Phantom 25th Anniversary celebration
I was iffy on seeing the big 25th Anniversary celebration. It was being done at the Royal Albert Hall and was broadcast to theatres around the world, one of which was in my town. But it was $22. And if I paid $22 to see a concert in a movie theatre I would have been pissed. But they kept saying "FULLY STAGED" so I decided what the heck. Let's go for it and hope that they really meant that.
Well, it WAS fully staged. And I'm glad I went.
So thoughts on the general production: It was beautifully filmed and I LOVED having a full orchestra to back it instead of a small pit orchestra. The placement of the orchestra ABOVE the cast was a little odd and made for a few harrying moments where the singers got a little off (most notably with the ensemble singing of the "Track down this murderer" but right before the Final Lair).
The projections were a little weird but I think others found them more bothersome than I did. They were a little distracting at times, but overall they didn't bother me.
What DID bother me? The chandelier not coming down (or going up). There MUST have been a reason for this. Maybe the theatre wouldn't allow it or it wouldn't work for some reason? It was definitely weird to just watch it flashing around and spitting out fireworks.
I also did NOT get why they had visible mics on the actors. Usually they're hidden in their hair, but this time, when it was FILMED, they had them down on their faces near their mouths. Maybe they had to be closer for filming? It was somewhat distracting and sort of annoying to have them there as a reminder that this is a stage show!
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Ok, so onto the cast:
Phantom (Ramin Karmiloo). He was ok. His acting was pretty good, especially in the Final Lair, but there's just something MISSING about his performance. His voice is definitely not mature enough for the Phantom (but he probably made a decent Raoul) and he just looks SO YOUNG. I really would liked to have seen a more mature Phantom in the role. Like, say, John Owen Jones. Who has a voice I want to marry and have babies with (just the voice, not him). Michael Crawford has always been my favourite Phantom, but JOJ? Yeah he's pretty much right up there with Michael as men whose voices make me shiver. This is not to say Ramin was BAD. I mean, he could have been Gerard Butler right? (Funny how he an Emmy weren't involved AT ALL.) And I'm sure there are worse stage Phantoms out there, but he didn't do a lot for me vocally.
Christine (Sierra Boggess). I have to admit I didn't expect much out of her but OMG she blew me away. No she's not the best Christine vocally but her acting really floored me. She was INTO the role, enough so at the end, during the last scene when she comes back to the Phantom, she had tears coming down her cheeks. And she KISSED HIS HAND while he was holding her hand before leaving. And the way they had it set up it was like she didn't WANT to leave and Raoul was all "come on Christina, we gotta GO, he told us to GO." So yeah, maybe she wasn't the BEST EVER Christine vocally but she was one of the best I've seen acting-wise. Very much impressed.
Raoul (Hadley Fraser). Um...he was Raoul. Boring, staid, nothing really stood out. He was a decent singer, but was really not that interesting to watch. I know it takes a lot for someone to really make Raoul something other than the "boring safe choice" but this guy didn't have it. He's never played the so maybe it was just too new for him. Sometimes it takes awhile to find what really makes your character tick.
Carlotta (Kiera Duffy - apparently Duffy was sick and so Wendy Ferguson took over). WEAK LINK. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Kim Stengel, who I adore as Carlotta, but this woman was awful. I've always envisioned Carlotta as a decent soprano whose maybe just a touch past her heyday and is hanging on. She's still damn good, but her star is falling. And mostly, she's just not Christine. The Phantom doesn't displace her because she's BAD. He displaces her because she's not Christine. Yes in some versions (Kopit/Yeston) she's supposed to be awful but you never get that impression in the original book NOR the ALW musical. Kim Stengel has a GREAT set of pipes on her and she's brilliant at playing the proud diva who is being pushed aside by an obsessive crazy guy. When this woman wasn't totally blank, she was petulant and snotty and she played the role like Carlotta was a bad singer. A lot of her sung solo lines were just BAD. I think she probably has a good voice, but it didn't show in this role.
Firmin (Barry James). God I HATED this guy. I thought he was absolutely abysmal in the role. He wasn't funny, his voice grated on me, and he was just wheedling and annoying. And his hairdo sucked. There just wasn't much redeeming about him. Thank God it's not a bigger role.
Andre (Gareth Snook). He was ok. He tried to be funny, but I've seen much better Andres in the past. The two just didn't have any sort of chemistry, like they'd been in it for years together. You see some really good pairs of managers, but this wasn't one of them.
