numerous eye-contact moments, particularly with Andre and Carlotta. I swear the auction guy, the one that pulls the cloth off the chandelier, looked at me too because I was hyper and started giggling when he did his stretching-arm thing and later he did it again without the other guy mimicking him while looking me straight in the eye, smiling.
So many moments where Anthony was touchable. Mirror reveal and the kiss took place right in front of me. Stranger... had him crawling right at me. Wandering Child, I was directly behind Ana so it was almost like he was singing to me. But the best, the very best was during the Final Lair where Anthony sings, "Monsieur I bid you welcome..." and goes for a stroll around the throne. Recall I'm sitting in the far corner, second row, so he's stalking straight towards me. When he utters the line, "Did you think that I would harm her?" I crack a huge grin and...
...and he returns an evil smile and conspiratorial wink! Nearly fell out of my seat.
Tears were visible on Anthony's face, sending me weeping unashamedly at the end, which is a big call from someone who has never cried in a movie or anything remotely similar to live theatre. I can sincerely say he's never screamed like that before -- the high-pitched frequency/voice cracking exceeded even my expectations, reaching falsetto and beyond. At interval, my friend who hadn't seen the show before commented that she was in tears after that.
One thing that did make me go "hmmm....": John and Ana, punting their way out of the lair, crooning at one another. Anthony standing lost and forlorn in the middle of the stage, going from sheer content to heartbreak as he hears first Ana's, then John's voice. Bridal veil begins slipping and Anthony sings, "Anywhere you go, let me go too. It's over now, the music of the night!"
*wince*
(The line is, "You alone can make my song take flight. It's over now the music of the night!" I think I was legally dead for a moment, my heart stopped in my chest!)
After-party was okay-ish. I was able to play barfly and saw a few of our beloved cast waltz in, however they had a private function room booked up top so they didn't linger long downstairs with us mere mortals. It was nice to unwind afterwards and brush shoulders with the guys again. Prior to this I went skulking around the infamous stage door where random crew were indulging in beers. Thinking about where the party was and the fact that it was the final Melbourne night session I made the executive decision to lurk around the front, certain Anthony would pop out there.
He didn't. Dammit. (And from Andrea and Ana's story, he should've: he did the previous night and it was final Saturday and all...)
However, lots of people did. Got autographs from Roy Weissensteiner (Ant's understudy and primary German Phantom), Vanessa Scammel (the conductor), Jackie Rees (Madame Giry), Nadia Komazec (Meg), Ana Marina (Christine) and Andrea Creigthon (Carlotta). The latter is a lovely lady and, I was surprised to see, only around my height. She remembered me courtesy of the bright yellow dress and complimented it, the sweetheart! I told her I was hard to miss, grinning like a lunatic the entire way. I also saw both managers duck out but that was as I was rounding the corner after inspecting the stage door so I didn't get sigs. Simon Pryce, the other Phantom understudy, came out but only signed one program (he must've been in a hurry to get to that free alcohol! XD) Completely missed John Bowles (Raoul), who from all accounts runs very quickly and like a pansy.
Six autographs from principal characters had me seeing stars. Maybe a sane individual would've been content with that lot but, as you all know, once I find an obsession it's all-or-nothing. Yes, I went back to the theatre on Sunday -- even though I didn't have tickets -- and hung around, determined to pull off an Anthony ambush. An online friend of mine and I met up after the show and she informed me Saturday's was slightly better so I was gleeful knowing I'd seen the best of the best. We stood around the front door for a while. Not a single soul of note exited. Eventually, a pair of security guards slipped out and made a beeline for Little Bourke St. We just exchanged glances and set off in pursuit.
A few more minutes passed during which I admired a certain car with leather upholstery and then who should appear but the man himself. It was a very Red Death entrance... but less red and more blue considering he was decked out in jeans and a navy shirt and really comfy-looking shoes; my heels were killing me at this stage. Of course we fans were spotted a mile away. He turned up that cheeky grin a few notches and expressed some words of greeting, telling us to hang on a tick while he put stuff in his car. Straight-away he apologised for having to make the fanservice quick because he had to be in Fitzroy at 6:30, which only gave him about 15 minutes after he was done with us. Speed limits may have been broken!
So after a brief hello and, "Did you enjoy the show?" and the uttering of "darling"s, we eventually got 'round to the obligatory autographs:
Anthony: "I'll have to make this quick. Did you bring silver pens?"
Us: "Yes!"
Anthony [grins]: "Good girls." (The comment was especially funny because the majority of people there were middle-aged.)
(We fans know his weakness. He has a thing for Sharpies!)
I didn't get the chance to pin him down because he was in such a rush. For the same reason photos weren't a go either, but I'm so over the moon having met him (and he called me sweetheart!) I just want to... I don't know. Spontaneously combust from sheer happiness or something.
I. Met. Anthony. Warlow.
*passes out*
Went to see the show on Saturday -- it was their second-last one and final night performance to boot. Naturally the cast were all magnificent again. Ana's voice struggled with reaching a few notes -- occasionally she'd open her mouth and nothing would come out -- but she hit them all eventually. The audience was fantastic, laughing and applauding and murmuring appreciatively. I was sitting right on the end of the second row, which is an obstructed seat (although the incompetent Ticketek people couldn't tell me how obstructed) and had been speculating on how decent/shocking the view would be. Thankfully the only portion I missed was any action in box 5 (i.e. not much) so the set obstruction wasn't major. Something that came as a surprise: I wasn't expecting to be obstructed by Ana herself! She was directly in my line of sight, blocking Anthony on the organ; couldn't have placed herself more perfectly.
