PotO: Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again THRU The Point of No Return [UNEDITED]
Added 2025-03-16 19:07:16 +0000 UTCNext week we FINISH the Phantom of the Opera!! That's NUTS.
Comments
36:48, someone else may have answered you, but basically the Phantom is pretending to be the tenor. He arranged for a means to swap himself into the play so that he could sing with Christine.
Marguerite McBee
2025-03-31 01:29:06 +0000 UTCI was never sure if Piangi and Carlotta were together or not because she often looks at him with disdain, but also, they joke and make fun of and talk shit about Christine together.
Carly Chapman
2025-03-25 18:06:46 +0000 UTCSweeney Todd would be so fun
Carly Chapman
2025-03-25 17:59:13 +0000 UTCI think the phrase "keep your hand at the level of your eyes" is meant to be a way to stop the rope from tightening around their neck.
Boo
2025-03-22 00:34:42 +0000 UTCThat last part is my fault 😅 I wanted to find a good place to cut that’s both dramatic and clean, and if I told him to stop where “Past the Point of No Return” ends on the soundtrack, there would be like a millisecond between Raoul & Madame Giry talking and the music of “Down Once More” playing. Trust me when I say I deliberated on it for ages 😭
Mal
2025-03-19 09:32:08 +0000 UTCTHAT’S MY BAD BFJSJCJD, everywhere I looked it included “The Final Lair” in that batch on the soundtracks & lyric pages so I just looked for the best place to cut on a cliffhanger yknow? Thank you for saying this though I’ll make that correction known <3333
Mal
2025-03-19 01:23:50 +0000 UTCi hope you react to a sondheim show at some point, i feel like you'd love something like sweeney todd or into the woods! his music is simply genius.
scarlett
2025-03-18 15:36:14 +0000 UTCBad or not, it's a guilty pleasure of mine. The set design is gorgeous, the cast is fantastic, and the music is well done. It's not as good as Phantom, but it's still really good.
logicaldreamer
2025-03-18 01:37:29 +0000 UTCHonestly, I hope you do Love Never Dies. It's Phantom's sequel, and I'd love to get your thoughts on it, Honestly, I was surprised you ended there because you just listened to the start of Down Once More lol
logicaldreamer
2025-03-18 01:11:18 +0000 UTCwishing you were somehow here again is my fav actually. love your insights into the songs. poto got me into musicals so its nice to see your first time reaction to that
Iris Evan
2025-03-17 19:32:02 +0000 UTCAbout point of no return: They all thought the phantom would watch the performance of his opera from box 5 and that was their trap. They didn't anticipate that the phantom would kill Piangi (the tenor) backstage and take his part in the opera as Don Juan. The opera is about Don Juan seducing the girl Aminata through a trick, very similar to what the phantom does with Christine (deceiving her and making her believe he is an angel), and in the opera Don Juan is triumphant and Aminata gives in - very much what the phantom wants from Christine. So of course the phantom wants to play Don Juan and hear Aminata (Christine) sing those words to him. So you are right, he is one step ahead and not in box 5 to get shot. Being close to Christine on stage also protects him as it is dangerous to shoot at him with Christine there (that is why Raoul shouts: Don't shoot! He is afraid Christine could get hit.) Christine believes it is Piangi that plays Don Juan, the phantom even fakes an Italian accent to make her believe so. But then she gets suspicious and when she lays her cheek on his she feels the mask and knows. She tries to run away but the phantom catches her.
