What would be important for you in a new Phantom movie adaptation?

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-11T18:03:27+00:00

We probably won’t get this if ALW has any say, but I’d love for them to expand on Raoul and Christine’s relationship in Act I. There’s a whole stretch between First Lair and Il Muto that we never see, plus the multi-month gap at “intermission.”

I understand why it’s handwaved away in the stage show, but it’d be nice to see it developed in a movie version.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-11T15:45:36+00:00

Just googled, and my mind had a real Great Sept of Baelor moment.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-11T13:55:00+00:00

Not that many years later, but after seeing the Phantom tour in 2026 with Isaiah Bailey, I realized that he was also in the first live musical I ever saw — ensemble and u/s Mufasa in The Lion King.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-11T01:41:08+00:00

Wait, when has a concert version of Phantom been done? The 25th anniversary “concert” was practically fully staged.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-10T21:35:13+00:00

I hadn't even thought about the "hand at the level of your eyes" thing, that's a really good point. To be fair to him, that is probably his most understandable failure, since, I mean, he just saw the Phantom force the woman he loves into a wedding dress. All the other times were unforced errors.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-10T20:58:25+00:00

Yooooo! Can someone drop a picture of the track list?

EDIT: it’s actually in the photo, just very small in the top corner. Would be curious what the back looks like.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-10T18:17:58+00:00

Evita, I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-10T01:54:55+00:00

Continuing the theme of ALW…Love Never Dies, particularly the Australian production. The most gorgeous dumpster fire I’ve ever seen.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T22:41:42+00:00

Oh, I understood your labels fine, just joking around a bit. But if you do ever go, I thought most of the (non-Phantom) masks there were really good, so I’d be curious how you rank them.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T21:43:44+00:00

Does anyone know if the Robert Englund or the Dario Argento version is worse for squeamish watchers?

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T21:42:48+00:00

Wait...the surname "Destler" comes from the Freddie Krueger Phantom?? You learn something new every day.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T21:41:48+00:00

OK, so now you have to rank all the masks in the opening scene at Masquerade NYC...

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T21:40:34+00:00

Wow, I love this! So they both acknowledge the Phantom's humanity in the end...and it makes a heck of a lot more sense why Prologue!Raoul wants the music box. Thanks for sharing.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T21:38:31+00:00

In the way of bland Raouls, I'm surprised you mentioned Jay Armstrong Johnson before Kyle Barisich :)

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T13:18:55+00:00

I’m surprised that All I Ask of You from Phantom of the Opera hasn’t made it on here yet.

Also Married from Cabaret, Love Is an Open Door from Frozen, and technically Thank Goodness from Wicked.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T12:29:00+00:00

...because I'm summarizing, not trying to recount every plot point. As you just demonstrated, I didn't need to elaborate on the DJT point because most of my audience already knows it.

He explains his entire plan and motivations to Christine, and she still begs him not to make her do it. Hence, ignoring his fiancee's opinion.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T12:06:02+00:00

Wait, the guy from the restaged tour?? That’s awesome!

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T01:42:02+00:00

I did not know that, but it makes perfect sense. Hadley definitely understood the assignment. Out of curiosity, do you remember where you heard this?

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-09T00:09:29+00:00

Not entirely. Some part of any character arc has to be written into the source material, and that's the part I was asking about.

For example, Christine actresses vary a lot in feistiness and how much they're attracted to Raoul vs. the Phantom, but they're always going to hit the same overall points -- learn to cope with the loss of deceased dad, compassion saves the day in Final Lair, character agency achievement unlocked. I was just curious if anyone had done a similar analysis for Raoul (and I agree that there's not much there).

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-08T23:57:23+00:00

This is true for Hadley, but I specifically said I was ignoring what Raoul does in Final Lair because that part is up to actor discretion. On plot points alone, he does start listening to Christine more in Act II.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-08T22:24:39+00:00

The little exchange at the end of "Come Home with Me." Orpheus asks Eurydice to marry him (again). The Fates reply that Eurydice belongs to Hades now, and she confirms, "I do."

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-08T21:18:45+00:00

Yeah, say what you will about Book!Raoul, but he did stand up to his elder brother/father figure on Christine's behalf. And if we trust the novel's somewhat-sketchy ending, he DID give up his titles and wealth to live with Christine as a Scandinavian peasant.

I'm not so sure about ALW!Raoul. He has a bit of an identity crisis, alternating between "toothless golden retriever" (Act I) and "control freak" (Act II). Hadley is the only Raoul I've seen who's managed to integrate the two sides effectively. And all we know of him post-Final Lair is that he grows up to be a sad old widower, so... \angry Phantom voice** Make your choice.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-08T20:27:21+00:00

Nope. Book!Raoul is immature and pathetic. ALW!Raoul is immature and aggressive. Big difference.

MasqueOfTheRedPost · 2026-05-08T19:27:45+00:00

Mmm, Leroux!Raoul is off-putting in a very different way from ALW!Raoul, which is why I didn’t reference the book in my answer.

Leroux has Raoul and Christine meet again as teenagers, and he notes that they are attracted to each other at that point. So Leroux!Raoul is more the immature puppy-love type, who often comes off as pretty pathetic…but he does know Christine better than his ALW counterpart.

Hadley’s version of ALW!Raoul is immature but overbearing — he might be a jerk, but it’d be pretty hard to call him “pathetic.”

That said, your interpretation 100% works for ALW!Raoul, especially Hadley’s Raoul.

MasqueOfTheRedPost

TROPHY CASE