Team Phantom

I know, depending on the perspective of The Phantom of the Opera (POTO) fans and critics, I am several years (movie), decades (the musical) or even a century (the book) too late but hey, I still think it is never too late to support the cause of the Opera Ghost :)

For as long as I can remember, I have been humming to the tune of POTO the musical's main theme song, "All I Ask of You". Way before I knew that it's Sarah Brightman who became the original Christine in the musical (or even the fact that she's POTO composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's ex-wife), I had always sung, albeit lyrically or musically incorrect, the famous love song. And now, thanks to my husband who took me out on a Broadway date one cold December afternoon in New York just a few weeks ago, I am able to present why I, after all these years of supporting the other male lead singing "All I Ask of You" with Christine, changed my mind.

In no particular order are my reasons:

1. Raoul, for all the royalty flowing in his veins as Viscount ("Vicomte", for you, French peeps) de Chagny, is unbelievable in his professed/declared love for childhood sweetheart, Christine Daae. I can cut him some slack by saying he eventually came to really love her years into the marriage but come on! Tell a girl you  have not seen for years that you love her and you want to marry her after only several weeks of seeing her again?

2. I fully know I will get murdered here by the members of Team Raoul but he is no prince charming or knight in shining armor. He is portrayed in the book, the musical and the movie as either lame or condescending (towards Christine). He is possibly dashing, but he is lame, nevertheless.

3. Reason #3 is further proven in one of the book sequels to POTO of which became the basis to Webber's "Love Never Dies" the musical. No one can ever fully convince me to give a break a man who succumbs to fits of jealousy, gambling and drinking just because he suspects his wife never really loves him. And then have your wife work again to pay for your gambling debts? Just turn away, man. Turn away. You could just let her go to avoid further damage to your feelings, to your ego and to everyone else's. Wait... Christine died at the very end of "Love Never Dies" after proclaiming her love for the Phantom (and that you were never really the father of her son)? Geez. I guess it's too late then.

4. Man, whoever thought of giving Raoul a really bad hairstyle in the 2004 movie with Emmy Rossum playing Christine, Patrick Wilson playing Raoul and Gerard Butler playing the Phantom/Erik, must be on Team Phantom. Gerard is hot in the movie. Patrick is, too, just in desperate need though of a haircut.

5. I can think of a thousand and one reasons why I'd stay away from Erik being the stalker/murderer with the "carcass of a face" but I can also think of a million and one reasons why I'd choose him over Raoul. Blame the members of Team Phantom through the years. They romanticized his entire demeanor, his underground lair, included, and even made him hot in Ramin Karimloo's Broadway/West End suit and extra hot in Mr. Butler's Hollywood shoes :)

6. Let me end this obsession with two of my most loved videos from what is obviously my favorite adaptation of POTO. Watch and see what I mean: