#gp reviews

[glassprism]

Thoughts on grace roberts as christine? I personally think she has one of the best voices of anyone who has played the character

I really liked her! Very nice voice and I thought she played Christine quite well opposite three different Phantoms (I watched her with Jonathan Roxmouth, Will Silver, and Samuel Wyn-Morris). She definitely played Christine as the naive, sweet innocent: she's all big, scared eyes at the beginning of 'Think of Me', then joyful exuberance in 'Angel of Music', and entranced wonder in the first lair scenes. This does mean she is not as strong-willed and feisty as other Christines, e.g. in the rooftop, she is not ever really mad at Raoul for not believing her, just frightened of what happened to her and trying to convince him, but not everyone needs to be and this interpretation works for her.

I also found her to be pretty sympathetic to the Phantom, though it does vary with different actors (I thought she was most sympathetic to Wyn-Morris and the least with Roxmouth, though this could also have been that Wyn-Morris had a lot of good moments with her or could be her interpretation changing over time). Even when the Phantom is at his scariest she is more scared and saddened than angry at him - so again, a very sweet, compassionate Christine. It's a fairly common take, obviously, but she does it extremely well!

Finally, have some gifs of her (with Samuel Wyn-Morris as the Phantom and Rory McCollum as Raoul):

[glassprism]

Hi Glass! Thank you for all you do for the Phantom community! I've tried searching your blog, so please let me know if I've somehow missed it, but have you ever reviewed Sam Wyn-Morris' Phantom? I saw that he was in the "adore" section of your favorites list, and I've noticed some really intriguing acting choices from him in gifs which have gotten me really interested in his Phantom. If you haven't already, would you consider reviewing him at some point?

I don't believe so sure, I can do a short one of him!

He's up there because he's clearly a Phantom who has been given a lot of freedom in the role, has put a ton of thought into what to do, and utilized both of that to do some really unique things. That being said, I think you can also tell when he's taken inspiration from others (e.g. him hugging Christine back during the kiss feels very much like Josh Piterman while his holding Christine's hand after was similar to David Thaxton, and I thought he had similar vibes to Ayanga's Phantom as well).

Overall I think he also plays a Phantom who is very easy to sympathize with, which I kind of mentioned in my review of Grace Roberts. Like, he does well enough being commanding and powerful (helped a lot by the fact that he is a head taller than his Christines), but it's the vulnerable moments where he really shines, which I suppose can also be a flaw - if you're looking for a very insane or angry Phantom, he's not really that. It's not that he's completely lacking in those qualities; there are moments where the way he moves or stands are almost predatory and other moments when he is a bit of a weirdo, as all Phantoms should be. Those are also usually the moments where I thought he got a little too dramatic or big with the acting. But it is the sadder moments that are the most memorable and where he's clearly doing a lot of new things, and it's why I enjoyed him so much. Vocals are good too, and he has a habit of pitching his voice quite high, almost falsetto-y, at particular moments ("yearns for heaven" and "dreams of beauty" in 'Stranger Than You Dreamt It', for example).

That being said, if you love a vulnerable Phantom a la Earl Carpenter who's clearly starved for touch, you'll love him! He throws in all kinds of new and interesting things, from revealing his face to Christine in STYDI and flinching away when she recoils, to pulling Christine in for a hug after she's felt his mask in PONR, to his whole entire kiss in 'Final Lair', to that ring return scene, to him holding up the veil to Christine's voice as she leaves in the boat, well... you'll have a lot of fun watching him if that's the kind of Phantom you enjoy! Or a lot of pain, whichever.

Have some more gifs! (Most are with Grace Roberts but the kiss is with Kayleigh Marven.)

[glassprism]

Opinion on chumisa? She’s gorgeous but haven’t heard much of her

So, keeping in mind that I tend to just skim over reviews and I don't really get hyped over actors a lot...

I really liked her. Like, she was very, very good.

And it's pretty incredible considering the video I have of her that she's only barely started the role, but there we are: Chumisa Dornford-May feels like she came into the production already having a good idea of exactly how she wanted to play Christine and how she wanted to act certain scenes and string it all together to show her character's arc, and she went and did it. Now all that's left is for her to refine it.

Some highlights: from the get-go I loved how she played 'Think of Me'; I think it's very tempting to go the happy, joyful route a la Gina Beck, and I like that interpretation! But she acted the song in a way that was more appropriate to the lyrics she was singing, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes wistful, sometimes distant and grieving. It gave me a great sense of Christine as not only a good singer but a good performer too.

