History Fridge / ThePhantomOfTheOpera

** Creator/AndrewLloydWebber actually cast Gerard Butler as the Phantom for that precise reason. He quips: "He's got to be a bit rough, a bit dangerous; not a conventional singer. Christine is attracted to the Phantom because he's the right side of danger."

** And keep in mind, as far as Carlotta knows Christine only got the part because she was sleeping with the theater's patron (and mysteriously disappeared the night he showed up...) That's why she goes after Raoul in "Notes" -- she thinks she's being replaced because of the CastingCouch.
* It's most noticeable in the 25th anniversary addition, but Meg seems to be the first to panic whenever the Phantom might be near. Seems odd until you remember that both she and Madame Giry know the Phantom exists, and Madame Giry probably used him to frighten her daughter into good behavior in her youth.
** On the other hand, basically the rest of the cast in this production immediately ''stop'' panicking whenever Madame Giry taps her cane. It's entirely possible that the dancers, and maybe even the rest of the company, are more afraid of ''the ballet mistress'' than they are of the Phantom, with the possible exception of Meg.

* Why doesn't anyone believe the Phantom's threats after they gave Carlotta the Countess role even if he manages to boom his voice around and mess with the lighting? Well for two reasons actually. First, Operas are made to echo, so it's perfectly logical just for him to yell somewhere. Secondly, they most likely used gas for lighting back then which meant that an outside pipe can be blocked and unblocked making the lights flicker. They probably assumed someone was hiding in the theater and messing around.
* Why was Christine's costume in "Masquerade" the evening sky? Well she associates Raoul with day and the Phantom with night, it represents her indecisiveness between the two, but because it's mostly still light it shows she favors Raoul.

* A common criticism that people have with "The Point of No Return" is asking how Christine (or anyone in the theater) can possibly be surprised when she pulls off "Piangi's" hood to reveal the Phantom. After all, Piangi is almost always played with an Italian accent. The difference is even more jarring in the case of Norm Lewis, an African-American Phantom, impersonating a Caucasian Piangi, although in some performances Christine seems to realize it's the Phantom when he takes off his gloves. However, in the 25th Anniversary production, careful listeners will notice that Ramin Karimloo is singing with a very convincing Italian accent, making it more believable that he can pull off the deception. He even moves his hands more stiffly to appear that he has fat fingers like Piangi.

** Furthermore, the conspirators' plans were to lure the Phantom out in the first place - so they shouldn't be surprised he showed his mug onstage.

** On top of all this, during the second "Notes" recitative, the Phantom mentions that Piangi should "Lose some weight, it's not healthy in a man of (Piangi's) age..." In hindsight, that isn't just a cheap dig at the current First Tenor, he wants Piangi to drop the weight '''to better impersonate him later!'''

* During the finale to "Prima Donna", the tune is taken over by the Phantom's leitmotif. In the 2004 film version, the ballerinas spin around Carlotta, but their dancing speed is matched to the Phantom's leitmotif rather than "Prima Donna". A subtle and sinister way to show the audience that despite all the attention and gifts Carlotta is getting, the Phantom is still very much in control.

* A common criticism that people have with "The Point of No Return" is asking how Christine (or anyone in the theater) can possibly be surprised when she pulls off "Piangi's" hood to reveal the Phantom. After all, Piangi is almost always played with an Italian accent. The difference is even more jarring in the case of Norm Lews, an African-American Phantom, impersonating a Caucasian Piangi, although in some performances Christine seems to realize it's the Phantom when he takes off his gloves. However, in the 25th Anniversary production, careful listeners will notice that Ramin Karimloo is singing with a very convincing Italian accent, making it more believable that he can pull off the deception. He also moves his hands more stiffly to appear that he has fat fingers like Piangi.

** In the 25th anniversary production, it's heavily implied that Christine realizes that it's the Phantom when he touches her chest. Piangi was very likely given much tamer stage directions to avoid any unprofessionalism and to not anger his lover Carlotta, who already hates Christine. He starts off touching Christine in a regular 'stage' manner, hovering his hands over her while looking as if he's touching her, but then the Phantom is unable to resist the temptation and begins actually touching her. What does the Phantom in is when Christine appears to accidentally feel the mask under his hood while performing and tries to run, only for him to grab her and pull her back. But the show must go on - [[AllPartOfTheShow they pass it off as normal acting very convincingly for the in-universe audience]]... up until Erik's unmasked.

* Listen to the first "Notes" and "Prima Donna." There are so many clashing melodies--the managers, La Carlotta, and Raoul. Everyone's off doing their own thing: La Carlotta is spewing hatred at Christine, the managers are pondering how to spin these developments to their own advantage, and Raoul is trying to piece together the details of Christine's story with Meg and Madame Giry's help. The Phantom can only do what he does when everyone is at odds with each other.

** This takes a darker turn when you realise that said dressing room was not Christine's specifically, but rather the dressing room of the First Soprano. Which means the Phantom went to more extreme measures in order to create Christine's likeness for the mannequin.

