[Favorite Portrayals] AVM Blog Party -- Day Seven

Day Seven: Pick a character: Choose Your Favorite Portrayal. 

Sooooooo. I had to think a lot about this. There are so many characters that I love and want to just rant about, so finally I decided to pick three characters.

First: The Phantom.

"Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation."

My favorite Phantom is Michael Crawford, I feel like he really nailed the character and showed him how he is supposed to be. Over the past few months I've listened to a lot of different actors and I've found the same thing with all of them; they are way too angry. I don't mind a strong Phantom. I don't mind if actors portray him a little more actively aggressive. I mean, different actors see roles in a different way, and that is part of the beauty of Theatre. I just feel like the Phantom, as a character, shouldn't be a loud sort of person. He shouldn't be so sharp and harsh.

The Phantom wants to be normal. He does his best to be a gentleman, a professional eloquent sort of person. He speaks like a gentleman. He dresses like a gentleman. He wears a wig and a mask to make himself look more sophisticated. Even when he writes notes to the Opera House, he is very polite and passive. He isn't (typically) a loud, aggressive man. He is like the dog who will take a lot of hits, but when his bone gets taken away he growls and bites.

That was a really weird analogy, but you see my point.

The Phantom spent his entire life hiding under the Opera House. No  one ever saw him, no one ever heard from him except through the notes he wrote. No one knew anything about him. He didn't go unnoticed and undetected for years by being loud and throwing tantrums. He kept himself a secret by being quiet, clever, manipulative. He got the whole Opera House to believe he was a Ghost, to listen and obey him, and he never showed himself even once! It wasn't until Raoul showed up and tried to take Christine on a date that he finally revealed himself to Christine, and took her down to his lair.

"Look at your face in the mirror. I am there inside..."

Now, when The Phantom is with Christine he should be at especially gentle and careful. He loves her, he wants her to trust him. He would be at his very best around her, with her he would act even more like a gentleman. He wouldn't want to do anything to scare her or make her wary of him. She's the one thing he really cherishes, he wouldn't want her to  be afraid of him. I think that is why I prefer it when The Music of the Night is gentle, enticing. This is the moment when the Phantom is revealing himself to Christine, showing her what he loves and asking her to love it too. He wouldn't be forceful. He would be very tender, leading and letting Christine follow.

The Phantom usually kept to himself. He only started to stage catastrophes when Andre and Firmin, the new owners of the Opera House, refused to respect him or obey his orders. Most of the time the only reason he got aggressive was when it had something to do with Christine. He was in love with her voice and he wanted her to be the star of everything. When Firmin and Andre didn't comply, he got angry. But even then, he started out small and tried to get what he wanted in a passive way. He sent notes and warnings. He tried to be as civil as possible. He didn't immediately fly off the handle, he tried to deal with the problem like a normal person would. He was insane but he wasn't an angry lunatic... at least not at first.

"Dear Andre, just a brief reminder. My salary has not been paid. Send it care of the Ghost, by return of post, PTO. No one likes a debtor, so it's better if my orders are obeyed."

At the end of Act I, Christine and Raoul get engaged. This sends The Phantom into a tail spin. He loves Christine and he feels like she had betrayed him by choosing Raoul. This betrayal sends him into a rage, and he started striking more aggressively after this. However, he still kept the cool gentleman front. He speaks eloquently. He 'asks' for the cooperation of the Opera House. All of his writing is calm and well put together, as if he is trying to keep his anger under control.

"Why so silent, good messieurs?"

