History Theatre / ThePhantomOfTheOpera

* LongRunners: Since 1986 in London and 1988 in New York City; currently the longest-running show on Broadway. (''Theatre/LesMiserables'' has got it licked by a year in London, and ''would'' have it similarly licked on Broadway had the Broadway version, which opened in 1987, a year before Phantom did, not closed in 2003.)

** Different productions have Christine respond to this in different ways. Sometimes she gives him a LongLastLook before running away. Sometimes she briefly clasps his fingers in return. In the 25th anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall, Christine, weeping, [[IKissYourHand bends over the Phantom's hand and kisses it]] in a farewell gesture of profound respect.

--> '''The Phantom''': My angel of music! SING! ''SING FOR ME!''

* TenorBoy: Raoul fits this trope quite neatly. Starting with the original London cast, in which Steve Barton (Raoul) was also Michael Crawford's (The Phantom's) understudy, it has been fairly common for actors portraying Raoul to later take over the Phantom's role

* VillainousCrush: The story is set in motion by the Phantom's love and passion for Christine. If he'd never grown so attached to her, he never would have tried to terrorize the opera house into advancing her career -- or made them stage the opera he wrote himself, which was always intended to lead Christine back into his arms.

** Different productions have Christine respond to this in different ways. Sometimes she gives him a LongLastLook before running away. Sometimes she briefly clasps his fingers in return before leaving. In the 25th anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall, Christine, weeping, [[IKissYourHand bends over the Phantom's hand and kisses it]] in a farewell gesture of profound respect.

* VillainLoveSong: It's a LongList...
** "The Mirror"
** "The Music of the Night"
** "Wandering Child"
** "Point of No Return"

** Different productions have Christine respond to this in different ways. Sometimes she gives him a LongLastLook before running away. Sometimes she briefly clasps his fingers in return before leaving. In the 25th anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall, Christine, weeping, [[IKissYourHand bends over the Phantom's hand and kisses it]] in a gesture of profound respect and of sorrow at their parting.

** Different productions have Christine respond to this in different ways. Sometimes she gives him a LongLastLook before running away. Sometimes she briefly clasps his fingers in return before leaving. In the 25th anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall, Christine, weeping, [[IKissYourHand bends over the Phantom's hand and kisses it]] in a gesture of profound respect and sorrow at their parting.

** Different productions have Christine respond to this in different ways. Sometimes she gives him a LongLastLook before running away. Sometimes she briefly clasps his fingers in return before leaving. In the 25th anniversary production at the Royal Albert Hall, Christine, weeping, [[IKissYourHand bends over the Phantom's hand and kisses it]] in a gesture of profound respect.

** ''Don Juan Triumphant'', Sir Andrew's spoof on serialism in modern opera, overwrought with dissonance, and bathing in clichés.

* StalkerShot: After the Phantom upstages a performance with a sudden murder, Christine dashes out of the theatre in fear until Raoul arrives to calm her down. Thinking each other safe, they profess their love to one another before heading back inside... and as they leave, the Phantom crawls up into view from the statue they were talking under, revealing he has heard their entire talk and is now very jealous and angry.

* TitleDrop: Take a shot every time someone says "The phantom of the opera," and you'll wind up with liver poisoning.

* VillainousBreakdown: The Phantom has one at the end of Act II. After she unmasks him in front of the entire opera house, he abducts Christine and tries to force her to marry him, even as an AngryMob sets off to hunt him down. In his desperation, he loses all his prior charisma and composure and acts more unhinged than ever before.

''Don Juan Triumphant'', Sir Andrew's spoof on serialism in modern opera, overwrought with dissonance, and bathing in clichés.

* ShoutOut: When the Count and Countess sing goodbye to each other in "Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh," the notes sound like the "Vincerò," part from "Nessun Dorma" of Theatre/{{Turandot}}.
* ShoutingFreeForAll: "Notes / Prima Donna" and its reprise, "Notes / Twisted Every Way" are a musical version of this, with the opera's VIPs all receiving threatening notes from the Phantom, accusing others of being in league with him, and arguing over what to do about it.