Madame Giry (Liz Robertson). For some reason I wasn't impressed. I felt she had too light of a voice and looked far too young. Give me Leila Martin any day.
Meg Giry (Daisy Maywood). She was cute and sung just fine. No problems with her.
Piangi (Wynne Evans). Not memorable at all. Though his missing a note in the Hannibal scene was pretty memorable. I'm not sure if he was pretending to miss the note (and then trying to hit it a couple times) or if his voice screwed up and then he covered it by adding some comic relief.
Oh and FULL ORCHESTRA FTW.
---
So the musical, scene by scenish:
Prologue/Overture: Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. Oh except for the fact that the chandelier was already up above with a big drape over it saying "Lot 666." I knew it didn't bode well that the chandelier began hanging in place rather than slowly going up to there.
Hannibal: There was NO ELEPHANT. Also, there was no "Christine Daae you're late" stuff. The set piece that falls kind of falls only partway behind them so they're all scrambling around for nothing, but we get the point. Carlotta's big speech here was an abysmal failure. I really was annoyed with her the entire time. I wanted to give her acting lessons. And I'm not an actor!
Think of Me: There's not much to say about this. It was pretty standard fare. I though Sierra did a nice job with the song and the cadenza was nice, if not inspiringly awesome.
Angel of Music: Sierra and Daisy sounded good together. This whole scene is a little weird because there's no set "dressing room." Instead it's just a desk in the middle of the stage with no walls around it. There was no mirror behind her so I had no idea how they were going to do the awesome mirror scene. I was sort of disappointed to see it was, as far as I can tell, a projection on a screen. Ramin's entrance here was pretty good. He sounded suitably angry.
Phantom of the Opera: I might have missed it, but I didn't notice any of the annoying guitars you sometimes hear in this. They were probably there but I was distracted by other things. Sierra's low notes leave a lot to be desired. I know this song is incredibly low for sopranos and so I don't judge them too harshly. A lot of women struggle with the low notes (and it appears even Sarah does nowadays). It was neat being able to see so many close-ups of them, especially in the boat. But it does consistently remind you how YOUNG Ramin really is. Missing here was the super awesome cape twirl and the slicking down of the hair smoothing out of the clothes that is usually so sensual. He just didn't do it and totally missed the boat on that one.
Music of the Night: This DEFINITELY had its great moments. Again, not the best sung, but the acting on both parts were pretty darned good, especially on Sierra's. She wasn't one of those overly entranced stare straight ahead and do nothing Christines (like Sarah Brightman!). She responded and looked almost ecstatic during the "floating falling" part. Weird things during MOTN: There was no portcullis so he sort of spread himself out over some other thing. I miss his bringing the portcullis down with just a gesture. And there was no mirror bride. I'm not sure why. Surely they could have done that bit. Instead he grabbed onto her wrist (I think), she faints, and he carries her to the bed. Only Ramin jumped the gun and it looked more like he just picked her up suddenly. She barely had a chance to look like she was fainting before he had scooped her up. It could have been done a bit more suavely than that! I did like that he carried her though. I never have liked that American Phantoms have to let her slump to the floor.
Stranger than you dreamt it, etc. Suitably angry, good job acting on this one. He didn't crawl across the ground to her but he was a lot closer to her than in other times I've seen it. The stage looked a bit smaller so maybe that was why. It was nice getting to see a close-up of his face during this scene!
Notes/Prima Donna. Same basic stuff as always. Nothing really stood out except that they had Carlotta change into her Il Muto costume ON STAGE. Much weirdness there. They brought out a dressing screen and then held up her fur stole while they put the wig on. I can't imagine why they did this. It was definitely a little weird.
Il Muto: Fine, though the gigantic bed was replaced with a small divan. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Oh except we get to see the Phantom actually murder Buquet. That was a surprise! It should make those newbie fangirls STFU about thinking the Phantom didn't REALLY murder anyone, that it was just an ACCIDENT.
Rooftop scene: Raoul is really an obtuse moron here. He seemed more angry at Christine than anything. When he started to offer comfort in AIAOY it didn't seem natural considering how "omg ur wrong" he was before that. I wasn't that impressed with him. Ramin did fine in the reprise. I was glad he wasn't overly dramatic sobbing all over the angel like I've seen some Phantoms.
And then he gets angry and drops the chandelier makes fireworks shoot out of the chandelier. Not nearly as frightening, but what didn't go up must not come down I guess. This was weird and I was unhappy with the lack of chandelier falling stuff in this one.
