The Phantom of the Opera - His Majesty's Theatre

For anyone interested in the day seats, I got Row C in the Dress Circle.

The seats are OK for £30, but they are the seats that are normally band B, but are on the curve - any other musical would have them as restricted view, but I guess because you get a perfect view of the chandelier, they get away with it...

I really enjoyed the matinee today! There are still some things that really irritate me about the changes (lyric changes, primarily!)

The Good: I saw this back in early August, just after it reopened and commented that the cast wasn't great. I've changed my mind - Lucy was amazing this afternoon, as was Rhys. Saori Oda has really grown into the role - she was brilliant today. She's clearly worked a lot on her diction and comedy timing. She was really great today! We had James Gant as the Phantom, who was good - better than Donnelly. Only slight issue with Gant was that AIAOY Reprise was started in the wrong key, which meant he had no where to go as the song progressed, which resulted in quite a strained few moments of singing. His final lair was brilliant, as was his PONR. Lucy and James had a lot of chemistry and worked really well as a pair. The chandelier also seems to have had more detail added to it (which I think was commented earlier)

The Bad: When I saw it in August, I said Greg Castiglioni was the saving point of the cast (and he's brilliant overall! He was delightful in Woman in White!) but today he was awful. I don't know if he's bored and he's trying to make things funny just to get through the show, but it was too much. From oogling the slave master and pretty much every single male cast member in the ensemble during Hannibal, to hiding behind the bed during Il Muto and pulling stupid faces when Carlotta's voice breaks (this never happened before, did it? I've seen Phantom a stupid amount of times and never noticed this? Either way, it was extremely distracting) and him trying to get the attention of the male ensemble during Il Muto to him having his tongue stuck out when he's been hanged in a really comic way. It was just too much, to the point it distracted too much.

I still really hate the set during All I Ask of You. I don't understand why they have went for a comic book depiction of the opera house. It doesn't match any other sets and it's completely out of place. It looks silly.

Overall, it's certainly better than when I saw it in August. The cast have mostly improved significantly, but there is just something missing. It lacks charm... and I'm unsure if it's the actors or the changes.

In regards to the discussion earlier about the doubles during the title song - they use doubles for the first walk across the bridge. The doubles then walk behind the curtain and the actors playing Phantom and Christine come out for remainder.

Still no souvenir brochure.

Also, to the couple eating Butterkist popcorn in row D of the royal circle... I hope you chipped a tooth on it x

Have there been many lyric changes? Offhand I can only recall that one line change has been mentioned on this thread, Meg's "Your face, Christine, its white."

hate this final lair lyric change too 😂 as much as i support the continued endeavours to make the show flow smoother, i just think that complexity of phrasing and multilayered meanings would be detrimental to this exact point in the show where emotions are building up and audiences would probably want to focus on the live tension rather then decipher a randomly more sophisticated turn of phrase

Saw this last night and was pleasantly surprised by how much of the original production was still there based on comments here. I did notice the changes mentioned, but was somehow expecting more changes. I didn't care for any of the lyric changes, I prefer the original lyrics in most case - and don't think the new lyrics added anything. I did like the new chandelier effects, and the end of act 1 with the Phantom on the statue was good - as it came round on the stage, with the slight underscoring, it did give me the creeps (in a good way). There were only 2 times when I noticed the reduced orchestra - the final chorus of Masquerade and in the Final Lair. It definitely didn't sound as full as it used to during those scenes.

Cast wise, we had James Gant as the Phantom, and he is already one of my favourite Phantoms - such a strong voice. I also really liked Lucy St Louis and Rhys Whitfield, who both had very strong voices and good chemistry as Christine and Raoul - Lucy's high note at the end of the title song sounded a bit odd though. Understudy Carlotta and Piangi were good, as were the managers, and I really enjoyed Francesca Ellis as Mme Giry.

Really can’t see the problem here.

In my opinion it is not the same option. She either stays with Phantom, or (if she doesn't) he sends Raoul to his grave.
This is the case in this line, as well as in the following lyrics you described.

Maybe we have a different interpretation of "ending days"? I think they mean the "ending days" as in the final days of their lives, when they grew old. But it can also be interpreted as "ending the days we have spent". Which then would indeed mean the same, because that would mean she chooses Raoul and then the Phantom would send him to his grave.

Now if the line would have been: "So do you end your days with him, or do you send him to his grave?". That would have been the same option.

Exactly! The line makes perfect sense.

When I watched the UK Tour in Leicester, I'd rather thought they were using the Broadway script and some of its direction (aside from truly new lyric changes), which the West End Revival then adopted directly (according to people who've seen it), so would it not be "Broadway and London now use the same Broadway/UK Tour amalgamation"? lol

By the way, has anyone noticed the bit of orchestration at the end of "Twisted Every Way" as Raoul declares war on the Phantom is now the World Tour version (originating from the latest run I think) instead of either past London/Broadway- more dramatic, dissonant winds and strings instead of just the arpeggios?

“So do your end your days with me” means stay with me until the end of your days. Doesn’t mean leave him!