In terms of whether she was a Phantom or Raoul girlie, I'd honestly say neither, though if pushed I'd say she maybe leans a little more towards Raoul. Her Christine in the lair scenes was not necessarily afraid or angry at the Phantom, but she did feel rather resistant to him, especially compared to some of the other Christines in the role right now (e.g. Lily Kerhoas and Colleen Rose Curran). There were moment where she would melt a little, seemingly going, "Oh, this is kind of nice", but much of the time, she appeared more wary than anything else, unsure of what the Phantom was up to.

I also say she's not quite a Raoul girlie because she acts similarly in the rooftop scenes. In particular, her 'Why Have You Brought Me Here' was played like she was trying very hard to convince Raoul of what she saw and was angered that he kept trying to calm her down rather than actually attempting to understand her. Her Christine doesn't just want to tell Raoul what's going on, she wants him to believe her. She was also noticeably less giggly than other Christines during 'All I Ask of You', at least in this performance, and I liked how it kind of flips the dynamic between them: whereas earlier it was Christine trying to convince Raoul, now he has to be the one to convince her that all is goodness and light, and I'm not fully sure she bought into it.

What else? Oh, in 'Twisted Every Way', she did something that I first saw Yang Chen Xiuyi do in the Chinese production, which was to turn very hopefully towards Raoul when he says, "Christine, Christine, don't think that I don't care..." It's like she thinks, or wants to think, that Raoul is going to back down and call off his plan, which makes it all the more devastating when he doesn't.

And finally, by 'Point of No Return' and 'Final Lair', her Christine had definitely reached her limit with the Phantom. I really enjoyed how you can see Christine working out that it's the Phantom onstage with her during 'Point of No Return', slowly drawing out her phrases as the wheels in her head spin and then committing to continuing the show to catch him. (Never mind about the stuff after.) She delivered a truly contemptuous, "Please, Raoul, it's useless" in the 'Final Lair', and I think she gave a truly angry kiss to the Phantom. It felt very similar, interestingly, to her dynamic with Raoul on the rooftop; she seemed to be using the kiss to desperately try to convince the Phantom away from his current path (using the power of making out to stop the cycle of abuse and trauma!). Such was the quality of the video that I'm pretty sure I saw tears on her face during the kiss, and Chumisa Dornford-May played it, I feel, like it was due to the overwhelming catharsis of emotions she was experiencing: anger, grief, betrayal, terror, all of it being released into this one grand moment.

The only flaws I really noticed had to do with her singing. Most reviews have pointed out she belts some of the score; I didn't notice it too much, but I definitely heard it during 'Wishing'. It wasn't the worst place to belt - she did it during the last stanza, where Christine is usually singing pretty loudly anyway, likely to add volume to her singing - and I didn't mind it too much, but it was jarring. There were also a few parts where her voice was a little quiet, and small scenes where Christine was not the focal point but she could done a little more in her acting, or just paused and let the scene "breathe" a little (which, in fairness, is something most actors new to a role will do, rush through the show).

But honestly, those were minor nitpicks in what was otherwise a really great performance. And this is her early in her run? I can only imagine what she'll be like with a few more months under her belt!

[glassprism]

Hiii, the Busan POTO run has just ended. Do you have any thoughts/reviews on the Korean cast yet? How about the Chinese cast? Thanks your blog is amazing.

Sure, why not, I was saving these for something else, but I can give a quick review of the cast.

For Korea, I have not viewed Kim Ju-taek because I'm hoping for video of him somewhere down the line. Similarly, I have not seen Choi Jae-rim because he hadn't even started yet. Finally, most of the footage I saw was from some of the first performances by the cast, so just keep in mind that there's lots of room for them to grow and improve. All right, here we go.

Cho Seung-woo - Unique! His voice was a bit different from what I expected: a little harsher and rougher (thicker?) than what I'm used to, but still powerful. I also thought he was less of the commanding, seductive Phantom and more of a pathetic, unhinged one, and definitely came off as an older Phantom who had gone through a lot in his past experiences. For example, his 'Music of the Night' was a little more aloof than other actors, but he was very good at sounding weepy and pitiable when the scene called for it. He had a great moment too in the 'Final Lair' kiss where he gently removed Christine's hand from touching his face before slowly backing away. Finally, I don't know if he's short or his particular Christine was tall, but it was really interesting to see a Phantom and Christine that were basically the same height (I think she blocked his entire face during the "Floating, falling" blocking, ha).