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Masquerade was AWESOME. So many costumes, so much action. There were three bands, so three monkey girls, etc. I loved how many people there were on stage for Masquerade. I also liked that they really played up the "Christine gets trapped in the dance" bit. She looked trapped, rather than like she was having a good time. The costumes looked great. And then the Phantom enters. Or rather, stands at the top of a very small staircase and never moves. No scary slow steps down the stairs, no approaching Christine and ripping off her necklace. He just stood there until the end and then disappeared. I have NO idea why they did that. I'm just glad he was wearing the usual costume and not that Zorro the Gay Blade one from the movie.
Notes II. Sierra was the best thing in this scene. The managers...meh. Carlotta...way more than meh. Raoul was a demanding jerk like he always is. I hate this scene for his character because he's all "I WILL PROTECT YOU" and then "WAIT A MINUTE WE CAN TRAP THIS FUCKER WITH YOUR HELP!" Yeah Christine knew what would happen, but no one would listen to her!
Rehearsal. Dear GOD Carlotta and Piangi suck.
Wishing. WONDERFUL. I really thought she did a fantastic job with it. Emotions were fantastic, and I really do like her voice.
Wandering Child. I'm always torn as to whether or not I prefer the trio or the duet version that Raoul walks in on at the last moment. Here they did the trio (which is usual in London I believe). They made some changes here, mostly by getting rid of the Phantoms silly skull staff. I mean, I like the staff, but the fireballs shooting from it always look lame. Instead he raises his hand and fire flares from the stage. It was done artfully, as in Christine and Raoul would run first one way then another and get trapped by the fire. They finally escape and all goes up in flames as always. (And ok, YES, this might have been a little bit Tim the Enchanter here.)
Don Juan/Point of No Return. Again, Sierra was wonderful. I really did like her performance. No idea if others agree with me, but I thought she was fantastic. She had just the right amount of seductiveness/nervousness this scene requires. She was really putting on a great "seduction" act until she discovered it was the Phantom and freaked out. I cried during the "All I ask of you" part as always. Ramin looked suitably angry and crazy after she pulled the mask and wig off.
Final Lair: OMG. So much to like here, along with some "OMG WTF" moments. Most of it was REALLY well done, but when Raoul first enters and Christine tried to go to him, the Phantom wraps his hand around her throat. That's right, he CHOKES HER. I don't know if he did this to show how over the edge the character was at that point, but really? The Phantom harming Christine's voice? I cannot see it and I was stunned he did this move. I could see him slamming his hand down on her shoulder or grabbing her arm, but her throat? No that wasn't right.
Except for that, he did brilliantly. I was SOBBING during the kiss because he actually, at the very end of it, reached up and brought his hands over hers (which were on his face). It was so touching. And when he walked away from her sort of muttering and obviously VERY confused, I was impressed.
And then the funny moment that sort of threw me out of it for a moment: He grabbed the candle and "lit it" against one of the already lit ones...by turning it on. And there was an audible click and you could see him do it. *headdesk* So embarrassing.
But the rest was great.
And then Christine comes back while he's curled up next to the monkey music box. And I cannot describe how wonderful this moment was. He finally says he loves her and they're holding each others hands. And she releases the ring back to him but still has her hand over his. And she leans down and kisses his hand. Obviously she lets him go but she doesn't run out, she slowly goes up the stairs singing the next lines of AIAOY and looking back once in awhile, and Raoul reaches out a hand and has to coax her out and it was so amazingly awesome. And yes I'm TRYING not to hear "and then she went back and got it on with him and she had his baby" in the back of my head about this scene! DAMN YOU ALW!!!
So all in all...AMAZING. Would like to go back and see it again.
---
After that, ALW spoke for a bit and then had Sarah come out and sing the title song with 4 Phantoms: Colm Wilkinson, Anthony Warlow, John Owen Jones, and Peter Joback. Sarah sounded pretty weak, which surprised me. Colm sounded way better than he usually does. Anthony Warlow was awesome as always. JOJ? I already said what I think about him! But Peter Joback? OMG WHO IS THIS GUY? He sucked SO BAD. He had the worst nasal voice. Dear God it sounds like he's going to be the next Phantom in London? EGADS. I wouldn't pay money to see him. See folks, worse Phantoms than Ramin!
I was totally 100% disappointed that Michael didn't get to sing at all. I mean, the original Phantom is there and he doesn't get to be one of the ones singing with the original Christine? WHY. JUST WHY. I wanted me some Michael! I WAS happy to see Ramin honor him with a line from MOTN. But otherwise it was like he was totally glossed over, so that sort of pissed me off.
