Phantoms: Sad Wet Cat Or Crazy Bitch?

Was completely unprepared for JRox to snatch my entire soul and now I'm just...unsettled. How am I supposed to sleep?!?!

An Essay on ALW's Erik

One of the best insights I got into ALW's Phantom from some random Reddit user is to watch for whether the lead plays Erik from his own POV or from Christine's, especially in MOTN. (I also add a third option because several actors also play him from the perspective of the audience or a more omniscient narrator.)

These approaches result in entirely different, but no less accurate, interpretations of the character. For example, Earl Carpenter's performance from the first lair to the final lair is entrenched in the Phantom's perspective, from the total anxiety he projects in MOTN, to his more hesitant physical engagement with Christine, to his decision to kneel/silently beg Christine to stay with him during the ring return. And I love that there's variety within this perspective as well. Carpenter uses this POV to portray a very earnest and sympathetic (if unscocialized) Erik, but I'd argue that Anthony Warlow also falls within this category even though he leans into the darker aspects of the Phantom's psyche.

I have favorite Phantoms in both categories, but I admit that Christine's POV is actually what hooked me to this musical. I got deep into Phantom boots after losing my dad in my 20s and watching an engagement fall apart under the strain of grief. When Erik is viewed or portrayed (à la Hugh Panaro) through Christine's eyes, you can see the character undergo a pitchy transformation throughout the musical as Christine works through her own relationship to men while grieving and coming of age. Erik initially presents himself to her as a father figure, then as a full-on seducer in the first lair, and then as a total monster. The story is in part about Christine's journey toward reconciling these different ways of perceiving/relating to masculinity in the absence of what had been the only male figure in her life. And the musical approaches resolution when Christine realizes that Erik is neither her dad, her lover, or a total villain--he's just a man. And he's worthy of compassion, but she can also choose to leave him.

Anyway, I hate when people say that it's inaccurate for Erik to be "X" or "Y". Because especially through the lens of Christine's journey, Erik is all the things at one point or another (or even simultaneously). He is a daddy-coded immortal messenger and a genius and sex incarnate and unhinged and broken and, and, and...a literary figure shaped by the internal worlds of the author, the reader, and the viewer/listener. What's the point in trying to make objective claims about him? Resist binary thinking and make literary and media analysis great again.

A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1985)

dir. james ivory

Not sure what I just experienced watching the restaged POTO tour, but now I need to revisit David Shannon bootlegs to help me recover.

New fandom level unlocked: I officially have an AO3 account.

POTO retelling loading. And maybe I'll even overcome my trauma and restart the Jane Eyre fanfic I lost more than a decade ago when my computer was stolen.

Phantom Acting Choices that Live in My Head Rent Free

Kevin Gray touching his face while Christine sings "pitiful creature of darkness."

The point in MOTN when Laird Mackintosh and Earl Carpenter's Phantoms walk up on Christine hesitantly so the segue into "turn your face away" is just them chickening out.

The way Gary Mauer yells "NO!" in the angel before crashing out on "you will curse the day."

Davis Gaines's deliberate hand movements during the kiss and "Christine I love you." And the way he sobs and falls to the floor without it reading melodramatic. (Davis Gaines as a whole, tbh.)

When Erik and Christine lock eyes for a hot minute after the kiss. (Killian Donnelly/Lucy St. Louis and Hugh Panaro/Mary Michael Patterson are so good at this.)

The unique way Dean Chisnall sings "save me" during PONR/AIAOY reprise like his voice is breaking a little.

David Shannon wants to touch Christine's face so badly but just can't bring himself to do it.

Interrupting my usual POTO content to exclaim: God almighty this man!

really is soooo sick that ppl think that overuse of the em dash is a marker of ai now. like why are you people sullying the reputation of my beautiful beautiful wife. if im not overusing em dashes im dead. im like that chuck tingle book thats like the sentient lesbian em dash makes sweet love to me or whatever

Oh shit, I started a fanfic!

Welp, we've gone this far. Follow me on AO3 and tune in to a POTO retelling lol.

Chapter 2 is live!!

Some random thoughts in the void as I try to work through wtf I actually want to do with this fanfic:

“Think of Me” is the first song I heard from POTO before I was even properly introduced to the show. But once I watched Phantom in full, I realized how much of an “odd man out” the song is. I get that it serves an introductory function and that it’s basically a Christine/Raoul leitmotif, but even so it doesn’t seem to feature much in the musical overall.

And I guess this fanfic retelling is taking up the song in a completely different vein and asking what the story would look like if “Think of Me” was a potential leitmotif for Christine and Erik. What if Erik and Christine had encountered each other in one set of circumstances, gone their separate ways, and then reconnected and “remembered” each other—but with a new set of emotions and challenges?

Maybe I’m just trying to extract an Erik/Christine ship 😅. But also want to gently explore whether it’s possible for Erik’s Angel of music/father figure act to be meaningful for the both he and young Christine and not just loaded with manipulation and grooming. And I feel like the only way that’s even slightly possible is for her to actually have room to grow up and come back to the opera house as a woman.

Maybe it won’t work but 😂🥴