Latest Posts by litloverscorsetlaces - Page 2

lol is it good?

masquerade nyc posting a fic on ao3... literally what is going on

“Floating, Falling …”

Earl Carpenter and Katie Knight-Adams, 2006, London. The iconic MOTN pose and some very dynamic acting from both!

A ROOM WITH A VIEW (1985)

dir. james ivory

I'm going to reblog this combination whenever I see it.

I've just thought of a phantom of the opera remake directed by guillermo del toro and now I will never know peace

I never make claims about "the best" but after much consideration I've broken my own rule and have come to the conclusion that '06 Earl Carpenter was the best Phantom kisser IMO. I have no further comments at this time and will not be taking questions.

Franz Kafka, from a letter to Milena Jesenka featured in "Letters to Milena,

Filing An Emotional Distress Claim Against Earl Carpenter's Phantom for:

How softly he whispers "sing" during the title song.

Nearly putting his arms around Katie Knight Adams while singing "soooarrr" during MOTN but chickening out.

The emphasis he puts on "lead me save me from ~my solitude~"

Hands (see items 5-9):

Directing Christine (and honestly the music) during the title song like he's literally pulling the melody/sex out of her.

Doing that wrist twist thing during the cape twirl and MOTN.

Doing all the things during PONR.

Always holding Christine's head/hair during the kiss and sometimes even putting his hand on her cheek. [Melts.]

Reaching for Christine when she returns because he thinks she's coming back for him only to try to refuse the ring when she gives it back.

Falling to his knees during the ring return and offering the ring to her AGAIN?!?! This is very intentional infliction of emotional distress wtf!!

Going all the way to the floor like a baby during the whole "go now and leave me" sequence.

Reaching through the damn portcullis with the damn veil in hand while singing "you alone can make my song take flight."

The fact that he came back to the West End for a limited run in 2023 and destroyed us all over again.

And then ended that 2023 limited run with the ultimate sad wet cat "noooo" after the ring return in the final lair. Who let this happen?!?

So honestly this is a respondeat superior case bc the producers of POTO allowed Earl Carpenter to victimize us all in the 2000s and then brought him back aged like fine wine just to find devastating new ways of milking our tear ducts all over again.

This has to be actionable. My lawyers will be in touch.

Gaaaaaah that first gif is literally a permanent fixture in my brain.

earl

Tim Martin Gleason final lair appreciation gifset. I will never get over the way he throws his arms around Christine like he's clinging for dear life.

Guillermo del toro phantom of the opera remake would fuck so severely

Me: *Has the thesaurus open in multiple tabs.*

Also me: *Opens another tab and types in "redundant synonym."*

*a few minutes later opens another tab and types "excessive synonym."*

*and another tab: "compulsive synonym."*

What drives me absolutely crazy about the 25th Anniversary performance is Ramin Karimloo says a second (nearly imperceptible) "I love you" in the final lair and we don't even get to see it because the cameraperson is in love with a man who played Raoul with all the nuance of a block of wood.

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

The chat next Saturday is going to be so unstable and I am totally here for it 💀

Saturday, May 3, 2025: NO STREAM

I try my best to schedule around Saturday evenings, but it's an event night! I might be back in time, but I don't want to risk it. See you next weekend!

A heartbreaking Davis Gaines hand thing.

Edit: Boots are cinema because do you SEE how this master lets the camera linger on the empty space even after Christine leaves the frame? Do you understand we give filmmakers oscars for this kind of thing?!

The chandelier rises one last time.

Phantom Acting Choices That Live in My Head Rent Free (Part 3)

Final lair edition because this scene alone has permanent residence in an entire area of my brain.

When Davis Gaines and Stephen Buntrock take "this face which earned a mother's fear and loathing" up an octave. If you got the range, flaunt it I guess.

Hugh Panaro absolutely torments Raoul. Why are you waving at him from the other side of the portcullis? Why are you singing "raise up your hands to the level of your eyes" like that?!

The way Ian Jon Bourg and Kevin Gray scream "I love you."

The way Hugh Panaro whispers "I love you."

The way John Cudia fumbles "I love you. I--" in his performance with Sarah Lawrence.

Honestly there are no less than fifty Phantom I love you's that play in my head at any given moment. I'm obsessed with extra ilys.

But also Earl Carpenter saying "fuck an ily" and just dropping to his knees to offer Christine the ring again like the sad wet cat he is.

David Shannon screaming "No!" when Christine says "you deceived me."

Phantoms who lean their cheek against Christine's hair between kisses (shout out to Ben Crawford, Laird Mackintosh, and Jonathan Roxmouth, this is an underrated 2020s calling card).

Any Christine putting their hand to the Phantom's cheek during the kiss. Common West End staple, but bonus points if a Phantom reacts to it (Ramin, Earl, David Shannon, etc.)

When Sierra Boggess turns back to look at Erik one last time during the 25th anniversary performance and RK gives her that slight nod like, "Go ahead, it's ok." Kill me.

