#Paul A Schaefer

[ceaselesslyinlove]

Laird Mackintosh’s final bow as the phantom on broadway 🎭 - March 6, 2023

#curtain call #poto broadway #laird mackintosh #julia udine #paul a schaefer #phantom of the opera #the phantom of the opera

[glindaupland]

35th Anniversary - Audio Gift

finally finished cleaning up my 35th anniversary audio so here’s a gift if you’d like another version among the bunch released

The Phantom of the Opera (Andrew Lloyd Webber) - Broadway January 26, 2023 - 35th Anniversary

This includes a full video of Ben Crawford’s speech at curtain call (and you can hear me being extra crazy at certain parts haha). Please credit mirrorbluenight as the master if l added to trading lists, but gift upon request. Full cast and notes under cut!

Download

CAST: Ben Crawford (The Phantom of the Opera), Emilie Kouatchou (Christine Daaé), Paul A. Schaefer (u/s Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny), Raquel Suarez Groen (Carlotta Giudicelli), Craig Bennett (Monsieur Firmin), Nehal Joshi (Monsieur André), Maree Johnson (Madame Giry), Carlton Moe (Ubaldo Piangi), Sara Esty (Meg Giry), Carrington Vilmont (Auctioneer), Jim Weitzer (Monsieur Reyer/Hairdresser), Tug Watson (u/s Jeweler), Laird Mackintosh (Monsieur Lefèvre/Firechief), David Michael Garry (Joseph Buquet/Don Attilio), Jeremy Stolle (Passarino), Kfir (Hannibal Solo Dancer), Weston Krukow (u/s Il Muto Solo Dancer), Kanisha Marie Feliciano (Page), Chris Georgetti (Porter/Fireman), Trista Moldovan (Spanish Lady), Satomi Hoffmann (Wardrobe Mistress/Confidante), Elizabeth Welch (Hannibal Princess), Kelly Jeanne Grant (Madame Firmin), Janet Saia (u/s Innkeeper's Wife), Jason Forbach (e/c Marksman)

NOTES: 35th anniversary performance, fully tracked. The energy from the audience was such an incredible thing to experience. There's LOTS of cheering! Emilie's Wishing got an extended applause with some standing ovations and was one of the best performances of it I've ever seen. Some rustling can be heard at the start of each act as I try to set up and avoid being seen by ushers. Had to hush some people talking behind me at one point and you occasionally hear the guy behind me laughing like a snake. But hey you also have to hear me laugh, awww, and even slightly cry from being overwhelmed by the performance so I'm also guilty. A video of curtain call and Ben Crawford's full speech is included. Please gift upon request.

#the phantom of the opera #audio gift #poto broadway #poto #ben crawford #emilie kouatchou #paul a schaefer #i got sooooo mushy while tracking this #so many feelings #mirrorbluenight gifts

[faded-florals]

Emilie Kouatchou as Christine Daaé

Ben Crawford as The Phantom

Paul A Schaefer as Raoul de Chagny

Broadway, December 8th 2022, 2pm

#Phantom Of The Opera #POTO #POTO Broadway #Christine Daae #The Phantom #Raoul de Chagny #Emilie Kouatchou #Ben Crawford #Paul A Schaefer #I am so in love with Emilie's Christine 😍❤️ #I feel like every time I see her she's even better! #I would also like to report that Paul's Raoul has noticeably improved #His Notes II on this night actually had me like 😲 I was pretty impressed! #He's still not meeting my expectations vocally but his acting has gotten better in most scenes #Enough for me to say I don't fully dislike his Raoul which is something!