* ShowWithinAShow: See StylisticSuck below.

* StupidSexyFlanders: Both Ramin Karimloo as the title character and Hadley Fraser as Raoul count for many fans in ''The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall'', as well as other times when said actors have been involved.
* StylisticSuck: The three fictional operas performed in the course of the story: ''Hannibal'', a parody of the grand late classical operas from the like of Meyerbeer and Gluck, ''Il Muto'', an obvious parody of Mozart -- or one of that crowd -- and ''Don Juan Triumphant'', Sir Andrew's spoof on serialism in modern opera, overwrought with dissonance, and bathing in clichés.
* TakingAThirdOption: One way to interpret Christine's action when confronted with the Phantom's SadisticChoice. She kisses him, thereby letting him experience compassion and kindness for the first time while still not choosing him over Raoul, which causes him to have a HeelRealization and let them go.
* TenorBoy: Raoul fits this trope, but note that the Phantom is also a tenor. Starting with the original London cast, in which Steve Barton (Raoul) was also Michael Crawford's (The Phantom's) understudy, it's common for Raoul's actor to understudy the Phantom's role, sometimes taking it over later.
* ThisIsReality: You'd never get away with all this in a play/ But if it's loudly sung and in a foreign tongue/ It's just the sort of story audiences adore In fact, a perfect opera!"
* ThisIsAsFarAsIGo: Said word for word by Madame Giry as she leads Raoul part of the way to the Phantom's lair, points him in the right direction and leaves him to make the rest of the way by himself.
* TitleDrop: Happens every five seconds...
* TruckDriversGearChange: So many songs feature them. "Think of Me" is the first instance, as it begins in D but then goes up a half-step after the first verse and remains there for the rest of the song. The title theme song itself actually changes key with every verse.
* TheUnreveal: Although Madame Giry hints at the Phantom's MysteriousPast, it's never explained ''how'' she knows where his house is -- or why she's unofficially on his 'payroll,' so to speak. (Aside from sheer terror, of course...)
** Averted slightly with the movie musical; Madame Giry helped the Phantom escape from a traveling freak show as a child, so she probably feels responsible for him as a sort of guardian/acquaintance. The 25th Anniversary show also borrows bits of this backstory as well.

** "The Music of the Night" is one of the most famous songs in musical theatre ''and'' one of the best examples of this trope.

** "Down Once More"
* VillainSong: The title number.
* VillainousBreakdown: The Phantom has one of these at the climax of ''both'' acts. The first time, after Christine chooses Raoul and denies him, he causes the chandelier to ''nearly fall on her.'' The second time, after she unmasks him in front of everyone, he tries to force her to marry him, despite the fact that an angry mob is hunting him down. [[AlasPoorVillain And both times it's incredibly painful to watch.]]
* WhamLine: "He was bound to love you when he heard you sing." As the Phantom realizes that he himself sowed the seed of the love which took Christine from him.

->''"It's over now, the music of the night."''

* RedRightHand: The Phantom is one of the most famous examples.
* RepriseMedley: Everything after "Point of No Return".
* RingOnANecklace: Christine agrees to marry Raoul but she insists on keeping their engagement a secret, especially as she's concerned how [[CrazyJealousGuy the Phantom]] will react. As a result, she wears her engagement ring on a necklace so it's less conspicuous. It doesn't work: when the Phantom dramatically reappears at a masquerade ball, he lets Christine know that he's aware of her engagement and of his opinion on the matter by ripping the necklace off.
* SadisticChoice: "Twisted Every Way" and the "Point of No Return" reprise, where Christine is forced first to choose between justice and the man who, despite everything, inspired her voice; and then between staying with that crazed man forever and saving Raoul, or refusing him and letting Raoul die.
* SayMyName:
** "Christine, Christine" is sung multiple times in the same way by the Phantom, Raoul, Meg and Carlotta.
** Christine screams Raoul's name when he saves her from falling back under the Phantom's influence at her father's grave.
* SensationalStaircaseSequence: The masquerade ball features a dance on a staircase.
* ShoutOut: The notes as the Count and Countess sing goodbye to each other in "Poor Fool, He Makes Me Laugh" sounds like the "Vincerò," part from "Nessun Dorma" of Theatre/{{Turandot}}.
* ShoutingFreeForAll: "Notes" and its reprise are this in song form, with everyone of importance at the Opera Populaire receiving threatening notes from the Phantom, accusing others of being in league with him, and arguing over what to do about it.
* ShowStopper: "The Phantom of the Opera" has the power to bring down the house. "Sing my angel! Sing for me!"