"Fondest greetings to you all. A few instructions just before rehearsal starts; Carlotta must be taught to act, not her normal trick of strutting round the stage. Our Duan Juan must lose some wait, it's not healthy in a man of Piangi's age, and my managers must learn that their place is in an office, not the arts. As for Miss Christine Daae! No doubt she'll do her best, it's true her voice is good - she knows though, should she wish to excel, she has much still to learn! If Pride will let her return to me, her Teacher. "

I think the Phantom should be more tender and vulnerable. It makes him more sympathetic when he has a soft side to him. It is so much better when his character is fueled by heartache, and not just mad rampage. It is my humble opinion that the Phantom should be mostly heartbroken when Raoul and Christine get engaged, at least until he hears them singing together and breaks into rage. The same sort of heartbreak should be there in the final lair. He will be angry, of course. Christine betrayed him (twice) and she was the one person he really trusted. But his anger shouldn't be the main point of his character. It is so much better to channel the pain and loneliness of the Phantom then the insane, broken side of him. I'm not saying the Phantom should be just tender and gentle. That is another extreme. I just think there has to be a healthy mix of both, with a strong tilt toward the misery in his character, not the wounded anger that so many of the actors channel right now.

I promise I won't rant as long with my other two 8-)

The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) 

"For I am the Pirate King!"

Hehe, I bet you didn't see this coming. The Pirates of Penzance is one of those fun, relaxing musicals that you watch when you are in need of a laugh, and I really love it. My favorite performance is the one that Anthony Warlow is in, because, of course, Anthony Warlow. He is such a brilliant Pirate King. He is so funny! He does a "Jack Sparrow" take on the character. He copies Johnny Depp's mannerisms so well, it's fabulous. He also brings something of a charm to the role that no one else really has, it makes me happy. He does all these fun little things too, like draw guns during a sword fight and the whole *drunk hands* thing. Like, there is one scene in particular that I really like, where he is is explaining to one of his pirates that he can't leave the ship because it isn't *really* his twenty-first birthday;

"For some ridiculous reason, to which, however, I’ve no desire to be disloyal... Some person in authority - I don’t know who - very likely the Astronomer Royal, has decided that, although for such a beastly month as February, twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty, 

One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty. Through some singular coincidence – I shouldn’t be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy – 

You are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap-year, on the twenty-ninth of February."

When he says "An ill-natured fairy." he pulls a little fairy out of his ear and flicks it away. It's so unique and clever. He does all sorts of those type of things in his performances, little quirks that fill out the Pirate King. He makes you believe the Pirate King is real, he makes you love him and want to be part of his crew. I love Anthony Warlow, he is such an amazing actor,

You can actually get this performance on a DVD. It is well worth the buy,

"I sink a few more ships, it's true, than a well-bred monarch ought to do."

Lilly Craven (The Secret Garden.)

"A girl at work in her garden..."

I absolutely love Lilly and Rebecca Luker portrays the part perfectly. She is gentle and sweet, you can tell just by her voice that she is a graceful, beautiful young girl. I love her infliction and how light she is when she is sings. She makes you love her. It is hard to find really good female actors who aren't too harsh or sharp when they sing. I listened to the Lilly from the Original Australian Cast, and she was fine... she just wasn't Rebecaa Luker. When you listen to Rebecca Luker, you love Lilly You can tell she is a very special soul, someone sweet and tender, someone who just wants to help others to see the beauty she sees in the world. She has this amazing ability to sound like she is speaking when she is singing. She is just gentle and soft, the words seem to flow out of her without any effort, you just love to listen to her. She has such a subtle, layered emotion to her voice. Sometimes I listen to her and I get all choked up inside. She makes me want to cry.

"How could i know I would have to leave you?"

Lilly is a character on Broadway that I would love, love, love to play. She's only a ghost, but you can bring so much to her character. She is the Beauty in The Beauty and the Beast story. I love her relationship with Archie. She loved him so much and she is so upset that she hurt him... she knows how much he loves her in return and she can't bring herself to leave while he is grieving so much. And even though they don't have many scenes together, I really love her and her little son Colin. She's also really cute with Mary. You can tell she would have been a really good mother. She is beautiful and strong, she makes me want to be brave. Lilly is someone I would really love to bring life to on stage. And I *think* I could do a good job with her.