Jeon Dong-seok - Incredible, possibly my favorite of the Korean Phantoms right now. He was definitely more conventional in his acting and vocals than Cho Seung-woo, but at the same time, it was a splendid performance. He really embodied the commanding, sensual, alluring air of the Phantom, helped by his powerful voice. His focus was always on Christine, even when he was being scary (and yeah, he definitely leans more towards being the angry, raging Phantom when things don't go his way). Had some neat touches already, like bowing to Christine before she starts vocalizing in the title song and wiping a tear off her face in the 'Final Lair'. It was also interesting for me to compare him to his performance in Yeston and Kopit's Phantom, where it's basically night and day: he's a hilariously awkward yet lovably dorky Phantom there, and an absolutely frightening (though still darkly attractive) Phantom in ALW.

Song Eun-hye - Of the Christines, she was the sweet and innocent one of the two, lots of big, scared eyes, pitying expressions, and tearful gazes. Her voice was lovely (I think all the Christines I'm going to review here had very pretty but also very similar voices, tending towards light and classical), and I think she played Christine with a sort of wistful, melancholy feeling, like she was perpetually grieving the loss of her father, and that she only feels real joy when she sings. Her relationship with the Phantom, accordingly, also feels more creative and spiritual than romantic. I saw her with Cho Seung-woo, who also comes off as an older Phantom anyway, so I think that accentuated that aspect of her performance.

Son Ji-soo - I liked both Korean Christines, but if I had to pick, I enjoyed Son Ji-soo slightly more; I think she showed a lot more growth and was also much more reactive towards her co-actors (one thing about Song Eun-hye is I started to feel like she only had one or two facial expressions the whole time). She definitely leans more towards the feisty Christine type, but still with a lighthearted, youthful spirit; similarly (and maybe it's because I watched her with Jeon Dong-seok, who comes off as a younger Phantom), I did think she was more "into" the Phantom as a romantic option.

Lastly, for Song Won-geun and Hwang Gun-ha, I thought they were both very nice Raouls (they had a sweet moment where they rested a hand on Christine's cheek during 'All I Ask of You') but didn't entirely stand out to me. (Which is going to be a theme with the Raouls in this quickie review.) They weren't bad, they were just... decent. Hopefully some more time in the show will make them more memorable!

All right, that's most of the trio for Korea done. (Also, so nice to see the original back, with stuff like the Golden Angel, the doubles, and the non-stupid version of 'Point of No Return'.) Now then...

So before I get to China, some more caveats. First, no thoughts on Ma Jia because he just got added to the production. Second, most of the videos I have were a bit distantly shot, so I was relying more on vocals than acting for a lot of it, which is why I'm just going to clump the roles together; I don't really have enough to say to justify a whole paragraph for each. Third, this was the first stop of what's going to be a pretty long tour, so again, lots of room to improve. Having said all that, here's some quick thoughts.

Starting from the people I have the least to say about: the Raouls. Yeah, I don't remember much of any of them, heh. Similar to the Korean Raouls, they were fine! They did the role. I think I slightly preferred Li Chenxi, he seemed the most passionate, and I remember Ma Tianlong standing out a bit because his voice seemed a bit deeper? And nothing for Zhao Chaofan, but with all of them, hopefully that's just something that will improve with time.

My favorite of the Chinese Phantoms was definitely Ayanga; he just did the most in terms of emoting with the role and throwing his energy into the character, and sang 'Music of the Night' quite interestingly (like, he put some really long inflections or drawn out noises on them). Unfortunately, neither He Liangchen nor Liu Lingfei stood out much, and I honestly thought they were both pretty boring up until the 'Final Lair', where they were able to bring more emotion. I think He Liangchen came off a little angrier while Liu Lingfei came off a little more insane, but I might be getting that switched, ha.

Finally, the Christines were all nice, sweet, clear voices, and there was some variety in their performances. For Yang Chenxiuyi, she felt more like an "Act I" Christine in that she was more emotive in Act I, and sold the innocent, naive aspect of her character, whereas in Act II, I thought she was less interesting. Pan Hangwei was the complete opposite, I thought she was pretty dull in Act I, but in Act II she really showed the fear, the passion, and the strength to Christine (vocally, at any rate). Also, she threw her score in 'Notes II' so hard it flew under the managers' table, so kudos to her for that. And finally, Lin Shao (my favorite) was just great in both acts, consistently emotional and bringing forth the sweetness of Christine in Act I, her fascination with the Phantom, then later her desperation, her growth, and her maturity as she faces him in the 'Final Lair'.