So there you have it...my thoughts on the show! Anyone else go? What did you think?
Well, it WAS fully staged. And I'm glad I went.
So thoughts on the general production: It was beautifully filmed and I LOVED having a full orchestra to back it instead of a small pit orchestra. The placement of the orchestra ABOVE the cast was a little odd and made for a few harrying moments where the singers got a little off (most notably with the ensemble singing of the "Track down this murderer" but right before the Final Lair).
The projections were a little weird but I think others found them more bothersome than I did. They were a little distracting at times, but overall they didn't bother me.
What DID bother me? The chandelier not coming down (or going up). There MUST have been a reason for this. Maybe the theatre wouldn't allow it or it wouldn't work for some reason? It was definitely weird to just watch it flashing around and spitting out fireworks.
I also did NOT get why they had visible mics on the actors. Usually they're hidden in their hair, but this time, when it was FILMED, they had them down on their faces near their mouths. Maybe they had to be closer for filming? It was somewhat distracting and sort of annoying to have them there as a reminder that this is a stage show!
---
Ok, so onto the cast:
Phantom (Ramin Karmiloo). He was ok. His acting was pretty good, especially in the Final Lair, but there's just something MISSING about his performance. His voice is definitely not mature enough for the Phantom (but he probably made a decent Raoul) and he just looks SO YOUNG. I really would liked to have seen a more mature Phantom in the role. Like, say, John Owen Jones. Who has a voice I want to marry and have babies with (just the voice, not him). Michael Crawford has always been my favourite Phantom, but JOJ? Yeah he's pretty much right up there with Michael as men whose voices make me shiver. This is not to say Ramin was BAD. I mean, he could have been Gerard Butler right? (Funny how he an Emmy weren't involved AT ALL.) And I'm sure there are worse stage Phantoms out there, but he didn't do a lot for me vocally.
Christine (Sierra Boggess). I have to admit I didn't expect much out of her but OMG she blew me away. No she's not the best Christine vocally but her acting really floored me. She was INTO the role, enough so at the end, during the last scene when she comes back to the Phantom, she had tears coming down her cheeks. And she KISSED HIS HAND while he was holding her hand before leaving. And the way they had it set up it was like she didn't WANT to leave and Raoul was all "come on Christina, we gotta GO, he told us to GO." So yeah, maybe she wasn't the BEST EVER Christine vocally but she was one of the best I've seen acting-wise. Very much impressed.
Raoul (Hadley Fraser). Um...he was Raoul. Boring, staid, nothing really stood out. He was a decent singer, but was really not that interesting to watch. I know it takes a lot for someone to really make Raoul something other than the "boring safe choice" but this guy didn't have it. He's never played the so maybe it was just too new for him. Sometimes it takes awhile to find what really makes your character tick.
Carlotta (Kiera Duffy - apparently Duffy was sick and so Wendy Ferguson took over). WEAK LINK. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Kim Stengel, who I adore as Carlotta, but this woman was awful. I've always envisioned Carlotta as a decent soprano whose maybe just a touch past her heyday and is hanging on. She's still damn good, but her star is falling. And mostly, she's just not Christine. The Phantom doesn't displace her because she's BAD. He displaces her because she's not Christine. Yes in some versions (Kopit/Yeston) she's supposed to be awful but you never get that impression in the original book NOR the ALW musical. Kim Stengel has a GREAT set of pipes on her and she's brilliant at playing the proud diva who is being pushed aside by an obsessive crazy guy. When this woman wasn't totally blank, she was petulant and snotty and she played the role like Carlotta was a bad singer. A lot of her sung solo lines were just BAD. I think she probably has a good voice, but it didn't show in this role.
Firmin (Barry James). God I HATED this guy. I thought he was absolutely abysmal in the role. He wasn't funny, his voice grated on me, and he was just wheedling and annoying. And his hairdo sucked. There just wasn't much redeeming about him. Thank God it's not a bigger role.
Andre (Gareth Snook). He was ok. He tried to be funny, but I've seen much better Andres in the past. The two just didn't have any sort of chemistry, like they'd been in it for years together. You see some really good pairs of managers, but this wasn't one of them.
Madame Giry (Liz Robertson). For some reason I wasn't impressed. I felt she had too light of a voice and looked far too young. Give me Leila Martin any day.
Meg Giry (Daisy Maywood). She was cute and sung just fine. No problems with her.
