Original Broadway Cast of Phantom (1988) Notes and Thoughts Pt 1
Okay I'm finally sitting my ass down and typing up the notes I took when I had the honor of seeing the OBC recording at the NYPL's Theater on Film and Tape Archive. (sidenote: I tried to do this when I went to New York back in March, and that happened to be the one week the archive was temporarily closed; you can imagine my anguish)
Other people have already done a great job of summarizing choices made in this recording, but I think we all find different details we fixate on when watching something for the first time, so I thought I would share my own observations :)
(@phantomonabudget has a great review here and big thanks to @emotionalmotionsicknessxx for this post which was my guide when I made my appointment to watch it!)
Alright! Onto the actual viewing!
Raoul was the one to buy the Hannibal poster before the music box (and the music box monkey looks like. aggressively racist)
Raoul also clutched at the music box desperately and was very emotional, this is foreshadowing to the audience that we are about to see the best Raoul to ever do it
Carlotta kills it as always, but I will note it anyway
Christine and Meg hold hands and whisper to each other as soon as the the song is stopped, Christine drags Meg to another part of the stage- megstine was very strong throughout this performance
I wrote a note that just says "ooooh the ballet" which I think was just me appreciating the choreography (as someone who did ballet for many years), it did appear a bit more intensive than other productions I have seen
Christine and Meg both had dance solos, which is when Mme Giry yells at Christine to focus, immediately followed by Meg asking "Christine, what's the matter?"
Andre appears very enamored with the ballet, and goes up to Mme Giry to kiss her hand
When Firmin says "Two bars will be quite sufficient" it is very much said as a vibe killer, before that line Andre and Carlotta are being very playful in their interaction (noting this for the jealous Firmin truthers out there)
Meg looks equal parts scared and excited as she sings about the Phantom
Mme Giry gave a very.. intense performance, a lot of big eyes and dour face- very much interpreting the character as one who knows more than she lets on, rather than one who suspects and is frightened
Christine was very reliant on Meg and looked to her more than once as she started "think of me"- Meg always very reassuring and supportive
Raoul so excited to recognize Christine, very wistful
Meg spent the whole song deeply concerned, especially when Christine would stare off into space
Meg was trying to soothe Christine a lot, I saw a lot of parallels between this scene and "all I ask of you"- like I said, megstine nation really winning in this performance
Raoul pauses just outside of Christine's dressing room, he's giddy and looks like he can't believe he's about to be in the same room as Christine- thank you steve barton for understanding Raoul as the lovesick man he is
Christine runs into the hug with Raoul, and when she pulls back she cradles his face between her hands (i'm unwell)
When Christine sits and turns away, Raoul reaches out and plays with a lock of her hair, again like he can't believe she's really there in front of him- he is down bad immediately
As soon as she mentions the death of her father, Raoul gets lower to the ground to meet her gaze
Before he leaves he says "My Little Lotte" which makes Christine smile and then he kisses her hands (AAAAAAAAAAAAAHH), Christine seems scared when she tries to warn him about her angel, but she does get distracted by Raoul being all charming, which same girl
Unlike other versions I have seen, as soon as the Phantom begins singing Christine does not appear frightened, instead she appears interested/mesmerized, though Crawford also doesn't project much anger in this scene, more that he just doesn't think Raoul is worthy of Christine's time/attention
I'll be honest, could not see much of it on this recording, but from what I could make out, Christine spent much of the song turning and reaching for the lights, only for the Phantom to draw her back to him
Phantom's first "sing" was only a whisper, progressively got louder
ok I just wrote "wow hand" which is rare for me, i'm usually immune to Phantom hands, but Crawford was out here doing some tantalizing shit
When Phantom pushes her face on "turn your face away" Christine clenches her fists and tenses her entire body
Phantom and Christine have an almost kiss, but Phantom just smoothly tilts her face away instead of jolting back from her- Crawford has a very controlled Phantom for the entirety of this song
Christine also relaxed as she leaned in for the kiss, hands unclenched
this was a very slow and sensual MOTN, and hands down slowest portcullis sprawl i've ever seen man was moving in slow motion
I made multiple notes about how slow and sensual it all was, this Phantom is definitely a Seducer™ who believes if he can do the appropriate combination of Sexy Moves, Christine will fall in love with him (very much a man who has determined what intimacy is supposed to look like from watching the stage, giving him that false confidence to replicate it)
I Remember/Stranger Than You Dreamt It
Return of The Racist Monkey
Christine is confused when she first awakens, and transitions into more concerned/fearful the more she remembers- she removes the mask in a more panicked manner rather than playful (I really like this interpretation and wish modern productions would give Christine more mixed feelings when she wakes up in a strange basement!!)
Christine runs to the portcullis trying to escape
once again Crawford's Phantom doesn't really show a lot of anger towards Christine, and instead leans into the sadness and dejection of her having seen him
Phantom had an excellent desperate crawl, and he also flinched back when Christine offered him the mask back
This Andre and Firmin could be on siblings or dating
also Andre had cute little spectacles
Raoul enters the scene with barely restrained anger, he doesn't become actually worried until he read's Christine's name in the note Carlotta received- I think before that line he assumes it's some kind of tasteless joke
When Raoul asks Mme Giry if he can see Christine, he goes up to her and clutches at her arm, very desperate
Raoul also spends much of "notes" running around the stage like he is a working dog stuck in a studio apartment- someone give this man a task that he can accomplish pls he cannot stand having no way to immediately fix something
Meg is also very worried, grabbing at Mme Giry
Raoul and Meg actually hold hands at one point and whisper to each other, presumably about their concerns for Christine- have we yet considered Christine/Meg/Raoul polycule? I think we should
Meg also chases after Raoul as he runs around, looks like she wants to warn him possibly, or perhaps tell him what Christine told her about the Angel of Music? Just very good Raoul and Meg interactions for the entire scene, could really feel that they both care deeply about Christine and her wellbeing
I think i'll need to write a part 2 for my many feelings on all I ask of you so stay tuned