So there you have it. Also, can I say that it's so weird to hear Phantom in a language other than English and be able to understand parts of it? Like, I am not used to this. Is this what other people have? How do y'all deal with it...

[glassprism]

Hi, Glass! It’s been a while now, but what are your thoughts on the Broadway performance you got to see? 😊

Oh yes, my review.

To be honest, I think there's little to be said about the cast that hasn't been said a thousand times already, by better writers than me. So I thought I'd switch it up by giving you a review as given by... (drum roll) ...my sister, a total Phantom newbie!

So here is the April 12, 2023 Broadway performance of The Phantom of the Opera, starring Ted Keegan as the Phantom, Julia Udine as Christine, John Riddle as Raoul, and I believe the rest of the principal cast in the supporting roles, as quoted directly by my sister (with some asides).

Before the show began: "Tell me when there are going to be any loud parts, okay?"

Overture: "AH. LOUD."

Hannibal: "Everything is so sparkly!"

'Think of Me': "Her voice is so strong! It's so loud! It's a bit heavy on that vibrating thing-y, but she sounds so good! She's so clear!"

'Music of the Night': "THE PHANTOM SOUNDS SO GOOD! His voice is like butter! It's so smooth but so powerful!"

After the First Lair Sister: "Wow, I didn't know the Phantom was so... so..." Me: "Hot? Scary? Elegant?" Sister: "...Pathetic." Me: *laughing* Sister: "He was crawling on his belly!" Me: "That's the appeal! He's hot but he's also scary but he's also pathetic! It pushes all the buttons!"

Rooftop scene: "The Raoul is so good too! His voice is amazing!"

Chandelier Crash Little boy sitting behind me: "Daddy why was the chandelier falling in slow-mo?"

Intermission Sister: *turning to me with wide eyes* "I forgot the Phantom kills a guy." Me: "And he'll do it again!" Sister: "What?" Me: "Nothing."

Why So Silent: "GAH I'M BLIND"

'Wandering Child': "GAH I'M BLIND AGAIN"

Still 'Wandering Child': "OMG FIRE"

'Seal My Fate': "AH LOUD AGAIN"

'Point of No Return': "Lololol look at how she's spreading her legs. It looks so derpy."

End of the show Me: "So, what'd you think?" Sister: *sobbing loudly* "This was the greatest thing I've ever seen!"

Sister: "Wait, where are we going?"

Sister: "ARE THOSE THE ACTORS COMING OUT???"

Sister: "Was that the Phantom??" Me: "Yep!" Sister: "I didn't even recognize him!" Sister: "And he's so... so..." Sister: "Old." Sister: "...That's really cool."

Sister: "You got all their signatures?!? Aaahhhh so lucky! I could never do that with BTS!!!"

THE END

[glassprism]

So, given the full bootleg of Katie Knight-Adams is around now, has your opinion of her changed, or is she as bad as she was in the excerpts that were previously available?

...Oh right, I have a million new people I need to review. I guess now's as good a time as any to start on that.

To answer your question from the get-go, has my opinion changed? Yes... but also no. Watching Katie Knight-Adams in full feels a bit like being on a rollercoaster that's completely in the dark: I never know what she's going to do and I always feel like I'm being blindsided because sometimes I'll like it and sometimes it'll be the weirdest thing ever.

Also, as per the filmer, I cannot post any screenshots or gifs from the video, so just take my word for it that she's doing funky stuff. Speaking of the filmer, I should state that any criticism of KKA (as I'm going to call her from now on) is not a criticism of them; the video is really great! It's not their fault that they happened to film one of my least favorite Christines, after all. And honestly even if I don't like her, I'm still really grateful to have full video of her, or full video of anybody that I would otherwise only hear on audio.

All right, everything accounted for, onto the actual review.

So just from the start, I can already see some of that... wonkiness that throws me off with KKA, and it's that she clearly has a decent grasp on Christine, but her acting is so over-the-top. Her heart's in the right place, but even in that moment when Meg volunteers her up for 'Think of Me', KKA is just overdoing the scared, shy Christine aspect. It doesn't feel natural. On the other hand, she really loves stroking and grabbing hold of Meg's arm, so Christine/Meg win.

Having said all that, once she gets into 'Think of Me' fully, she's quite good. She's smiling, she's thrilled to sing, she's doing everything right, it's quite pleasant to watch her. KKA clearly knows how to act, but it feels like she doesn't know sometimes when to pull back a little. Now is also as good a time as any to talk about her vocals, and they are... fine, for the most part, certainly an improvement on her first run, though those high notes are clearly still a struggle for her and, honestly, kind of made me flinch a couple of times. This continued into 'Angel of Music', where KKA was fine, until she had to hit some of those floated notes, which... oof. And since this video was with Earl Carpenter during his run where his high notes were also not great, this sometimes made for painful listening.