[angelofmusicals87614]

Photo by Greg Mills

#paul a schaefer #raoul de chagny #phantom of the opera #broadway #poto broadway #paul schaefer #phantom broadway #raoul #phantom of the opera broadway #greg mills

[ifyouhappentoremember]

Audio Gift

The Phantom of the Opera - Broadway - August 15, 2022

Jeremy Stolle (u/s), Kanisha Marie Feliciano (u/s), Paul A. Schaefer (u/s)

Fully Tracked

Full Principle Cast: Jeremy Stolle (u/s The Phantom), Kanisha Marie Feliciano (u/s Christine), Paul A. Schaefer (u/s Raoul), Scott Mikita (u/s Andre), Craig Bennett (Firmin), Maree Johnson (Madam Giry) Raquel Suarez Groen (Carlotta), Carlton Moe (Piangi), Erica Wong (u/s Meg)

Notes:

The people sitting near me were chatty. You can hear them occasionally during the first act.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/8hqcy6ulhzisu3m/POTO+08152022.zip/file

#yes I will get to tracking and gifting the elizabeth welch audio #but I figured more people were interested in kanisha #there is also a metallic clanging during the second act???? #no idea where that came from #poto broadway #jeremy stolle #kanisha marie feliciano #paul a schaefer #audio gift

[goldnnavy]

If I said I had a full show audio boot from yesterday's Phantom performance, featuring Ted Keegan as Phantom, Paul A. Schaefer as Raoul, and Julia Udine as Christine... would anyone be interested in trading?

#I say this because I'm very proud to have got it myself #that show was beautiful and ted was fantastic #there is some static during notes though because someone decided to get up and needed to cross infront of me #the phantom of the opera #phantom of the opera #poto #phantom broadway #bootleg #audio bootlegs #ted keegan #paul a schaefer #julia udine #bootleg trading #broadway #broadway musicals

[withallthingslove]

The Phantom of the Opera Broadway Thoughts/Review - March 9, 2023

This marked my fifth time seeing Phantom on Broadway, and I went with my friend who was seeing it for the first time. The Phantom was Ben Crawford, Raoul was Paul A. Schaefer, and Christine was played by both Emilie Kouatchou and Kanisha Marie Feliciano. Kanisha replaced Emilie during Il Muto. 

compared to when I saw it in December, the audience was not as loud during songs and was more enthralled/not taking a breath

From the start, Paul’s Raoul seemed stronger than the last time I saw him. It was also a vocally strong performance all around for everyone. 

While going down to the lair during the title song, Ben’s Phantom caressed Christine’s arm as she passed him at the end of the travelator

During STYDI, Emilie and Ben had a lot of tension when she decided to hand his mask back. And the way Ben hovered over her before grabbing her arm made me sjdjsk

Ben and Emilie were not seen coming up the trap door after the lair and the part where the ballerinas would spot the Phantom and Christine was cut. Instead the ballerinas just screamed after Magical Lasso and exited instead of pointing toward the Phantom and Christine so something felt off there

Kanisha came on during Il Muto instead of Emilie and it was my first time ever seeing an emergency cover happen in a show. During Il Muto I thought Kanisha’s confusion played well, but in All I Ask of You she seemed a bit overwhelmed. Paul really took over All I Ask of You and increased his energy in a really reassuring way.

When Ben appeared in the angel my friend went “oh fuck oh fuck” so it’s cool how surprising the angel still is to people who haven’t seen it

Ben also timed his hand coming up over the angel to the music so well it made it feel really gothic and creepy

Nehal Joshi as Andre really brought a ton of physical comedy and had dialed it up a bunch since I saw it in December. He walked through the ballerinas performing in Hannibal and bumped into more ballerinas during Il Muto. He also was more exaggerated with Firmin. 

Ok so we have to talk about Paul in act II... the first time I have seen him have consistent stage presence all the way through. He had so many cute moments with Kanisha and was appearing so protective instead of just standing there. I can’t even begin to recount the number of little reassuring touches he did that just added so much to his relationship with Christine. My friend commented that she thought she would be bored of Raoul based on the beginning but was obsessed with him in act II so she also noticed it

Kanisha has such a beautiful voice, but I think it took until Wishing for her to settle into the character. Her Wishing was really beautiful!

When Ben appeared in the graveyard my friend went “not this fucker again.” 