Seated where I was -- about two or three metres from the performers! -- I shared numerous eye-contact moments, particularly with Andre and Carlotta. I swear the auction guy, the one that pulls the cloth off the chandelier, looked at me too because I was hyper and started giggling when he did his stretching-arm thing and later he did it again without the other guy mimicking him while looking me straight in the eye, smiling.
So many moments where Anthony was touchable. Mirror reveal and the kiss took place right in front of me. Stranger... had him crawling right at me. Wandering Child, I was directly behind Ana so it was almost like he was singing to me. But the best, the very best was during the Final Lair where Anthony sings, "Monsieur I bid you welcome..." and goes for a stroll around the throne. Recall I'm sitting in the far corner, second row, so he's stalking straight towards me. When he utters the line, "Did you think that I would harm her?" I crack a huge grin and...
...and he returns an evil smile and conspiratorial wink! Nearly fell out of my seat.
Tears were visible on Anthony's face, sending me weeping unashamedly at the end, which is a big call from someone who has never cried in a movie or anything remotely similar to live theatre. I can sincerely say he's never screamed like that before -- the high-pitched frequency/voice cracking exceeded even my expectations, reaching falsetto and beyond. At interval, my friend who hadn't seen the show before commented that she was in tears after that.
One thing that did make me go "hmmm....": John and Ana, punting their way out of the lair, crooning at one another. Anthony standing lost and forlorn in the middle of the stage, going from sheer content to heartbreak as he hears first Ana's, then John's voice. Bridal veil begins slipping and Anthony sings, "Anywhere you go, let me go too. It's over now, the music of the night!"
*wince*
(The line is, "You alone can make my song take flight. It's over now the music of the night!" I think I was legally dead for a moment, my heart stopped in my chest!)
After-party was okay-ish. I was able to play barfly and saw a few of our beloved cast waltz in, however they had a private function room booked up top so they didn't linger long downstairs with us mere mortals. It was nice to unwind afterwards and brush shoulders with the guys again. Prior to this I went skulking around the infamous stage door where random crew were indulging in beers. Thinking about where the party was and the fact that it was the final Melbourne night session I made the executive decision to lurk around the front, certain Anthony would pop out there.
He didn't. Dammit. (And from Andrea and Ana's story, he should've: he did the previous night and it was final Saturday and all...)
However, lots of people did. Got autographs from Roy Weissensteiner (Ant's understudy and primary German Phantom), Vanessa Scammel (the conductor), Jackie Rees (Madame Giry), Nadia Komazec (Meg), Ana Marina (Christine) and Andrea Creigthon (Carlotta). The latter is a lovely lady and, I was surprised to see, only around my height. She remembered me courtesy of the bright yellow dress and complimented it, the sweetheart! I told her I was hard to miss, grinning like a lunatic the entire way. I also saw both managers duck out but that was as I was rounding the corner after inspecting the stage door so I didn't get sigs. Simon Pryce, the other Phantom understudy, came out but only signed one program (he must've been in a hurry to get to that free alcohol! XD) Completely missed John Bowles (Raoul), who from all accounts runs very quickly and like a pansy.
Six autographs from principal characters had me seeing stars. Maybe a sane individual would've been content with that lot but, as you all know, once I find an obsession it's all-or-nothing. Yes, I went back to the theatre on Sunday -- even though I didn't have tickets -- and hung around, determined to pull off an Anthony ambush. An online friend of mine and I met up after the show and she informed me Saturday's was slightly better so I was gleeful knowing I'd seen the best of the best. We stood around the front door for a while. Not a single soul of note exited. Eventually, a pair of security guards slipped out and made a beeline for Little Bourke St. We just exchanged glances and set off in pursuit.
A few more minutes passed during which I admired a certain car with leather upholstery and then who should appear but the man himself. It was a very Red Death entrance... but less red and more blue considering he was decked out in jeans and a navy shirt and really comfy-looking shoes; my heels were killing me at this stage. Of course we fans were spotted a mile away. He turned up that cheeky grin a few notches and expressed some words of greeting, telling us to hang on a tick while he put stuff in his car. Straight-away he apologised for having to make the fanservice quick because he had to be in Fitzroy at 6:30, which only gave him about 15 minutes after he was done with us. Speed limits may have been broken!
So after a brief hello and, "Did you enjoy the show?" and the uttering of "darling"s, we eventually got 'round to the obligatory autographs:
Anthony: "I'll have to make this quick. Did you bring silver pens?"
Us: "Yes!"
Anthony [grins]: "Good girls." (The comment was especially funny because the majority of people there were middle-aged.)
(We fans know his weakness. He has a thing for Sharpies!)
I didn't get the chance to pin him down because he was in such a rush. For the same reason photos weren't a go either, but I'm so over the moon having met him (and he called me sweetheart!) I just want to... I don't know. Spontaneously combust from sheer happiness or something.
I. Met. Anthony. Warlow.
*passes out*