Also of note is that when KKA is with Meg, she is a smiling, happy girl, grabbing hands and stroking her arm, and when she gets Raoul's letter she gets all excited when she reads "Little Lotte!", but when the Phantom congratulates her, she's completely blank-faced. This also continues in other Phantom-centric scenes (for example, she goes into "hypno-Christine" mode and is totally blank during 'The Mirror'). So I think I know who KKA's Christine wants to go with. (The answer is Meg, obviously. But Raoul is a close second.)

Heading into 'Little Lotte', though, it starts to fall apart. KKA's Christine is clearly quite happy to be with Raoul, but again, it's too much. She's laughing too hard, she's gyrating her body so badly, she's over-emphasizing everything, and it all comes off forced. It all culminates with the funniest, "Things have changed, Raoul!" and just goes on from there. I've already gone over 'The Mirror', the title song, 'Music of the Night', and 'Stranger Than You Dreamt It' before, so I won't go over it again, except to say: orgasm face.

To be honest, I did wonder if this was intentional on KKA's part: was she deliberately playing up the little girl aspect when she was with Raoul because, I dunno, childhood memories and all that, or trying to show her Christine was borderline hysterical whenever she starts acting too scared? But as I said above, that didn't quite jive because we have other scenes where KKA's acting is quite ludicrous and sometimes perfectly fine, and it's with those same characters (e.g. she acts totally over-the-top with Meg in one scene and then quite balanced in the next, she's utterly hysterical with Raoul in one scene and then calm in the next, she's completely blank with the Phantom but then right in 'Music of the Night', she pulls the orgasm face).

All right, skipping ahead to Il Muto. Unfortunately, I don't get to see much of KKA here, but what I do see is fine, presumably because she got all that overacting out of her system for now. This continues when we pick up again on the rooftop, though to be fair, this is one scene where overacting would actually work, given Christine's mental state. Of course, we also get the suicide blocking for this scene, sigh, but oh well. And yes, KKA is much more obvious about this than Rachel Barrell, holding both arms out and clearly looking down, and then jumping back in shock when Raoul calls her name. Also, that trend of good acting from KKA? Starting to go away. She's not too bad in 'All I Ask of You', but she was starting to jerk her body around in a way that looked odd; it felt like she wanted to look scared or, I dunno, turned on by Raoul, but it only seemed like she'd run several laps around the rooftop and was breathing hard. Which is too bad because David Shannon is pretty good with her, and I do think that KKA's Christine is actually in love with Raoul, but it just feels like she's trying too hard to show it.

Okay, Act 2 is here! Nothing much to say about 'Masquerade' or most of 'Notes II', KKA is fine here, though honestly she doesn't have too much to do. It isn't until 'Twisted Every Way' that the overacting comes back out - it honestly looks like she's trying to punch Raoul with how hard she's grabbing onto him and shaking him. It kind of sucks because she has some good ideas here - she clutches at her face when talking about the Phantom and grabs her throat, she rocks back and forth - but it's so overdone it comes off comedic. Also I'm enjoying her voice less and less as the show goes on; she's starting to sound strained and squeaky, possibly because she's tiring from singing a score that's out of her range. It continues with 'Wishing' - I like that she covers her ears at one point in the beginning, but then she follows up by over-emphasizing her lines and gesturing too much, though interestingly she calmed down by the end.

See, this is what I mean by a rollercoaster in the dark. I never know what's going to happen next with her!

You ever seen 'Point of No Return' acted too sexily? Because that's basically what was going on with KKA in that scene, just over-the-top facial expressions, like she wanted everyone in the audience to know, "I'm turned on! Look how turned on I am." Again, there's plenty of decent ideas in there, it's just executed so badly. Also, the Phantom really has to drag her back out onto the stage when she tries to flee; KKA does not want to be with him.

I've already gone over 'Final Lair' before and I don't want to again, it's pretty much the same as everything I said before. KKA caps off her confusing performance by crying in the most comical fashion during the ring returning scene and then running off. Which led me to wonder what her interpretation of Christine even was. Is she afraid of the Phantom? Turned on by him? Sad for him? All of the above?