It was the best Wandering Child trio I’ve seen (and I do not like the trio in the song I prefer how it used to be from years ago). But the trio actually worked here. It was really cool to see Ben’s characterization change with Kanisha compared to how he would be with Emilie. With Kanisha he was immediately more paternal with her and this made the lyrics “wandering child” and “fathering gaze” that much more impactful.

Paul was bringING it during Wandering Child and since Kanisha and Ben were too, the sequence of Christine walking in a trance to the Phantom to Raoul stopping her, to the Phantom yelling at them while Chrisitne tries to stop Raoul while Raoul tries to protect Chrisitne just all ~ came together ~ 

Ben sounded really good in PONR. The new blocking I think this time I interpreted that Christine was just trying to force the Phantom to finish the choreography and then once she unveiled it as him she was maybe going to try and find a way to help the situation without the Phantom needing to die. And then he proposed to her and she was SHOCKED

During the final lair Ben was a bit more scary and physical than when I saw him in December and this made Paul louder and more protective. Kanisha’s “tears of hate” line was very defiant.

After the kiss for a second it looked like Kanisha’s Christine maybe felt something for the Phantom but a bit unclear on what that feeling was. She definitely stopped hating him after the kiss though and was looking at him almost perplexed and even after he let Roaul go, she still seemed to be trying to figure out what he was doing and what she felt

Ben broke my heart because when Christine came back to return the ring he leapt up and seemed to be thinking she was going to stay. Then Kanisha took a huge step back and stiffly outstretched her arm and it dawned on him that she wasn’t staying. 

He sang “I love you” once, and once she left he said it again but more in a pitiful way to himself. So he wasn’t trying to convince her to stay like he did when I saw him with Emilie. 

I don’t get the 100% vibe that Ben’s Phantom goes after Kanisha’s Christine. He seems to have sadly accepted it and I see more of like a 25% he considers trying to find her but doesn’t go through with it

I cried multiple times during the show and when I got home I sobbed at the thought of that being my last time seeing Phantom, so I bought one more ticket for April. My credit card and friends and family are probably unsurprised yet exasperated, but I think need one more time to say goodbye. This show in particular was pretty much perfect vocally, and it was so cool to compare the different acting interpretations and how they changed once Kanisha came onstage. 

But it was super chaotic and a roller coaster of emotions from hoping Emilie is OK, wondering what happened, being disappointed Emilie wasn’t on anymore, loving that I got to see Kanisha, and then being disappointed I couldn’t have seen Kanisha at the beginning while still wishing I got to see Emilie all the way through. By the time Ben was singing at the end of the Final Lair, I realized my emotions had been so all over the place and I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t get to use the show the way I originally intended and hadn’t been able to just sit back and appreciate it one last time.

So I guess I’m going back again

#phantom of the opera #poto #phantom broadway #ben crawford #paul a schaefer #emilie kouatchou #kanisha marie feliciano #nehal joshi #phantom bway #poto broadway #phantom #broadway #phantom of the opera broadway #majestic theatre #broadway review #musical theatre #mine

[finalthreshold]

(phantom of the opera - broadway - 1/27/2023)

so i think my heart may still be in pieces on the majestic theater mezzanine floor

#poto broadway #phantom of the opera #poto audio #paul a schaefer #i hadn't actually heard anything really positive about his phantom so i didn't know what to expect #but it was a great show! i enjoyed him a lot! #i definitely didn't expect such... a wet cat portrayal? #he cried like three times. #overall was quite gentle and tender towards christine and there was a feeling of reverence towards her? #mine #poto

[rose-margaritas]

A First-Timer’s Thoughts on the January 27th Performance of Phantom of the Opera (The Day After 35th Anniversary)

The main trio I saw was Paul A. Schaefer, Emilie Kouatchou, and Bronson Norris Murphy (!!!)

I originally thought that I would be seeing Ben Crawford as the Phantom and John Riddle as Raoul, so I literally squealed when I saw the updated cast.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m finally seeing this in real life or have seen the show online way too many times, but I was focusing on the background characters more than the main ones.