* Gerard Butler's voice and singing ability in the movie never bothered me. Rossum and Wilson both have the clear, beautiful voices you tend to associate with musical theater while Butler does not, being more of a rough rock n' roll type vocalist which to me made him more of an outcast. His voice helps tell us that he's rougher, edgier and doesn't quite fit in with the rest. He has a more modern sound and style making him feel a bit ahead of his time and perhaps even inappropriate. I thought the choice to cast someone with a voice like that was one of the smartest moves for the film. - Ronja
** Creator/AndrewLloydWebber actually cast Gerard Butler as Erik for that precise reason. He quips: "He's got to be a bit rough, a bit dangerous; not a conventional singer. Christine is attracted to the Phantom because he's the right side of danger."
* Carlotta's attitude towards Christine starts to make a little bit more sense in that she secretly realizes she's either past her prime or reaching it. Along comes this chorus girl who's suddenly threatening the only job she knows within the theater. Factor that this was a time period in which unless you had a rich family to draw wealth from if you only knew one job and were forced to find another, you were pretty screwed. While it doesn't excuse it, it does help explain her hostile attitude.

** On the other hand, basically the rest of the cast in this production immediately ''stop'' panicking whenever Madame Giry taps her cane. It's entirely possible that the dancers, and maybe even the rest of the company, are more afraid of the ballet mistress than they are of the Phantom, with the possible exception of Meg.

* During the second "Notes" recitative, the Phantom mentions that Piangi should "Lose some weight, it's not healthy in a man of (Piangi's) age..." It seems like a cheap dig at the current First Tenor until you realize that he wants Piangi to drop the weight '''to better impersonate him later!'''

* Why was Christine's costume in Masquerade the evening sky? Well she associates Raoul with day and the Phantom with night, it represents her indecisiveness between the two, but because it's mostly still light it shows she favors Raoul.

* A common criticism that people have with Point of No Return is asking how Christine (or anyone in the theater) can possibly be surprised when she pulls off "Piangi's" hood to reveal the Phantom. After all, Piangi is almost always played with an Italian accent. The difference is even more jarring in the case of Norm Lews, an African-American Phantom, impersonating a Caucasian Piangi, although in some performances Christine seems to realize it's the Phantom when he takes off his gloves. However, in the 25th Anniversary production, careful listeners will notice that Ramin Karimloo is singing with a very convincing Italian accent, making it more believable that he can pull off the deception. He also moves his hands more stiffly to appear that he has fat fingers like Piangi.

** In the 25th anniversary production, it's heavily implied that Christine realizes that it's the Phantom when he touches her chest. Piangi was very likely given much tamer stage directions to avoid any unprofessionalism and to not anger his lover Carlotta, who already hates Christine. He starts off touching Christine in a regular 'stage' manner, hovering his hands over her while looking as if he's touching her, but is unable to resist the temptation and begins actually touching her. What does the Phantom in is when Christine appears to accidentally feel the mask under his hood while performing and tries to run, only for him to grab her and pull her back. But the show must go on - they pass it off as normal acting very convincingly for the in-universe audience, up until Erik's unmasked.
* The five ending notes of Music of the Night reappears two more times: the first starting off All I Ask of You (before Raoul starts singing), bridging Christine's tearful breakdown over Erik's influence on her and Raoul's assurances and promises, and the last at the very end of the show, where Meg holds up the Phantom's mask. This symbolizes Erik finally letting go of Christine, and the Phantom's story ending to give way to Raoul and Christine's story, just as night will give way to the day.
* In the musical, the Phantom's opera 'Don Juan Triumphant' is written in a style that mirrors a musical movement of the early twentieth century known as "Modernism" which began a good two or three decades after the events of POTO. In addition to the dissonant orchestrations and harmonies, it's extremely dramatic, dark, and focuses a great deal on emotion, all of which are thematic trademarks of modernistic musical and literary works. While the audience was amused at the naughty humor in the extremely colorful and lighthearted Il Muto, the hellish reds and raw passion in 'Don Juan' is a bit too much. The characters' disgusted and confused reactions to 'Don Juan' intentionally mirror the public's reactions to early modern pieces such as Stravinsky's ballet 'The Rite of Spring'. This stylistic choice is probably a way of presenting the Phantom as a man who is quite literally ahead of his time in his artistic genius.
* During the finale to "Prima Donna", the tune is taken over by the Phantom's leitmotif. In the 2004 film version, the ballerinas spin around Carlotta, their dancing speed matched to the Phantom's leitmotif rather than "Prima Donna". A subtle and sinister way to show the audience that despite all the attention and gifts Carlotta is getting, the Phantom is still very much in control.

** This takes a darker turn when you realise that said dressing room was not Christine's specifically, but rather the dressing room of the First Soprano. Which means The Phantom went to more extreme measures in order to create Christine's likeness for the mannequin.

* Raoul's comment that there is no Phantom of the Opera could easily be taken for a straightforward gaslighting comment at first glance (and a wildly stupid one at that, considering what Raoul has witnessed). However, if you consider that Raoul is saying that there is no "Phantom of the Opera", the comment makes more sense. In that sense, Raoul is pointing out that what's happening at the theatre is not the work of a spirit or ghost, but a flesh-and-blood creep, [[OnlySaneMan about which he is exactly right.]]