So overall, how do I feel about her? Honestly... no clue. KKA's Christine was a mix of decent ideas, sometimes done well and sometimes executed in the poorest fashion imaginable, with a loose and confusing interpretation of the character when it comes to the Phantom (with Raoul, and especially Meg, she was on more solid ground). Oh, and I think I liked her vocals less this time around. I will say that what people consider overacting is subjective, and what I find to be overkill might not be the same for everyone.

Having said all that, I legitimately have no clue whether I should move her a spot up because she was actually pleasantly watchable in some scenes, keep her where she is because so much other stuff was still so bad, or knock her down a spot just for confounding me. I'll think on it a bit, but for now, I'll keep her where she is.

See what I mean when I say my opinion changed and yet didn't change? Thanks very much, KKA.

Oh, and Earl Carpenter was great, as usual.

[glassprism]

You mentioned you have a video of anouk- does that mean you can give a review of her? I love her voice but would like to hear some insight into her portrayal

You know what? Fine. FINE. I will review her. I will review everybody! I will review all the new cast members I haven't seen yet! Anouk van Laake? Sure, I'll review her right now. All you people who sent me asks to review Emilie Kouatchou? Send them again! Beatrice Penny-Toure? Guess what, I have audio of her, I'll review her too! Jemal Felix? Ashley Stillburn? Them too! James Gant? I was hoping for a video of him but no, I'll review him too! Kanisha Marie Feliciano? I will travel forward in time to get bootlegs of her!

Oh, and the person who asked me for my opinion on Rhys Whitfield a little while ago? You get your wish too! I'll review him right here!

All right, so let's get the first bit out of the way: yes, her voice is great. Classical, light, strong and pure on the high notes. 'Think of Me' was lovely, with Anouk van Laake displaying a lot of this joy of singing; she was almost Gina Beck-like in her enthusiasm.

That said, it's also clear that this was her "performance Christine", in 'Angel of Music', she's much more haunted, a head-in-the-clouds, reserved sort of girl. The only exception to that, other than when singing, is when the very next song, 'Little Lotte', came on. There's no other way for me to describe her with Rhys Whitfield other than the words "instant chemistry". I think this is because his Raoul has has "awkward dork" energy and she has "odd girl" vibes, so they matched very well. She basically thew herself into his hug so hard she spun herself to the other side of the room, and they seemed to share a similar nostalgia for childhood days and fairy tale stories.

And this is important, because when we get to the First Lair scenes, it's kind of obvious that her Christine acts more like a student scared of displeasing her teacher (and relieved when she hasn't) than one interested in a romantic relationship. Throughout 'Music of the Night', she was pretty aloof to the Phantom. Like, it took until the end of the song for her to even crack a smile. And this wasn't something on Killian Donnelly's end, because I know I like to blame him for everything, he had much better energy here than in previous videos. I also thought she didn't seem too scared of him in 'Stranger Than You Dreamt It', more wary than anything, possibly because she was reserved towards him to begin with, though she did do a big gasp when he revealed his face.

This really got noticeable during the Rooftop Scene. I thought Anouk van Laake started a bit weak here - again, she's not too good at showing that she's scared with her face, though she did emote a lot with her voice (and had a very pretty "soar"). Rhys Whitfield, on the other hand, was great and kind of made up for her initial weakness. He had this way of pausing between lines in 'All I Ask of You' that made think, "Oh no, he's making this up as he goes along", it was great and totally matched his overall vibe of "I know about socializing in theory but I have never actually engaged in it until now."

Anyway, there was so much hesitant hand-holding on his end, and he had a really funny moment where he was clearly trying to take Christine's hand again, but she moved away and he just stood there, looking extremely confused and slightly put out. He also had a wonderful point where he looked like he was building himself up to say his lines. And once Anouk van Laake got into the song, it was wonderful, because she was clearly more sure of herself and playing the flirt a bit, which just further confused him and delighted her. And there was so much giggling, one of them possibly because Rhys Whitfield slightly messed up his line ("Then share you'll share with me"). By the end they were totally in love, and the capper was Raoul doing this little eyebrow waggle like, "Yeah, I finally got a handle on this romance thing."

All right, moving on... 'Notes II' - Anouk van Laake was kind of fast here and in 'Twisted Every Way', but was helped along by Rhys looking totally panicked about her panicking. On another note, Piangi had a funny moment where he looked quite happy to be name-dropped in the Phantom's letter, right up until the Phantom insulted him. Saori Oda also had some nice moments, like where she clutched her throat when the Phantom's letter was being read, and when she nodded approvingly when Christine said she wouldn't perform. Anouk van Laake did have a very strong 'Wishing': great vocals and a lovely transition from sad, to downright tormented, then finishing with a lot of determination at the end.