During the Hannibal rehearsal, I saw Mme. Giry fixing Meg’s posture all the way to the left of the stage, and later the slave master practicing (or flirting?) with another slave girl to the right back of the stage.

Raquel Suarez Groen is such a wonderful Carlotta, as always (Carlotta my beloved 💕)

There were quite a few Reyer/Christine moments, with one being him kissing the back of Christine’s hand after her performance.

The tight, squeeze hug between Meg and Christine in the dressing room was so cute!

Meg mumbling “Rehearsals… always rehearsals…!” as she stormed out the dressing room was adorable! (Can you tell that I love Meg?)

Paul’s Phantom was actually pretty good. The unmoving arms during MotN though… he just doesn’t have the grace that people would expect of the Phantom.

Paul’s got the creep crawl during STYDI, it was fast too.

During Prima Donna, Firmin gave a rather firm tap on Carlotta’s shoulder, and she leaned father away from him and closer to André afterwards, while giving Firmin wary looks.

Sassy Piangi for the win.

I never knew that the Phantom’s voice floats around the back of the theatre when they’re reading his note! It was such a wonderful experience, and I was actually looking around the theatre, following his voice lol.

Paul’s laugh was sort of… lackluster during Il Muto

Nehal Joshi is the best. André. Ever. His shrill calls for the ballet and his prolonged presence on the stage with the ballet dancers was so entertaining.

The Shepherd and the ballerinas deserve a medal for giving such a funny performance without muttering a single word.

Bronson’s Raoul looked like he genuinely believed in Christine’s fear for the Phantom. He was quite diligent when he looked around for the voice 🤭

Bronson grinning and spinning with his arms wide open during AIAOY was so cute!!!!!

He also spun Emilie around so many times that I lost count! Truthfully, he’s the first Raoul that made me genuinely ship R/C, and that’s saying something coming from someone who’s a hardcore E/C shipper.

I never noticed that the angels lower from the top of the frame for the AIAOY reprise, and I was slightly shocked to see Paul appear from it too (I don’t know what I was expecting honestly).

During Masquerade, the mannequin with the wings and a leg up the railing kept stealing my attention >:(

Piangi and Carlotta flipping the Opera score upside down and then back, trying to understand what they were looking at during Notes II.

Piangi subtly showing Christine where they are in the score always warms my heart!

Not Reyer clapping first and then saying that Piangi was wrong.

Paul sat so still during PONR that it made me wonder if he was simply a statue.

There were so many Raoul/Mme. Giry moments! During Notes/Prima Donna, after Masquerade, and the descent to the Lair.

Poor Barb suffered two concussions. One from hitting the edge of the stage frame, another from hitting the ground.

Paul’s “You. Try. My. Patience.” was so powerful and ferocious! Good job Paul! (I felt that he may have been saving his energy for the second act)

Raoul tried to look away from the kiss? Not sure.

Still not very used to the way they’re getting the lasso off now, but the sound Bronson emitted when the lasso was loosened definitely made up for it 🫣

The audience that night was a jovial bunch. They were incredibly responsive and laughed and clapped at all the right moments. I felt that this group were mainly people who wanted to experience the show again before it closes. I also chatted with some of the audience members at the stage door, and they were all so nice! They warmed the heart of an incredibly reclusive introvert. 🤗

If any of you guys want to see clips from that night, @symphony-in-a is currently posting them here on tumblr!

#poto #phantom of the opera #the phantom of the opera #poto broadway #show review #poto e/c #poto r/c #paul a schaefer #emilie kouatchou #bronson norris murphy #nehal joshi #eristine #raoulstine #a night to remember #erik the phantom #christine daae #raoul de chagny

[christinegrrl]

Some thoughts on Phantom 10/8

I was lucky enough to see Phantom on Broadway this past Saturday and wanted to record a few thoughts!