* SmallRoleBigImpact:
** Joseph Buquet really doesn't do much while he's alive besides loom about the place, tell the corps de ballet scary stories about the Phantom and set up the ChekhovsGun of the Punjab lasso - but his shocking death is the final nail in the coffin of Christine deciding the Phantom is ''bad news'' and choosing Raoul; all (further) hell breaks loose from there.
** For that matter, the Phantom himself. Would you believe that a (title!) character who so thoroughly dominates the show is only onstage for about 30-40 minutes of a two-and-a-half hour production?
* TheSongBeforeTheStorm: "Prima Donna" and "Notes (reprise) - Twisted Every Way".

''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' has perhaps its most well-known adaptation in Creator/AndrewLloydWebber's wildly successful {{musical}}. First produced in the West End in 1986, where it runs to this day, before debuting on Broadway in 1988, it became the longest-running show on the Great White Way with an impressive 35-year run before finally closing in April 2023.

* PaperThinDisguise: In "The Point of No Return," the Phantom switches places with Piangi by donning his cloak and cowl costume. It just about works, but fails because Piangi (the real Don Juan) is noticeably heavier-set than the Phantom, and, as it turns out, [[spoiler:a little more dead]]. Making this slightly more plausible is that the Don Juan costume uses a heavy floor-length cloak with a deep cowl, and some Phantom actors go the extra mile by imitating Piangi's Italian accent in the scene. It still doesn't explain why nobody notices the guy performing with Christine is suddenly about a hundred pounds lighter, though...

* PatterSong: ALW's version has "Notes" in the first act, which is a patter song with an increasing number of people all singing angrily at each other until the Phantom shuts them up.
* PointyHairedBoss: Played with when it comes to Andre and Firmin. They're not entirely incompetent, per se - they do know how to run the opera house and what's most likely to get customers in seats, as well as winging it when the Phantom ruins Carlotta's singing - but they're really in way over their heads and defer to Raoul during the climax in order to get things done. You do have to feel sorry for them, though; they got into the opera business to make a profit, not to deal with a mad man who extorts absurdly large amounts of cash and drops chandeliers when he gets annoyed.
* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Christine and Meg are ''very'' close, and very physically affectionate, to boot. They're constantly holding hands, whispering together, etc., and Meg is Christine's most unstinting support throughout.
* PsychopathicManchild: Some of the actors playing the Phantom will depict him as this, especially during the final confrontation--Norm Lewis actually does a [[https://youtu.be/7-r_S3LC2yo?t=157 horse dance]] while singing "Order your fine horses now!", as a means of taunting the imprisoned Raoul and Christine.

* RedRightHand: The Phantom has one of the most famous.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: While the West End (of course), the Broadway and the World Tour productions have everyone speaking and singing with an English accent, the restaged US tour has everyone speaking and singing with an American accent.