Nearing the end... so 'Point of No Return' was honestly not that memorable, save for the beginning where Christine had a lot of apple rubbing. The most notable thing was that this was the scene where I realized that Anouk van Laake's chemistry with the Phantom, while not lacking, was nowhere near the level of chemistry she had with Raoul. (I suppose this should have been obvious in retrospect, given that I spent 2 paragraphs waxing rhapsodic about AIAOY and just 1 paragraph on the entirety of the first lair.) It's not necessarily bad (though I was amused by her almost complete lack of reaction to unmasking him), but there are points where bits became a bit unbelievable.

This became most apparent in 'Final Lair', where her Christine spent the entirely of it vaulting between being frustrated with the Phantom and being downright pissed with him. Her "Please Raoul it's useless!" was almost shouted, with the tone of, "Don't even bother, Raoul, he's not going to change his mind." She spat out "false friend" at one point as well. It was great and I have no problem with this interpretation, but at the end she did seem to do a complete 180 and looked like she was having trouble leaving the Phantom, and looking kind of sad at the ring return, which... I mean, was the Phantom's kiss that great? It didn't seem like it; I thought she looked far happier kissing Raoul.

(Slightly off-topic, but I had a similar moment during her 'Twisted Every Way', where, after Christine goes, "Can I betray the man who once inspired my voice?", I thought to myself, "No, I'm pretty sure you can, given your attitude towards the Phantom." I remember also an interview where Anouk van Laake said she had initially wanted to cry during the ring returning scene, but was directed not to. Looking over her performance here, I find it hilarious that she wanted to do that, because she sure seemed happy with Raoul.)

Some final thoughts: Killian had some good points here and there, he's definitely improved a notch since the last bootleg I saw of him. And Rhys Whitfield was good with the little he had: at the portcullis he was obviously checking on Christine between yelling at the Phantom, and he's very good at looking like he's choking.

So overall:

Anouk van Laake - Pretty good Christine, shines most on the vocals IMO. Kind of a reserved, haunted portrayal interspersed with moments of childish glee and joyfulness. A bit weak in certain scenes and when it comes to portraying fear. Definitely an R/C girl, chemistry with the Phantom lacking in comparison. I think Lucy St Louis and Holly-Anne Hull have the stronger overall performances, but Anouk van Laake is not bad at all, and with time and some more performances, she'll probably be excellent.

Rhys Whitfield - Lovable, socially awkward Raoul; I get the feeling he's never had a conversation that went beyond conventional social chit-chat in his life. Totally in love with Christine but is also totally clueless at showing it; he's winging most of AIAOY and it's only sheer luck, and this Christine's penchant for dorky men who don't know what they're doing, that he succeeds. So fun to watch (and also big improvement over my impression of him in the UK tour, where he came off very boring, so hooray!).

All right, now have at me with everyone else you want me to review.

[glassprism]

hello! you've probably been SWAMPED with review requests, but since you said you'd be open to reviewing emilie kouatchou, could you maybe? i know this is probably the 1,000,000th time someone's said this but i was wondering if you could? thank you so much :)

Actually, you're the only review request in my inbox right now. Like I said, it never fails, the moment I open up for reviews at any point, nobody sends me anything, ha.

Anyway, Emilie Kouatchou. I'll be using the most recent, decently shot video of her, which is from April 10, 2022 (my birthday!) and has Ted Keegan as the Phantom and John Riddle as Raoul. I took a quick view of her in Hannibal, I liked that she was given ballet shoes that matched her skin color. She doesn't go en pointe, like most Christines, but besides that, I'm not sure if she messed up enough for Madame Giry to justify yelling at her. Her 'Think of Me' is decent, she looked appropriately nervous in the beginning and joyful at the end. Vocally she has a fairly typical Broadway Christine voice with the generic, somewhat heavy vibrato.

Moving on to the dressing room scenes, she looks nicely relieved and pleased when the Phantom praises her, and mouths something I can't read ("Yes"?). The rest of 'Angel of Music' is fairly typical, save for the end where she gets Raoul's letter and treats it with a certain wariness. Raoul's actual entrance initially prompts her to grab at her dressing gown like she's afraid of him seeing her undressed, which goes away when he reveals who he is (I guess it's okay to be seen in your dressing gown when it's your childhood friend). Interestingly, she doesn't drop her wariness even then, because while she seems pleased to reminisce with him, she also seems to be keeping pretty aloof, and I was amused to see her dodge him trying to take her hand (not the first time she'll do that in this show). Not too much to say about 'The Mirror', other than that she didn't seem too scared.