Cast: Paul A Schaefer as the Phantom, Emilie Kouatchou as Christine, John Riddle as Raoul, Raquel Suarez Groen as Carlotta, Carlton Moe as Piangi, Erica Wong as Meg, Nehal Joshi as Andre, Craig Bennett as Firmin, Maree Johnson as Mme Giry

The Overture really Hits Different when it may be your last time hearing it live with a full orchestra 

Raquel’s Carlotta is just. So good. She lives the role, every detail is carefully thought through and executed. Obsessed

Erica Wong is an adorable Meg. I was bummed not to see Sara Esty again because I adore her Meg, but Erica was so cute and also very thoughtful with her acting. The Megstine hug at the beginning of Angel of Music was !!!!!!!!

Emilie. My love. I have been wanting to see her live for almost a year and she completely lived up to the hype, just incredible. Her Think of Me cadenza was so beautiful, the notes were hit wonderfully and her smile just lit up the stage, it genuinely brought me to tears, which I was not expecting. 

John is always doing The Most to be kind and supportive, a genuine friend to Christine. You can tell that he and Emilie are friends off stage, they have wonderful chemistry and you’re really rooting for these crazy kids (yes, even us E/C and Raoul/Giry shippers). Their Little Lotte is sweet, and I have it on good authority that his delivery has become a bit more horny since Jordan Donica’s Raoul which. good. We love to see it

Emilie full on smiles during the Mirror, she is very happy to see him 

Much has been said about Paul’s Phantom. Or, well, little has been said because people seem to think little of him. He has a really lovely voice, pretty classical musical theater (as opposed to Ben who’s voice veers a little on the rock side for my taste). His Act 1 was not fantastic. The title song was fine, an inkling of Hand(TM) at the beginning of Christine’s cadenza, an okay hat toss, and then. unfortunately. a very meh cape twirl followed by him folding the cape. The disappointment in our box was palpable. He definitely is a more conventional phantom, Doing the Blocking, and there were moments in Music of the Night where I was getting into it, and then he would like. walk. and it was just the most pedestrian walk you’ve ever seen. and it didn’t work. He also seemed to not know what to do with his arms when he wasn’t doing the blocking which. you could argue is on-brand for Erik but I don’t think it was a Choice. Emilie’s O-faces during MOTN were excellent though, she definitely brought the energy level up, and he quite tenderly tucked her under the cape. STYDI was fine, the plorp was a bit disappointing but he slithered on the floor quite well so we’ll call it a break even 

Notes with this cast is great! Nehal, the new Andre, has such an anxious energy about him and I relate on a deeply personal level. Raquel crushed it as always, and Carlton is so great at the little Piangi moments he gets. John is such an attentive actor, he’s always in character even when he’s not the focus, I love watching him in the background of scenes because he clearly loves this role so much! The end of Prima Donna also brought me to tears because it’s just. so good with this cast. 

Nothing much for Il Muto except John smiles when Emilie is doing the little pillow toss/plump. I hate them I love them. Also Raquel is still wonderful. They’ve been really playing up the “Maestro bring the ballet forward”/Andre tutuphobia and it hits every time, we really need some levity at this point in Act 1 and Nehal’s yelps were very endearing and hysterical. Shout out to the ballerina who notices the Phantom shadow and then turns around to hit her pose with a forced smile, she brings down the house, give her a raise 

AIAOY is just. so cute. John and Emilie are so great together, it’s a very tender rendition, they smile, they giggle, they look like they’re having fun. The first kiss is tender and timid and then Emilie goes for it for the second one and you just want to say “get it girl.” AIAOY reprise gave us some good whimpers, nothing too special but nothing bad either. The gasp at the angel is always a highlight for me

Erica has a leopard print-like Meg Masquerade costume (also like an ombre-ish pink/purple I think?) and it’s important for the world to know this 

John Riddle ships Raoul/Giry more than I do, the sexual tension during Mme Giry’s Tale is palpable, and it’s important for the world to know this

Emilie’s “Twisted every way” was heartbreaking, her acting is always phenomenal but your heart aches for her in that moment omg. I cannot sing her praises enough, run to see her if you haven’t yet. Her “Wishing” felt so meaningful given [gestures vaguely around] and if I hadn’t been so dehydrated by that point in the show I would have cried. Really fantastic