Piangi (Wynne Evans). Not memorable at all. Though his missing a note in the Hannibal scene was pretty memorable. I'm not sure if he was pretending to miss the note (and then trying to hit it a couple times) or if his voice screwed up and then he covered it by adding some comic relief.
Oh and FULL ORCHESTRA FTW.
---
So the musical, scene by scenish:
Prologue/Overture: Fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. Oh except for the fact that the chandelier was already up above with a big drape over it saying "Lot 666." I knew it didn't bode well that the chandelier began hanging in place rather than slowly going up to there.
Hannibal: There was NO ELEPHANT. Also, there was no "Christine Daae you're late" stuff. The set piece that falls kind of falls only partway behind them so they're all scrambling around for nothing, but we get the point. Carlotta's big speech here was an abysmal failure. I really was annoyed with her the entire time. I wanted to give her acting lessons. And I'm not an actor!
Think of Me: There's not much to say about this. It was pretty standard fare. I though Sierra did a nice job with the song and the cadenza was nice, if not inspiringly awesome.
Angel of Music: Sierra and Daisy sounded good together. This whole scene is a little weird because there's no set "dressing room." Instead it's just a desk in the middle of the stage with no walls around it. There was no mirror behind her so I had no idea how they were going to do the awesome mirror scene. I was sort of disappointed to see it was, as far as I can tell, a projection on a screen. Ramin's entrance here was pretty good. He sounded suitably angry.
Phantom of the Opera: I might have missed it, but I didn't notice any of the annoying guitars you sometimes hear in this. They were probably there but I was distracted by other things. Sierra's low notes leave a lot to be desired. I know this song is incredibly low for sopranos and so I don't judge them too harshly. A lot of women struggle with the low notes (and it appears even Sarah does nowadays). It was neat being able to see so many close-ups of them, especially in the boat. But it does consistently remind you how YOUNG Ramin really is. Missing here was the super awesome cape twirl and the slicking down of the hair smoothing out of the clothes that is usually so sensual. He just didn't do it and totally missed the boat on that one.
Music of the Night: This DEFINITELY had its great moments. Again, not the best sung, but the acting on both parts were pretty darned good, especially on Sierra's. She wasn't one of those overly entranced stare straight ahead and do nothing Christines (like Sarah Brightman!). She responded and looked almost ecstatic during the "floating falling" part. Weird things during MOTN: There was no portcullis so he sort of spread himself out over some other thing. I miss his bringing the portcullis down with just a gesture. And there was no mirror bride. I'm not sure why. Surely they could have done that bit. Instead he grabbed onto her wrist (I think), she faints, and he carries her to the bed. Only Ramin jumped the gun and it looked more like he just picked her up suddenly. She barely had a chance to look like she was fainting before he had scooped her up. It could have been done a bit more suavely than that! I did like that he carried her though. I never have liked that American Phantoms have to let her slump to the floor.
Stranger than you dreamt it, etc. Suitably angry, good job acting on this one. He didn't crawl across the ground to her but he was a lot closer to her than in other times I've seen it. The stage looked a bit smaller so maybe that was why. It was nice getting to see a close-up of his face during this scene!
Notes/Prima Donna. Same basic stuff as always. Nothing really stood out except that they had Carlotta change into her Il Muto costume ON STAGE. Much weirdness there. They brought out a dressing screen and then held up her fur stole while they put the wig on. I can't imagine why they did this. It was definitely a little weird.
Il Muto: Fine, though the gigantic bed was replaced with a small divan. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Oh except we get to see the Phantom actually murder Buquet. That was a surprise! It should make those newbie fangirls STFU about thinking the Phantom didn't REALLY murder anyone, that it was just an ACCIDENT.
Rooftop scene: Raoul is really an obtuse moron here. He seemed more angry at Christine than anything. When he started to offer comfort in AIAOY it didn't seem natural considering how "omg ur wrong" he was before that. I wasn't that impressed with him. Ramin did fine in the reprise. I was glad he wasn't overly dramatic sobbing all over the angel like I've seen some Phantoms.
And then he gets angry and drops the chandelier makes fireworks shoot out of the chandelier. Not nearly as frightening, but what didn't go up must not come down I guess. This was weird and I was unhappy with the lack of chandelier falling stuff in this one.
