I don't understand how Christine thought it was Piangi in PONR given that the Phantom weights a lot less than him, anyone with good vision would notice the difference.
On a general level I agree, as the difference between them from a DESIGN perspective was meant to be noticeable. But there’s also some aspects I wanna mention:
1. Not all Christines act as they don’t know something is wrong. That especially went for the earliest blocking in West End, but there’s still elements of it. Christine pausing and looking a second time, Christine giving him a glance of “you’re playing THAT game, I’ll show you!. Her feeling the mask under the hood is more of a confirmation of what she already knew, than an utter surprise.
2. The weight difference isn’t always too noticeable between the Phantom and the Piangi. Many Piangis are exquipped with false bellies or full fatsuits, but their overall frame is slender. Some actors covers both the role of the Phantom and Piangi, and those guys could totally have fooled me. Here’s Rob Pitcher in Oberhausen:
Think also Cleyton Pulzi in Sao Paulo, Jeremy Stolle on Broadway and Jeremy Secomb in West End.
3. Some Phantoms (though not many, and it mainly appears to have been a West End thing) mimicks Piangi’s Italian accent in the beginning of the song. John Owen-Jones is a prime example.
I think my biggest beef with Christine not understanding it’s Piangi is the VOICE. All the way through the show we’ve been told how standard a singer Piangi is, and how extra!plus a voice the Phantom has. Leroux describes him as a master of ventriloquism, so shouldn’t he been able to also mimick Piangi perfectly. But that’s not what the audience hears, is it? We immediately hear the Phantom, from the first note he sings. And so should Christine, really...
