Gaaaaaah That First Gif Is Literally A Permanent Fixture In My Brain.

Phantoms: Sad Wet Cat or Crazy Bitch?

Inspired by this tweet by @glindaupland (i think). May delete because, well...

Earl Carpenter: Duh, the OG sad wet cat OG.

Kevin Gray: Definitely a crazy bitch, but makes me a sad wet cat watching him.

Ian Jon Bourg: Sad wet cat pretending to be a crazy bitch.

Tim Martin Gleason: Name a difference between his final lair and a kitten left out in the rain?

Hugh Panaro: Psycho bitch who becomes a sad wet cat for 1.5 seconds when he says "my angel."

Davis Gaines: Sad wet crazy bitch.

JOJ: Crazy wet cat.

David Thaxton: Is a crazy bitch because he's a sad wet cat.

Ramin Karimloo: Extra crazy bitch. No cat in him whatsoever, unfortunately.

Jeremy Stolle: Was a sad wet cat in his early days as an understudy but graduated to crazy bitch and sex god in the 2020s.

Greg Mills: People literally call him finger lickin' Greg...but he's still a wet cat.

Ben Crawford: Crazy bitch who swears he's not crazy.

David Shannon: Sad wet cat who is also injured.

John Cudia: Sad wet cat who makes my cat w—*phone dies*

My Favorite Phantoms in 1-2 Sentences

[Once again no particular order but this list includes most of my faves minus Killian Donnelly and TMG.]

John Owen Jones: Yes, I sob loudly whenever I watch that '05 performance with Rachel Barrell. And?

Gary Mauer: The best vocal Phantom imo, argue about it with someone else. Phans love him paired with his wifey Beth Southard as Christine, but that final lair kiss with Marie Danvers is unmatched (iykyk).

Earl Carpenter: His Erik was in love with Christine the whole time, idc idc. Top 3 final lair performer in his early run and I can't even tell you who's ahead of him tbqh.

Peter Karrie: There is literally NO Phantom like him in the history of the role and his '98 boot is the most heartbreaking performance I've ever watched. But is it ableist that his Phantom is so savant/autistic coded?

Hugh Panaro: Master of the hair slick and self caress; lord of the portcullis sprawl; perfector of the whispered "I love you" and "my angel." Holds your entire soul in a psycho death grip from "insolent boy" and doesn't let go until the curtain goes down.

Kevin Gray: Mix together Peter Karrie, Hugh Panaro, and a dash of Crawford and you get Kevin Gray. That's a deranged, hair-raising, and completely magical equation.

Ramin Karimloo: Gets disproportionate hype because of the 25th anniversary performance but his 25th anniversary performance is still worth the hype??

John Cudia: There are three ingredients to a Cudia performance: softness, sadness, and sexiness. He may not blow you away if you like your Phantom unhinged, but he will bring those three things every time.

Howard McGillin: Starts out classic and suave but ends the show completely broken with all the feels. Also a banging vibrato if that's your thing.

David Thaxton: The theater gods reward a risk taker, and Thaxton has so many unique touches that I admire his commitment even if I'm ambivalent about some of his choices.

Edit because I forgot Davis Gaines [HOW could I forget Davis Gaines??]: My second favorite Phantom voice behind Gary Mauer, even though they're totally different. He just has such a deep and hypnotizing baritone that's offset so perfectly by some of his vulnerable acting choices.

[More phantoms here and here.]

Made by @mattxiv on Instagram.

"Letters To Milena", Franz Kafka

The Last Black Man In San Francisco (2019)

dir. joe talbot

I can’t remember if I posted this before or not 😭

This post made me realize how much the byronic hero has me in a chokehold bc WOW all my favorite figures in one meme!

The many uses of a Byronic Hero

chair ( Jane & Edward - Jane Eyre)

Pillow ( Christine & Erik - Phantom of the Opera)

Car ( Catherine & Heathcliff - Wuthering Heights)

Water dispenser ( Edith & Thomas - Crimson Peak)

Legs.

1. Jeremy Stolle 2. Davis Gaines 3. Hugh Panaro 4. Ivan Ozhogin 5. Ben Lewis 6. Gary Mauer 7. Howard McGillin 8. Earl Carpenter 9. Mathais Edenborn

#oh boy #i forgive Ramin for so much based on how he acted out this one moment

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