---
Masquerade was AWESOME. So many costumes, so much action. There were three bands, so three monkey girls, etc. I loved how many people there were on stage for Masquerade. I also liked that they really played up the "Christine gets trapped in the dance" bit. She looked trapped, rather than like she was having a good time. The costumes looked great. And then the Phantom enters. Or rather, stands at the top of a very small staircase and never moves. No scary slow steps down the stairs, no approaching Christine and ripping off her necklace. He just stood there until the end and then disappeared. I have NO idea why they did that. I'm just glad he was wearing the usual costume and not that Zorro the Gay Blade one from the movie.
Notes II. Sierra was the best thing in this scene. The managers...meh. Carlotta...way more than meh. Raoul was a demanding jerk like he always is. I hate this scene for his character because he's all "I WILL PROTECT YOU" and then "WAIT A MINUTE WE CAN TRAP THIS FUCKER WITH YOUR HELP!" Yeah Christine knew what would happen, but no one would listen to her!
Rehearsal. Dear GOD Carlotta and Piangi suck.
Wishing. WONDERFUL. I really thought she did a fantastic job with it. Emotions were fantastic, and I really do like her voice.
Wandering Child. I'm always torn as to whether or not I prefer the trio or the duet version that Raoul walks in on at the last moment. Here they did the trio (which is usual in London I believe). They made some changes here, mostly by getting rid of the Phantoms silly skull staff. I mean, I like the staff, but the fireballs shooting from it always look lame. Instead he raises his hand and fire flares from the stage. It was done artfully, as in Christine and Raoul would run first one way then another and get trapped by the fire. They finally escape and all goes up in flames as always. (And ok, YES, this might have been a little bit Tim the Enchanter here.)
Don Juan/Point of No Return. Again, Sierra was wonderful. I really did like her performance. No idea if others agree with me, but I thought she was fantastic. She had just the right amount of seductiveness/nervousness this scene requires. She was really putting on a great "seduction" act until she discovered it was the Phantom and freaked out. I cried during the "All I ask of you" part as always. Ramin looked suitably angry and crazy after she pulled the mask and wig off.
Final Lair: OMG. So much to like here, along with some "OMG WTF" moments. Most of it was REALLY well done, but when Raoul first enters and Christine tried to go to him, the Phantom wraps his hand around her throat. That's right, he CHOKES HER. I don't know if he did this to show how over the edge the character was at that point, but really? The Phantom harming Christine's voice? I cannot see it and I was stunned he did this move. I could see him slamming his hand down on her shoulder or grabbing her arm, but her throat? No that wasn't right.
Except for that, he did brilliantly. I was SOBBING during the kiss because he actually, at the very end of it, reached up and brought his hands over hers (which were on his face). It was so touching. And when he walked away from her sort of muttering and obviously VERY confused, I was impressed.
And then the funny moment that sort of threw me out of it for a moment: He grabbed the candle and "lit it" against one of the already lit ones...by turning it on. And there was an audible click and you could see him do it. *headdesk* So embarrassing.
But the rest was great.
And then Christine comes back while he's curled up next to the monkey music box. And I cannot describe how wonderful this moment was. He finally says he loves her and they're holding each others hands. And she releases the ring back to him but still has her hand over his. And she leans down and kisses his hand. Obviously she lets him go but she doesn't run out, she slowly goes up the stairs singing the next lines of AIAOY and looking back once in awhile, and Raoul reaches out a hand and has to coax her out and it was so amazingly awesome. And yes I'm TRYING not to hear "and then she went back and got it on with him and she had his baby" in the back of my head about this scene! DAMN YOU ALW!!!
So all in all...AMAZING. Would like to go back and see it again.
---
After that, ALW spoke for a bit and then had Sarah come out and sing the title song with 4 Phantoms: Colm Wilkinson, Anthony Warlow, John Owen Jones, and Peter Joback. Sarah sounded pretty weak, which surprised me. Colm sounded way better than he usually does. Anthony Warlow was awesome as always. JOJ? I already said what I think about him! But Peter Joback? OMG WHO IS THIS GUY? He sucked SO BAD. He had the worst nasal voice. Dear God it sounds like he's going to be the next Phantom in London? EGADS. I wouldn't pay money to see him. See folks, worse Phantoms than Ramin!
I was totally 100% disappointed that Michael didn't get to sing at all. I mean, the original Phantom is there and he doesn't get to be one of the ones singing with the original Christine? WHY. JUST WHY. I wanted me some Michael! I WAS happy to see Ramin honor him with a line from MOTN. But otherwise it was like he was totally glossed over, so that sort of pissed me off.
So there you have it...my thoughts on the show! Anyone else go? What did you think?