* OedipusComplex:
** Part of Christine's attraction to the Phantom is that he reminds her of her father. (Note how most of the lyrics in "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" could just as easily apply to the Phantom.)
** The first Toronto version had the Phantom and Christine being played by Colm Wilkinson and Rebecca Caine, who only a few years earlier played a surrogate father and daughter pair in Theatre/LesMiserables, essentially adding this edge to their scenes.
** And the 2014 Broadway Phantom and Christine -- Norm Lewis and Sierra Boggess -- played father and daughter Triton and Ariel in the Broadway version of ''Theatre/TheLittleMermaid'', which rather gave their scenes this edge as well.
* OhCrap: A few moments throughout the show:
** When the Phantom hangs Buquet above the stage. It's the moment where it hits you that the Phantom will resort to murder to get what he wants.
** The end of "That's All I Ask Of You". As Christine and Raoul leave the stage, the Phantom climbs up from behind the angel statue, having heard everything. Audiences have been known to gasp in horror when he appears.
** When Christine is deep in character in the middle of "The Point of No Return", she's running her hands over 'Don Juan's' covered face -- and clearly feels the edge of a very familiar mask. She ''immediately'' breaks character and tries to run to safety in the wings, only for the Phantom to grab her and haul her back.
** When Christine unmasks the Phantom in front of the audience, and then immediately after he takes her, Piangi's hanged body is discovered, with the in-universe realization that Piangi has been dead for the entire duration of the song.
** Depending on how it's played, the Phantom has a major one when Christine lets him know what exactly she thinks of the choice he presented her, and that any pity she might have had for him until that point is gone.
* OminousOperaCape: The Phantom sports one of these in most of his scenes, and uses it to very spooky effect indeed, usually sweeping it around himself before vanishing, right until the very end.

* PaperThinDisguise: In "The Point of No Return," the Phantom uses a Don Juan disguise to switch places with Piangi (the real Don Juan). It just about works, but fails because Piangi (the real Don Juan) is noticeably heavier-set than the Phantom, and, as it turns out, [[spoiler:a little more dead]]. Making this slightly more plausible is that the Don Juan costume uses a heavy floor-length cloak with a deep cowl, and some Phantom actors go the extra mile by imitating Piangi's Italian accent in the scene. It still doesn't explain why nobody notices the guy performing with Christine is suddenly about a hundred pounds lighter, though...

The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind"''

* MoodWhiplash: Whatever romantic feelings the audience may have watching Christine and Raoul sing a love duet evaporate ''fast'' into a MassOhCrap once they leave the stage and the Phantom emerges from behind the statue of the angel, revealing that he's seen and heard everything and is ''pissed''. Audiences have been known to gasp in horror at this moment.
* MusicalisInterruptus: Phantom's "All I Ask of You" reprise when Christine unmasks him.
* MythologyGag: Lloyd Webber has admitted to being inspired by the 1925 film version, and there are a couple of clear shout outs. Most obvious is the angry mob going after the Phantom near the end, but the flower hoops held by the Sylphides in the "Il Muto" ballet also match those used in one of the film ballets. Buquet's description of the Phantom's face is also straight from the book, as is the Phantom's backstory told by Madame Giry.
* NeverendingTerror: Some of Christine's lines referring to the title character include: "My God who is this man/Who hunts to kill/I can't escape from him/I never will". Referring to the plan to stage ''Don Juan Triumphant'' (the Phantom's own opera) with her performance as bait for a trap, Christine is reluctant to perform and says:
--> "Raoul I'm frightened. Don't make me do this. It scares me.
--> Don't put me through this ordeal by fire. He'll take me. I know.
--> We'll be parted forever. He won't let me go.
--> What I once used to dream, I now dread. If he finds me, it won't ever end."
* NoNameGiven: Andrew Lloyd Webber doesn't call the Phantom "Erik", and he's never given an actual name for the entire musical. Ironically there was another musical called ''Phantom'', released around the same time, that ''does'' refer to Erik by name. Even more ironically, in the original Leroux novel 'Erik' wasn't even the guy's original name, but one he chose for himself.
* NostalgicMusicbox: It has the image of a monkey sitting atop a barrel organ, and plays what is later revealed to be the "Masquerade" melody.

