Karen and Gill and I planned a little weekend around seeing Phantom, since I found out that Doug was in the show, and we had the best time!!

I was just a *little* excited to see this show, since it meant seeing Ethan again, who was by now my favourite Phantom, and seeing Doug, my favourite Raoul, whom I hadn't seen in four and a half years!

Karen and Gill with Sylvia Rhyne

What I wasn't prepared for was how much I was going to love the rest of the cast as well, especially Sylvia Rhyne as Christine! She has a lovely voice, and her acting made me feel the most empathy for Christine I've ever felt (which isn't saying much, however. :-) Kim Stengel and Roland Rusinek as Carlotta and Piangi were just wonderful together, and the managers were hilarious! There simply wasn't one weak link!

There were *so* many scenes I just loved...the first being "Think of Me". Doug in the box reminded me of why I love his Raoul so much...he's just so sweet and anxious and not AT ALL arrogant. His clapping for her was so enthusiastic!! He acts so naturally!!! And that voice!!! Well, how do you describe a voice?

Ethan's entrance in "The Mirror" was wonderful, of course! His voice is so incredible. I love the way he moulds her voice with his hand at the end of "Phantom of the Opera". And "Music of the Night"...this song thrills me when it's just done decently, but when Ethan does it, I'm utterly captivated. I love how he almost kissed her when he sings "Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light" His "soar" was GORGEOUS!!! He held it for SO long. And then his "be" was wonderful too...he ended it so strongly! And I LOVED when he sang "sweet intoxication"...he was kind of like smelling her throat. It sounds really strange written down, but I swear the effect was wonderful! :-) And then he caught her when she fainted, and laid her down on the boat/bed so carefully. And the last note was just perfect. All in all, an absolutely wonderful scene!!!!

Me and Doug LaBrecque

Doug LaBrecque and Kim Stengel, with Karen, Gill and I!

"Notes" is a scene that really depends on the actors to make it work, and I thought it was amazing this particular night! Everyone was just so perfect for their roles. I loved the fact that, no matter what Doug was saying or feeling at any given time, what always came across was his concern for Christine. You can really tell how much he loves her. And of course that comes across in "All I Ask of You" as well...when he picks her up and twirls her around, it's so sweet! And then when he sang "Christine, I love you"...that was the best line of the night I think!

"Masquerade" was wonderful, as was the second "Notes". Again, it's hard to describe, but everyone just did everything exactly as they should have! "Wishing" was lovely...Sylvia really does have a beautiful voice.

And then FINALLY Ethan and Doug were on stage at the same time!!! :-) Ethan came out from the cross and did the "Wandering Child" part, which was wonderful!! I especially liked how he went down at the end of his harmony with Christine. And he said "far-reaching gaze", which I like so much better! And then Doug came in, and he grabbed Christine, and they started running off stage, so they had their backs to the Phantom when he fired the first fireball, and Doug just turned around and said, "More tricks, monsieur?" I just loved the way he did that. :-) Their interplay was really, really good there. And then, I was sitting there, waiting for what is probably my favourite special effect of the entire show...AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!! The fire didn't go off!!! There was just this pause, and then they moved on to the next scene! I don't know what happened, why it didn't work. But it was a bit of a let down!

Karen, Gill and I with Ethan (who looks a little sleepy in this picture :-)

"Point of No Return" was fabulous...of course, it was so easy to tell that it was Ethan when he came back out...I mean, how could you mistake that voice??? I especially loved Ethan sitting on the bench when Sylvia was singing...he just kept moving, and breathing so heavily. It was wonderful. :-) And then, when she pulled the hood back, and he did the "Say you'll share with me" part, and gave her the ring, she put it on her finger, and looked at it for a second, like she was seriously considering it, really trying to work it out, before she heartlessly pulled his mask off. :-)

And then the final scene...*deep breath*. I was a wreck. :-) Let's start with when Ethan sings "That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh"...he reached out to touch her, and she turned away, and he pulled back and just broke down into the "This face" lines. I was sobbing. :-) But then his "Pity comes too late!" was very strong, as if he was trying so hard to regain control of the situation. Then Raoul showed up. :-) Ethan's "welcome" was fabulous...it takes a truly amazing actor to be able to make me laugh and cry at the same time! Especially the line "You have truly made my night!" It was great! And then Doug's "Free her!", and then Ethan was almost mocking him as he said, "Your lover makes a passionate plea!", and then Doug got angry when he said, "Show some compassion!", and Ethan got even angrier as he said, "The world showed no compassion to me!" It was wonderful how they played off each other! So then he let Raoul in, and put the noose around his neck (which looked *so* tight, btw!!) and then he sang, "Order your fine horses now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes" in a VERY mocking tone of voice, and even imitated the hand position and everything. He had me laughing again. :-)

And then he went over to the organ, and she sang "The tears I might have shed for your dark fate grow cold and turn to tears of hate", and that made him SO upset. You could just tell he was berating himself internally. Sylvia was really good again. When Ethan said, "You try my patience! Make your choice!", she paused a little longer than usual, and really seemed to be thinking about the words as she said them.

The awesome security guard at the stage door! :-)

And then, she kissed him, and that was wonderful!! At first, he was shocked, as they all are, but then he just grabbed her, and held her so tight!! I loved the way he did that! It was a different interpretation, and I thought it was really effective. And Doug, over in his noose, mouthed the words, "No! Christine!", but he didn't actually say them! Thank goodness!! :-) And then he turned away so he wouldn't have to look at them. So after, Ethan was staggering around, and as he walked, all of a sudden, he just paused, and his face lit up, as if he had realized what he had to do. It was perfect. So then he went and let Raoul go, and chased them out of the lair...his "Go now and leave me!" was so sad! Oh! And then he went over and hugged the monkey!!! I broke down when I saw him do that the first time, and it got me just as much this time!! And then she came back, and he accepted the ring back, and then just kind of whispered "Christine...", and then very, very softly, "I love you", as if he had just truly came to realize how deep his love for her was. And she looked at him for a second, and then said, "I can't! I'm sorry!", and then left. I really liked that. It showed that she *did* truly care about him, even if she wasn't strong enough to stay with him. So when she left again, he picked up the veil and was hugging it, and then, as Doug and Sylvia were singing All I Ask of You in the background, he started mouthing the words along with them!! I believe *that* was the saddest thing I have ever seen!!! I was sobbing not so quietly by this point. :-)