Phantom 25th Anniversary Observations

Greetings, all!

Last night, my local PBS station showed the 25th anniversary concert for POTO. Even though I have the Blu-Ray, I decided to watch it, mainly to see if there were any weird issues with the broadcast (since when they showed the “Les Misérables” 25th anniversary concert last year, the music for the whole thing somehow ended up in a lower key), and also to see if there were any interesting conversations or guests during the breaks where they’d ask for donations to the station. Thankfully, there were no strange problems with the broadcast that I noticed. They had a great lineup of special guests to talk about their history with the show and with PBS, though -- they brought on Ramin Karimloo and Colm Wilkinson, and also the current Phantom and Christine from the Broadway cast, Hugh Panaro and Trista Moldovan.

Anyway, the reason why I’m posting about this is that I noticed a few interesting things while watching the concert for what was really the second time. The only other time was when I saw it in the movie theater last October; I had watched certain scenes from my Blu-Ray copy, but not the whole thing. Anyway, here are some of my observations from last night’s showing of the concert:

- I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the broadcast or with my speakers, but my TV didn’t seem to like Ramin Karimloo or Gareth Snook too much. There ended up being a really weird echo on many (but not all) of their lines and no one else’s. Or maybe my TV is haunted.

- When Ramin first appears (on the projection screen) in the mirror scene, the mask is on the left side of his face. Yes, I know it’s a mirror, but the idea is that the Phantom’s behind the mirror, not that he’s showing up as a mirror image. You’d think after the whole thing with the ’04 movie poster putting the mask on the wrong side of the Phantom’s face, RUG would be more wary about that sort of thing happening in a venue where die-hard Phans would notice. XD

- Ramin Karimloo’s mask design in the concert seemed a bit odd to me, but watching the TV broadcast, I think I finally understand why they did it that way. The brow of the mask seems to have been made so that no matter what Ramin’s facial expression was in any scene, the mask would appear to reflect that. Then again, maybe that was the point with every production’s mask design, and it just took me this long to notice it. But in any case, it’s pretty ingenious if they did that on purpose.

- They unfortunately seemed to have used a different take for “Stranger Than You Dreamt It” where Ramin was more restrained -- in the theatrical showing, he was much more violent. What is it with Phantoms having to get their performances of this scene unnecessarily toned down? (See also: Brad Little, John Owen-Jones, and several others.)

- There was one thing that hit me as a possibly brilliant idea to use in the “Notes” sequences -- they didn’t do it in the concert, but I’d love it if a future production tried it. Basically, they could have the managers, Raoul, and everyone else who gets a note from the Phantom visibly struggling to read his handwriting. It would be a great, subtle nod to Leroux’s novel, I think.

- I forgot to check in the “Stranger Than You Dreamt It” scene, but when Ramin’s Phantom appears on the projection screen during “Notes,” it’s clear that he’s writing with his left hand. Yay!

- Colm Wilkinson’s normal speaking voice (when PBS interviewed him to ask about his experiences with the show and what PBS meant to him) was completely different from what I had expected after being so used to hearing him sing for so many years.

- The fire jets added to the Phantom’s escapes in the “Masquerade” and “Point of No Return” scenes, as well as their use in the graveyard scene, give the impression that Ramin’s Phantom is much more of a pyromaniac than other versions. Since I had some pyro tendencies when I was younger (and still kinda do), this intrigued me.

- Even though I still really dislike Hadley Fraser’s Raoul in the dressing room and rooftop scenes, I have to admit he redeems himself pretty well in Act 2 (especially from the graveyard scene onward). Maybe that’s intentional character development?

- The Phantom’s line “Let the audience in” was removed from the scene where Raoul was instructing the police on what to do if the Phantom should appear. This incredibly minor omission keeps the 25th anniversary Blu-Ray, DVD, and CD from being truly complete recordings of the show.

- I remember having to hold in a particularly loud ‘squee’ when I noticed while watching the concert in the theater that castanets were added to the orchestrations of “Point of No Return” -- I’d wanted them to do that ever since first hearing the song. Sadly, the castanets weren’t nearly as prominent in audio recordings of the concert, but they were back in full force for the TV broadcast. *fist pump*

- The editing team managed to cut the bit that occurred during the live theatrical showing, where a projection screen showed white noise for a long while during Andrew Lloyd Webber’s speech at the end. This means that either the editors were extremely thorough, or Lord Andrew was wearing the same blue shirt for two or more performances from which that part was able to be spliced together.

- I still get chills in the fourth verse of the title song encore, when Anthony Warlow and John Owen-Jones are singing together.

Those were some of the things I noticed while watching the concert. Feel free to comment with your own observations!

I remain your obedient servant,

I.A.E.