The trio for “Wandering Child” was so good, their voices blended really well and it was goosebump-inducing in the best way

Okay. PONR. Paul definitely had a Red Bull or something during intermission because there was energy!! We had some Hands. We had a body shudder when Christine went up behind him. He put his hands on his stomach! His proposal was begging her omg. I was here for it

Emilie was also great. I do enjoy the new blocking and I think she played it really well, showing the evolution of Christine’s realization and feelings over the course of a short time. She really lingers when putting her hand over his mask to show that she Knows, and her realization is one of anger (justifiably). She shoves him close to her at the end, and it’s just. so good. 

Final Lair time! (this is. so long omg). Paul was very hunched over and skeleton man during the boat ride, good stuff! It felt like he aged 10+ years since the unmasking. He had some interesting deliveries, his tone shifted A Lot throughout the scene which I really enjoyed, very sarcastic when Raoul showed up versus very monotonous post-kiss. When Emilie went to hug him post-”why make her lie to you to save me,” he almost violently flinched away? I can’t describe it but it was like he couldn’t stand for her to touch him. He also waited a good amount of time post-kiss to release Raoul, good build up in tension. A nice “I love you” post-ring return, and he full on got down on the floor to touch his face to the veil for a veil sniff, which we have to love. Overall just much more engaging and emotive than Act 1, I really enjoyed his performance here 

Emilie was also super fantastic, her “tears of hate” was so so so angry, if someone sang like that at me I would simply melt into the ground. Her going for the hug (that’s how I choose to interpret that part anyways) was also interesting, desperate but you could still tell she was pissed. I was angled away from her for most of the scene unfortunately so I couldn’t see all of her acting, but vocally wonderful 

John has so much swagger in his totally unbuttoned shirt like sir this is not the time (but also good for him). He also continues to commit to looking/sounding like he’s full on dying in the noose, I really enjoy a more active Raoul in this scene as opposed to Raouls who are just. there. He’s just wonderful

Overall, a lovely time! I was expecting very little from Paul and he was better than these very low expectations, especially in the second act. I also really don’t care for Ben’s interpretation so I was happy to see something new. Emilie was just incredible, lovely singing and great acting, one of my favorite Christines for sure. The rest of the cast was also great, the energy was fantastic, especially considering it was a matinee 

Other things: people were standing. They paid like $40(?) to stand for 2.5 hours omg. I’m not over it. Packed house, standing room tickets. The audience was also so into the show. We do not want it to leave Broadway </3 

#far too many words for my taste #this is. a lot #but I wanted a record of it because who knows if I'll see it again before it closes #and it was a great show overall #poto #poto broadway #paul a schaefer #emilie kouatchou #john riddle #I don't talk enough about how much I adore Emilie's Christine #I'm obsessed. she's so good. so nuanced and thoughtful. obsessed

[ceaselesslyinlove]

Laird's last final lair 😭 what a gem of a performer this man is. quick notes from my foggy memory: - "a masskkk 😩" - Dude really shoves his deformity into her face at "an eternity of this..." - "...and turn to tears of hate!" Laird leans down against the music stand in despair before looking up determined and angry - "Why make her lie to you..." Laird throws the veil the moment Julia touches him. - When Julia hugs him, Laird throws his head up in shock (and maybe emotional pain?) and Julia has to bring him into the second kiss. - Laird touches his lips after the kiss and keeps them there as he walks across the stage. - Laird's emotional gasp when Julia releases his hand and the ring 😫 - He feebly cradles the veil (thank you Laird I love a pathetic veil cradling here) as Julia and Paul begin to sing. He directs the first half of the last line facing them, then sings the rest to us.