Have you heard Michael Crawford play the Phantom? Have you seen The Pirates of Penzance? Do you know who Rebecca Luker is? Who do you think does the portrayal of your favorite character?

Peace out y'all!

*swings around cape and leaps off stage*

Bella

[Phantom of the Opera] AVM Blog Party -- Day One.

Your Favorite Musical. 

Today I get to blog about my absolute favorite musical. I think you all saw this one coming.

Sing once again with me, our strange duet.

I think that no matter how many musicals I listen to and how many I fall in love with, I will always resort back to The Phantom of the Opera. One of my earliest memories, and I mean earliest is singing along with Christine Daae. The Original Broadway Cast is my favorite, it will always have a special place in my heart. It was the first cast I heard and I personally think they nailed their roles.

"Angel of Music, Guide and Guardian, Grant to Me your Glory!

Angel of Music, Hide no longer! Come to me strange Angel..."

"I am your Angel of Music. Come to me, Angel of Music."

The Phantom of The Opera is a very odd, kind of frightening story. I am not sure what it would be like to be introduced to it now. I'm sure I would like the music, and I know I would still like Raoul (because Raoul is fabulous) but I don't know if I'd actually like the story. It is weird. It is about this young chorus girl (Christine) who thinks the Angel of Music is teaching her how to sing. She thinks this Angel was sent by her Father after his death. Christine is very young - only about twenty or so - and her father died when she was like, sixteen or seventeen. It hit her hard, and to be visited by an angel from her father was a big comfort to her

"The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind..."

Come to find out this so-called Angel is actually a crazy, dysfunctional man, 20+ years older than Christine who has this burning obsession with her since she came to the opera house. The musical isn't clear on the timeline, but I think Christine came to the Opera House when she was about Ten. It couldn't have been long after that the Phantom found her and decided she was the one. He hides in her walls and sings to her while she sleeps. He lives under the Opera House and makes paths to his lair behind her Mirror. He full on stalks this poor chorus girl, brainwashes her into thinking he is the Angel that was promised to her, and lurks creepily out of sight, teaching her to sing for his music. It's. Weird. And creepy. And really disturbing, especially because, at least in the beginning, Christine trusts the Phantom and actually believes that he is from heaven.

"That voice which calls to me, and speaks my name."

Poor Brainwashed child.

So what exactly do I love about the Phantom of the Opera?

A big reason why I love Phantom so much is because it is the Musical I grew up on. A lot of really good memories are linked to it and it makes me feel happy and excited. Another reason is, I really, really love the characters, the cast and the amount of emotion that comes through in that story. Christine is young and naive but she is also strong, and I love that about her. Raoul is so incredibly fabulous. He shows up at the Opera House and he remembers Christine instantly. She was the little girl he used to play with, the little girl he had a real thing for. He obviously still had a thing for her, and she fancied him too, and it was adorable. He was so protective. - Anyway, more on that later. I love the music in Phantom. It sweeps you off your feet and it transports you right into the story. The lyrics are beautiful. the characters are layered and complicated. The whole story is original and fascinating and unlike anything you will ever hear again.

Because you can't do a Phantom post without some kind of Christine x Raoul gif

Andrew Lloyde Webber really is a master of music. (even if he has done things I don't approve of.) He wove together a strange story with beautiful, enchanting music so that you can't help but get a thrill from seeing the Chandelier rise as the Overture blasts all around you. Even you don't see the Chandelier rise, the music is so perfect that you can practically feel it rising. It is such a wonderful thing to experience. It is one of the very few musicals where I will listen to the whole four minutes of just Overture because, THE OVERTURE. 

Perhaps we may frighten away the Ghost of so many years ago
 with a little illumination! Gentleman!