* ObsessionSong: The reprise of "All I Ask of You" at the end of Act I, as the Phantom swears revenge upon Christine for denying and rejecting him after all he's done for her.

* LyricalDissonance:
** "Masquerade" is a grand celebration ... of concealing your identity "so the world will never find you!"
* ManipulativeBastard: The Phantom follows Christine to her father's grave and, while she's at her most emotionally distraught and vulnerable, attempts to convince her to return to him by using his CompellingVoice as well as playing hard and fast on her daddy issues. ''Charming.''
* ManlyTears: The Phantom breaks down every time he loses Christine, especially at the end.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's deliberately left ambiguous as to whether this version of the Phantom actually ''does'' have supernatural abilities. Some of the things he does, like the mirror and shooting fire from his staff, are understandable in-universe, and the candelabras rising up out of the water during the title song are part of the scene changing, but a lot more -- apparently teleporting at the end of "Why So Silent?", causing the piano to play itself during the rehearsal of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' creating the massive amounts of fire to shoot up from the ground/stage in the graveyard, almost certainly teleporting during "Seal My Fate Tonight", making the gates in his lair rise with merely a gesture, and disappearing from under his cloak at the end of the show -- while obviously stage effects in real life, have no practical explanation in the context of the story.

** He also tearfully reprises "Masquerade" next to the monkey music box in the final lair scene, after Christine and Raoul exit the stage and leave him to his wretched fate.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Since the plot takes place in an opera house, the theatre itself becomes part of the set.
** That chandelier that was slowly cranked up to the ceiling at the beginning, to signify time going backwards? The Phantom sends it hurtling back towards the stage at the end of the first act, narrowly missing the front rows.
** Whenever the Phantom "publicly" terrorizes any showing, his voice can be heard echoing from anywhere in the room.
** When the opera house is being secured for the performance of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' the sound of doors slamming and firemen shouting "Secure!" can be heard throughout the theatre. The officer whom Raoul instructs to wait in the orchestra pit stands up right before the front row of the audience.
** When the Phantom shouts, "DID I NOT INSTRUCT THAT BOX FIVE WAS TO BE LEFT EMPTY?!", the audience members ''actually'' sitting in Box Five will get a nice little surprise. [[spoiler:There's a speaker set up in there.]]

* LaughingMad: The Phantom does this in the ''Il Muto'' scene after he makes Carlotta croak, and then again when he hangs Buquet above the ballet dancers for the whole audience to see.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: At the conclusion of the first act, the Opera House cast has completed their performance of "Il Muto" and is taking their bows. This allows the audience to applaud the performers at the halfway point of the actual show. It's done several times throughout the show also, with the characters addressing the orchestra, etc.
* LongRunners: Since 1986 in London and 1988 in New York City; it's the longest-running Broadway show in the latter. (''Theatre/LesMiserables'' has got it licked by a year in London, and ''would'' have it similarly licked on Broadway had the Broadway version, which opened in 1987, a year before Phantom did, not closed in 2003.)

** "Masquerade" is a grand celebration ... of concealing your identity "so the world will never find you!" A DarkReprise appears at the end of the show.

* TheElevenOClockNumber: "The Point of No Return," both in- and out-of-universe, serves as a turning point for the characters. Within the story of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' it is the moment Don Juan's seduction plot must either fail or succeed, and the moment his prospective lover, Aminta, declares that she won't go back on her decision no matter what the consequences may be. It is also the moment that Christine and the Phantom try to out-gambit each other: Christine by luring him into a trap, the Phantom with his own attempt at seduction (and then, when that fails, abduction).

* HotterAndSexier: Where "The Music of the Night" is full of careful metaphors and sensuality, "The Point of No Return" abandons all pretense regarding Don Juan's desires ... and, consequently, those of the Phantom. The lyrics are dark, intense and impassioned. The music goes from low and restive to full of surging anticipation. However, it's the body language of the actors that speaks the loudest; over the course of the song, Christine and the Phantom exchange numerous coy caresses that allude unmistakably to the carnal hungers of their characters.