As for the lair scenes, there's a pretty ordinary title song. The first thing that stood out about 'Music of the Night' was how she doesn't really go for a kiss during the "turn your face away" bit, just kind of stood there. Also, during the "close your eyes" segment, she did this open-mouth gasp that looked rather funny, and reminded me of what the London Christines used to do. Incidentally, Ted Keegan reminds me of Panaro vocally and has similar "I am in control" energy, but with less chaos demon vibes. He made lots of grand hand movements, like he's trying to impress Christine with all his arm waving, and after Christine fainted, he came close to stroking her cheek. Not too much to say about the first unmasking, other than a good moment where both Christine and Phantom both seemed nervous when returning the mask.

Overall, I wouldn't say Emilie Kouatchou's Christine is very afraid of the Phantom, but she also isn't as delighted as others, rather, she seems constantly unsure of him. Her Christine feels less naive and childish than most other Christines. She's not not necessarily a mature Christine either, but she's also not playing up the dreamy nature either.

In 'Why You Brought Me Here', for example, I got the sense is that she's scared but also trying to stay calm and figure things out, like when she heard the Phantom calling her name. 'All I Ask of You' is also the start of her backing off from holding Raoul's hands again, ha. It somewhat affected the tone of the song, as she really didn't seem persuaded by Raoul at all until he knelt down in proposal. 'All I Ask of You' in this performance really became having to work extra hard to win her over.

That ends Act 1, moving onto Act 2, nothing too much to note in 'Masquerade', so I picked up in 'Notes II'. Continuing off the theme of Emilie Kouatchou not being quite as childish and naive, she gave very determined "I can't. I won't do it" in this scene, and she was not really scared in 'Twisted Every Way'. Again, my sense was that she was more trying to persuade Raoul of her fear and that she's ruminating the conflict in her own head. (Also, third time she pulled away from Raoul's hands, heh.) Her 'Wishing' was also not too noteworthy, though I did like her shaky breathing in the beginning and how she sang the first lines ("Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing") - she did it rather fast, like she was trying to comfort and convince herself that that was what her father intended.

Again, not too much to say in 'Point of No Return', other than that she's a little better at showing that she's realized it's the Phantom and playing like she's coming up with a plan than in a previous video or compared to some other Christines. That being said, this whole scene is still a tad confusing to me: for one thing, she seems to smile a little when she unhoods the Phantom, and even appears to make to go after him (to follow him? chase him down? confront him?), so like - does she want to be with the Phantom? Does she want him caught? Good Lord, what is Christine's intent here... But I've ragged on about that enough. Interestingly, she doesn't resist when the Phantom put the ring on, which could be shock or her saying she's an E/C fan, I don't know, though she unmasks him anyway (Christine - no longer mistress of her own actions but mistress of the mixed message).

I think this continued in the 'Final Lair', where Christine came off not very scared, but not overly defiant, showing more of a quiet resistance somewhat reminiscent of Ali Ewoldt in her early days. I will say that Ted Keegan's Phantom loved showing his deformity off: he kept pointing it in Christine's direction, in a way where you get that he's being defiant about this thing that's caused him so much emotional pain and ostracism over the years, and it was not until Christine told him his face was not the issue that he stopped. Emilie Kouatchou's Christine did whisper "No!" after the kiss when she thought the Phantom was going to hurt Raoul instead of releasing him, and her ring returning scene was similarly subdued, just a little shake of the hood and a suppressed sob. Other than that, it wasn't too memorable of a 'Final Lair', I suppose.

Overall... I think Emilie Kouatchou has a pretty cool interpretation of Christine, where she's less naive and innocent, but not necessarily mature and feisty. She was joyful and scared at times, but it was tempered by her seeming a little more observant of everything going on around her. I do think this made her a little subdued in some scenes, and it also made her Act 1 a bit stronger than her Act 2, since I also felt like she didn't make as much growth because, well, she didn't need to, I guess? What was also interesting was that I heard she was more of an E/C Christine, and maybe she is with a different Phantom, but here I felt like she wasn't into either Phantom or Raoul, and honestly, maybe she didn't need to be. It's kind of interesting too to compare her to some earlier reviews, where it seemed she was very passionate about both of them, so I don't know if she's toned it down a little or if it was just this specific performance. Anyway, the above doesn't seem too positive, but I actually enjoyed watching her, and a lot of her performance, especially Act 1, lingered in my mind a while after.

So there you have it!