What I also really love about Phantom is the depth all characters have, Christine has a strange trust, almost an infatuation, with "The Angel of Music." She thinks he is her guardian, someone her father sent to protect and teach her. At the same time she is also afraid of him, something that is very clear almost from the beginning. Then there is Raoul, who is young and gentle, but fierce and even reckless when it comes to protecting Christine. Literally the best part of the whole Musical is the love story between Raoul and Christine. THEY ARE SO CUTE! The Phantom himself is a very sad, mysterious character. He is this broken man, a genius through and through, who heard Christine's voice and fell in love with it - and then with her. If you can say nothing else for The Phantom, he did really care for Christine. He never took advantage of her and, up until the Final Lair, he never physically hurt her. He tried to be his best when she was around. She was his saving grace, the one thing in all the world that he really loved.When he gave her up, that was his redemption. (That is why LND is so horrible. It didn't just ruin Raoul. It ruined the Phantom and Christine too. It destroyed all the characters.)

"Forget me, forget all of this.."

The Phantom of The Opera is the musical that I am the most persnickety about. I am really picky when it comes to who is cast and all that. I grew up listening to the Original Broadway cast, and that is kind of the feel I always expect the musical to have. I know the story. I know all the characters inside out and backward, and therefore I get irritated if people don't do them properly or choose to show them in a way contrary to the original masterpiece. Love Never Dies really hurt The Phantom as a story. So many of the actors/actresses today take the LND story line and use it to help fuel their performance. For example, most girls play Christine as very close, very in awe with the Phantom. They give you the idea that she could love him, she almost loved him, she would love him if she would just let herself. Here is the point of fact; Christine did not love The Phantom. She pitied him but she did not love him.

what kind of life have you known?

The Phantom is also portrayed very differently from how Michael Crawford did him. Many of the Phantom's now are very aggressive and overwhelmingly powerful. They seem to bring a very angry side to the Phantom and almost leave the rest of his character behind. He is a lot more 'shout-y' than he should be. I'm not saying actors can't bring a bit of power to the role. My favorite Phantom on Broadway right now is James Barbour. He is an incredible Phantom. He has a lot of power behind him, but he is careful to even out the power with a gentle undertone. He will crescendo and get strong but then he goes back to gentle, alluring, entrancing. He is a lot more gentle than most Phantom's have been recently and I appreciate that. He is right under Michael Crawford in the fabulous rank. (On Broadway, that is. I really love how my singing teacher played him...) I also really like like Anthony Warlow and Hadley Fraser. They have incredibly depth and strength to their voice. There is nothing wrong with that. And it is also fine to portray the characters in different ways. That is what is so fun about theatre, seeing all the different actors play the same character in their own way. But I do think there is a root that should always be drawn on.

For example. The Phantom should always be more gentle than powerful, particularly with Christine. He should always be more creepy than angry, more cunning than cruel. That is who he is. Christine should always be very kind and gentle (especially her voice) She should always be naive and a little carefree, but with a hidden strength. As for Raoul, Raoul should always be amazing and sweet, fierce and reckless... basically, just be Hadley Fraser.

Rawr.

I honestly think some of Phantom's appeal and beauty is being lost on Broadway today. It is too much about how much you can amp up the emotions, and how loud or how powerful you can sing. (This doesn't just happen with Phantom either, it is the Theatre world at large.) If I was introduced to the musical now, I don't know if I would like it as much, and I know for a fact that I would have very little sympathy for the Phantom. He is just too angry. I wish the Directors would go back to the original score and stop trying to perfect it and make it 'bigger.' I personally think a lot of actors let the emotion of the moment take over and they get pitchy or drift away the real melody. They are trying too hard and giving too much and they just need to back off and play the role as it is presented. That is not to say the actors/actresses on Broadway aren't talented. They are! They are incredibly talented! I just think with Theatre, less is actually more.

"You'll learn to see, to find the man behind the monster..."

Regardless, The Phantom of the Opera will always hold a special place in my heart, since it was my door into the musical world. Christine Daae is my dream role, and if I could play her, even once, it would be amazing.

What is your favorite musical? What are your thoughts on The Phantom?

PEACE OUT Y'ALL!!

*swings around cape and leaps off stage*

Bella