Lucy St. Louis staring down Killian Donnelly's Phantom through the portcullis while she (supposedly) sings "share each day with me" to another man.

Interrupting my usual POTO content to exclaim: God almighty this man!

I think of Immersive Phantom as the random protein/granola bar stashed at the bottom of your purse or bookbag. If you’re super hungry between meals it’ll tide you over, but you’re really just saving your appetite for your favorite restaurant and dessert after work.

And you’re also waiting for the place to release the dang cast list—I mean, menu—to see if Jordan Donica is on it.

I feel like an outlier bc I know immersive phantom is the hot thing rn but I'm actually more excited for the (vastly more accessible) U.S. tour and all the new phans it's going to bring in

Crazily enough there's been a sudden demand for stream merch, so uhhh here are some options I guess? all of these are available on stickers, magnets, mugs, etc. (click "shop all products" under a design to see options)

stream designs here

general PotO designs here

Idk why I did this to myself. But when it comes to Phantom "specs" there's really no one who embodies the character as I imagine him like Davis Gaines did. In addition to just having that slender-but-muscular build, his movements are so elegant--almost balletic. And then you add that ghostly baritone of his and you can easily see how this man poses as both an angel of music and an opera ghost. Just know this is who I'm envisioning in all the fanfics you fine folks are writing.

Gifset dedicated to Davis Gaines's legs...and hands...and everything else.

Gifset dedicated to Davis Gaines's legs...and hands...and everything else.

I know the thesaurus abhors seeing me draw nigh

The Golden Girls – 5.26: The Presidents Coming! The Presidents Coming!

Oh. Ok 😭

ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀʟᴏɴᴇ

It looks like the les mis & fantôme-y goodness page has been taken down on YT? I'm hurt. They had like 20 of my favorite vids *crying emoji*

Thinking about how Erik wasn't just left alone by people, but also had no support system in the century he was born. His traumas would never be taken seriously (specially considering the men in his time), his mental illness would never be treated, he would probably be locked in an asylum and endure horrific torture if he ever tried to search for help. His abusers were protected by this very system and got away with everything they did to him. He was left down by everyone, even in his family, anywhere he went he was met with abuse, discrimination and ableism, and there was no way to escape this monstrous society other than hiding from it.

Thinking about no matter how much Leroux evidenced Erik's humanity, his nuances, the good he was capable of making, how his crimes were circumstantial (and in a lot of cases even forced), but not from thoughtless sadistic satisfaction, how he had no chance of living as a normal person in the world that casted him out like a 'monster'... he will always be a "villain" in the eyes of so many people. Because it's easier to blame one single person that already doesn't have anything or anyone and is already down on his misery, poverty and trauma, than to aknowledge the very system and society that forced him to live that way. It's easier to create an enemy that won't be accepted by anyone as anything other than an enemy, an 'other'.

Just thinking about how tragic and sadly realistic Erik is.

He and Dean Chisnall should be arrested for how they deliver this line, they are trying to kill me. My heart--

I can't believe they let this hAPPEN

An Essay on ALW's Erik

One of the best insights I got into ALW's Phantom from some random Reddit user is to watch for whether the lead plays Erik from his own POV or from Christine's, especially in MOTN. (I also add a third option because several actors also play him from the perspective of the audience or a more omniscient narrator.)

These approaches result in entirely different, but no less accurate, interpretations of the character. For example, Earl Carpenter's performance from the first lair to the final lair is entrenched in the Phantom's perspective, from the total anxiety he projects in MOTN, to his more hesitant physical engagement with Christine, to his decision to kneel/silently beg Christine to stay with him during the ring return. And I love that there's variety within this perspective as well. Carpenter uses this POV to portray a very earnest and sympathetic (if unscocialized) Erik, but I'd argue that Anthony Warlow also falls within this category even though he leans into the darker aspects of the Phantom's psyche.

I have favorite Phantoms in both categories, but I admit that Christine's POV is actually what hooked me to this musical. I got deep into Phantom boots after losing my dad in my 20s and watching an engagement fall apart under the strain of grief. When Erik is viewed or portrayed (à la Hugh Panaro) through Christine's eyes, you can see the character undergo a pitchy transformation throughout the musical as Christine works through her own relationship to men while grieving and coming of age. Erik initially presents himself to her as a father figure, then as a full-on seducer in the first lair, and then as a total monster. The story is in part about Christine's journey toward reconciling these different ways of perceiving/relating to masculinity in the absence of what had been the only male figure in her life. And the musical approaches resolution when Christine realizes that Erik is neither her dad, her lover, or a total villain--he's just a man. And he's worthy of compassion, but she can also choose to leave him.

Anyway, I hate when people say that it's inaccurate for Erik to be "X" or "Y". Because especially through the lens of Christine's journey, Erik is all the things at one point or another (or even simultaneously). He is a daddy-coded immortal messenger and a genius and sex incarnate and unhinged and broken and, and, and...a literary figure shaped by the internal worlds of the author, the reader, and the viewer/listener. What's the point in trying to make objective claims about him? Resist binary thinking and make literary and media analysis great again.