* IrrelevantActOpener: "Masquerade". (Though they do manage to tie the song itself back into an emotional moment with the Phantom near the end of the show, and even at the beginning of Act 2 it could be seen as a metaphor for the Phantom's situation.)
* JealousRomanticWitness: The Phantom spies on Christine and Raoul's romantic duet at the end of the first act, which spurs him to declare revenge on both of them and leads to the famous chandelier drop.
* KillAndReplace: The Phantom does this to Piangi during the premiere of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' silently garroting him behind a curtain and taking his place onstage with Christine for [[TheElevenOclockNumber The Point of No Return]]. Don Juan's costume in this scene, a long black cloak with a cowl, conceals his identity until Christine unmasks him.

* HotterAndSexier: Where "The Music of the Night" is full of careful metaphors and sensuality, "The Point of No Return" abandons all pretense.

-->"Would you not rather have your precious little ingenue?"
* IronicEcho: The Phantom's "Order your fine horses now!" during the final lair is a mocking echo of what Christine said to Raoul after accepting his proposal.

-->You'd never get away with all this in a play,
-->But if it's loudly sung and in a foreign tongue,
-->It's just the sort of story audiences adore --
-->In fact, a perfect opera!

** The title song is a duet shared between Christine and the Phantom when he abducts her to his underground lair. Christine sings about her experiences with her mysterious music teacher and the hold he has on her mind, while the Phantom encourages her fascination and, once they arrive, commands her to sing for him. This piece serves to illustrate what their relationship has been like until the night of the gala.

* HotterAndSexier:
** ''"The Point of No Return,"'' anyone? With Christine being outright seductive towards the Phantom and brushing her hands on him regularly. Also, most of the stage actresses playing her are only in their twenties, and are very sexy during that song indeed.
** The guys playing Raoul can be pretty hot as well. Heck, Creator/JohnBarrowman (yes, the same guy who plays Captain Jack Harkness in Series/DoctorWho and ''Torchwood'') played Raoul in the West End in 1993 and was supposed to be the first Raoul in Love Never Dies!
** The 25th anniversary performance at the Royal Albert Hall touches on this trope, with well-respected character actor Ramin Karimloo portraying the Phantom as particularly charismatic in both voice and general appearance (with the mask on) yet also showing the bleakness and despair of the Phantom's internal conflicts... and, well, [[FacialHorror with the mask off...]]
** ''Don Juan Triumphant'' is an in-universe example, far more sensual and seductive in themes than most opera audiences of the time are used to.
* TheIngenue: Christine, complete with an InnocentSoprano voice. Even Carlotta calls her as such:

* JealousRomanticWitness: The Phantom witnesses Christine and Raoul have a romantic duet at the end of the first act, which spurs him to declare revenge on both of them and leads to the famous chandelier drop.
* KillAndReplace: The Phantom does this to Piangi during the premiere of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' silently garroting him behind a curtain and taking his place onstage with Christine for [[TheElevenOclockNumber The Point of No Return]]. Don Juan's costume in this scene, a long black cloak, conceals his identity until Christine unmasks him.

-->You'd never get away with all this in a play!

The Phantom of the Opera is there\\
Inside my mind"''

* DramaticUnmask: Christine rips the mask off the Phantom's face during their performance of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' interrupting his ardent reprise of "All I Ask Of You" and revealing his horrific death's-head to the audience.

** The title song is a duet sung by Christine and the Phantom when he abducts her to his underground lair. Christine sings about her experiences with her mysterious music teacher and the hold he has on her mind, while the Phantom encourages her fascination and commands her to sing for him.
** The line between in-universe fiction and reality is blurred in "The Point of No Return," where Christine and the Phantom, each playing their role in the climactic scene of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' sing in anticipation of their final seduction.

* AbominableAuditorium: The musical is set in the formerly glamorous Opera Populaire, which in its heyday was terrorized by the titular Phantom -- for whom it served as both a secret lair and a lifelong obsession.