#phantom of the opera #the phantom of the opera #poto audio #poto broadway #laird mackintosh #julia udine #paul a schaefer #also like 3 people around me are clearly ill omg #like non stop sniffing and sneezing #like where is the mask law when i need it

[glindaupland]

The Phantom of the Opera | Broadway

Ben Crawford, Kaley Ann Voorhees, Paul A Schaefer December 15, 2018, Evening

dropping a little snack for you guys finally releasing this audio into the wild because I was too lazy to track it until now woops

#audio gift #ben crawford #kaley ann voorhees #paul a schaefer #poto broadway #the phantom of the opera #is tumblr going to let this show up in tags now #or is it going to be mean to me #mirrorbluenight

[faded-florals]

Paul A Schaefer and Emilie Kouatchou as Raoul de Chagny and Christine Daaé

Broadway, December 8th 2022, 2pm

#Phantom Of The Opera #POTO #POTO Broadway #Raoul de Chagny #Christine Daae #Emilie Kouatchou #Paul A Schaefer #Paul Schaefer #Okay but they are so cuteeee 🥹💖 #Gimme Raoul and Christine smiling at each other all day every day I love it

[angelofmusicals87614]

🍾 @pauladamschaefer and I have been performing together for 20 years now. I was there when he got the call to be in @phantomopera and he was one of the first people I called to say I was joining the cast. I am so happy he and I got to stand side by side for my final Phantom bow. The years have been an adventure!!! I am so grateful. #phantom #phantomoftheopera #finalbow

(X)

#jeremy stolle #paul a schaefer #Phantom of the Opera #Broadway #raoul de chagny #vicomte de chagny #paul schaefer #poto broadway #phantom broadway #phantom of the opera broadway

[ifyouhappentoremember]

Quick Thoughts - The Phantom of the Opera - October 31, 202

Happy Halloween! It was so fun to see audience members dress up in costume for the occasion.

This performance really felt like a performance for the Phans. My box seated 6 people. That entire box had all hard-core Phans, here to have a good time (and live in denial that Phantom really is closing :/).

The main trio was Ben Crawford, Elizabeth Welch and Paul A. Schaefer. Jeremy Stolle was on as Piangi and that really was Something.

This is probably going to be the last time I see Elizabeth as Christine (and I refuse to believe that this is her last opportunity as Christine). She’s such a great Christine, so nuanced and well-thought out.

Paul is a perfectly adequate and serviceable Raoul guys. He hits all the right beats.

I swear I say this for every write-up of Ben’s Phantom, but he’s really improved! I last saw him in May! It’s really been a while.

There was a very... feral quality to Ben’s Phantom this round. That first lair... I think I nearly fell out of the box. It’s very clear that the control that the Phantom has in the situation is very tenuous. 

The man sang ‘touch me, trust me...’ right into Christine’s ear. SIR.

The un-hooding (?), after Point of No Return, Ben’s Phantom gave a shrug as if he was like “now why did you have to go ruin my song like that?’

I think I had a revelation during the Final Lair about why I’ve been slow to warm to Ben’s Phantom. He’s fond of doing a second repeated ‘I Love You’ to Christine’s retreating figure and there is always something so pitiful about it but this time, there was also a note of desperation. I read it as, one last chance to get Christine to stay, one last manipulative action. I think that is my point of contention with his Phantom. I don’t know if I fully accept that Ben’s Phantom leaves Christine alone after the show. I guess his Phantom is the perfect lead-in to Love Never Dies?

#the fun part about the box is looking out into the audience and just looking at how lawless and insane the rear mezzanine is #and by fun I mean depressing #because my seat for my next trip to Phantom is in the rear mezzanine #quick thoughts #poto broadway #ben crawford #elizabeth welch #paul a schaefer

[wheel-of-fish]

It's been almost a year since Phantom closed on Broadway, and I miss these folks.

Ben Crawford | Kanisha Marie Feliciano | Ted Keegan Emilie Kouatchou | Laird Mackintosh | Greg Mills Bronson Norris Murphy | John Riddle | Paul A. Schaefer Jeremy Stolle | Julia Udine | Elizabeth Welch

#phantom of the opera #gifset #edit #ben crawford #kanisha marie feliciano #ted keegan #emilie kouatchou #laird mackintosh #greg mills #bronson norris murphy #john riddle #paul schaefer #jeremy stolle #julia udine #elizabeth welch