** Musically speaking -- the electric guitar that duels with the organ during the tag of the titular song. The synth snare in the same song is hard to miss, as well.

* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: The Phantom to Christine in the final scene. He's already heartbroken after releasing Raoul and telling them to flee together, but even when she reappears onstage to give him back his ring, he knows she will never stay with him. He clasps her hand with the ring inside it and sings softly, "Christine, I love you ..."

* CompositeCharacter: Madame Giry is given the name of the concierge from the novel and the role of the Persian, who was originally the one to lead Raoul to the Phantom's lair.

** He reprises "All I Ask Of You" at the end of Act I, in which he swears revenge upon Christine and Raoul after hearing them declare their love to one another.
** He also tearfully reprises "Masquerade" next to the monkey music box after the final lair scene, once Christine and Raoul have left the stage.

* TheElevenOClockNumber: "The Point of No Return," both in- and out-of-universe, serves as a turning point for the characters. Within the story of ''Don Juan Triumphant,'' it is the moment Don Juan's seduction plot must either fail or succeed, and the moment his prospective lover, Aminta, declares that she won't go back on her decision no matter what the consequences may be. It is also the moment that Christine and the Phantom try to out-gambit each other: Christine by luring him into a trip, the Phantom with his own attempt at seduction (and then, when that fails, abduction).

* GriefSong: Christine's "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again."

** "The Point of No Return" features Christine, playing an onstage role in-universe, singing about never going back on making a decision that will change her life forever. The Phantom, pretending to be her co-star, usurps the role and uses the event to share a moment with and propose to Christine, which she slowly realizes over the course of the song.

* BigNo: The Phantom usually lets one out when Christine sneaks up to him and pulls off his mask in the first lair scene. She flees from him, and he chases after her, snarling and cursing her for a "prying Pandora."

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Since the plot takes place in an opera house, the entire theatre itself is part of the set:
** That chandelier that was slowly cranked up to the ceiling at the beginning, to signify time going backwards? The Phantom sends it hurtling back towards the stage at the end of the first act, narrowly missing the front rows before crashing.
** Whenever the Phantom "publicly" terrorizes any showing, his voice can be heard echoing from anywhere in the theatre.
** When the theatre is being secured for the performance of ''Don Juan Triumphant'', the sound of doors slamming and firemen shouting "Secure!" can be heard throughout the theatre. The officer whom Raoul instructs to wait in the orchestra pit stands up right in front of those in the front row.

* {{The Gentleman or the Scoundrel}}: Raoul and the Phantom. One's a bright and bubbly young Vicomte who's known Christine since childhood. The other's a enigmatic masked genius who taught her to sing -- and who lives under the opera house and clearly has more than a few screws loose. Choices, choices...
* HallOfMirrors:
** The 25th anniversary performance has Madame Giry say that the Phantom once built a hall of mirrors for the Shah.
** In the new (2014) U.S. tour the set for "Masquerade" is a stage full of very large mirrors.

** The title song is a haunting duet between the Phantom and Christine as he abducts her to his underground lair. Christine sings about how mysterious and otherworldly this supposed "Angel of Music" is, and the Phantom lures her in with compliments to her singing and by feeding in to her curiosity about his nature.

* FourthDateMarriage: it's not clear how much time elapses over the course of the first act[[note]]Christine has her first aria, "Think Of Me," and then absconds with the Phantom. The next morning, he decrees that, "in the new production of ''Il Muto''," Christine and Carlotta should swap roles. The next scene is said opera in performance, but how long did it take the Opera Populaire to assemble it?[[/note]], but Christine and Raoul pledge their love to one another in their ''second scene'' together. True, they may have been hanging out during rehearsals; true, they were childhood friends; but it's still only the second interaction of theirs made[[ShowDontTell privy to the audience]]. By their third scene together, they are in fact engaged, although the six-month TimeSkip lends a bit more credibility to this development.)