Sabrina Qunaj
2025-03-17 10:07:52 +0000 UTCI really enjoy Sierra's lower register - every time she dips into it I feel like cheering. She can hit all those angelic highs, of course, but in this musical the lower notes are where Christine's raw anger and fear live - and Sierra is not afraid to let her voice show those emotions. Also, two things I enjoy about Ramin's take on Past the Point of No Return: 1. The trembling hands. 2. The way the Phantom imitates an Italian accent at first to mimic Piangi, which always makes me laugh. "Ah yes, if I roll my R's she'll never know it is me!" Diabolical! If you want to go for the one-two punch of musical theatre greats, you pretty much have to react to Les Misérables - not the movie, but the Royal Albert Hall anniversary performance (I prefer the more recent one and it has Ramin Karimloo in it, but both are fantastic). I enjoy Phantom for what it is, but between the two, Les Mis has my heart. I have seen it performed multiple times, sang songs in choir, read the book, you name it.
Yara Kaas
2025-03-17 06:35:05 +0000 UTC"Wishing.." and "Point of No Return" are my absolute favorite songs in the whole show. Like, I truly adore the music and story in the first half, but the show starting from "Wishing..." all the way to the end is just so engrossing and emotional. Lots of different emotions, too. Perfection. On Beetlejuice, I went to see it with a friend, on Broadway. I wasn't that excited about going, as it didn't seem like my thing, but it was something they wanted to do, so I went. And it was amazing. It's just SO much fun. Alex Brightman was one of the most energetic performers I've ever seen. Can't wait to see you see it.
Kimberly Kohn
2025-03-17 05:46:46 +0000 UTCI see plenty of people have already clarified point of no return, so I'll go back to Wishing you were Somehow here Again. Daae is her last name, and in the song she is letting her sorrows out to him in a cemetery, not acting in a play, the long applause and wait was just very deserved. This song is so special in so many ways. Bottom line she misses her father, so much, but she's also grieving the Phantom. What I mean by that is, she was told by her father that he'd send an Angel of Music to protect her after he'd gone. She thought he was talking about himself, but then a voice within the operahouse sang to her, and taught her how to sing, but she never saw him. Then after finally getting a lead and killing it she meets him, a man, in a mask, with a heavenly voice who seems like the one she had known all that time. Then she sees his face, and his reaction to having it revealed, and then he kills someone. Her whole image of him changes and becomes tainted. So she's grieving her father, and her Angel in the same song. Then when the Phantom appears for Wandering Child, he is pretending to be the voice of her father, just to get himself through the door. Cause again, he can hypnotize with only his voice, he just needs her to be receptive, and Raoul needs to be gone. Also, a little tidbit of the song that I love, we learn at the very beginning that Christine's father was a famous violinist. In the transition from the Opera to the cemetery while she travelling, we only hear a violin. The music tells us exactly where she's going.
Ryan Torres
2025-03-17 04:04:46 +0000 UTCRaoul was in charge of the Security/Police in the opera house because he's a Viscount, meaning he's a Nobleman. The whole reason he's there at all ever is because he's the Opera's patron, which they cover very briefly in the beginning. Essentially, he's funding a large part of the whole place.
Beedul
2025-03-17 03:54:58 +0000 UTCI adore this series. Thank you for making more recordings. I hope you're also getting enough sleep and vitamins! We care more about your health than about videos. Erik's knowledge of architecture and music is absurd. Since he lives beneath Paris(?), he can orchestrate from basically anywhere, even the graveyard where Mr. Daae is. If Christine frequents a place, Erik's likely to be there, setting up mirages, lights and even pyrotechnics. I wish he hadn't killed Carlotta's husband, that felt like such an evil waste of a good artist who supported his and his wife's careers the whole time. Granted, he hung on his wife's every word when Carlotta said Christine and Madame Giry were on Erik's side, but Ubaldo Piangi never hurt anyone. If one keeps their hand at the level of their eyes, apparently the Phantom cannot lasso and hang them. At least it should make it more difficult! I worry that Erik might have tried to lasso Giry before, and that's how she knows.
Kory Misun
2025-03-17 03:36:02 +0000 UTCSomeone else might’ve already talked about this… But the reason why they say “put your hand at the level of your eyes” is so that when the phantom comes with his lasso, it’s harder for him to kill you because instead of the lasso going straight around your neck, it goes around your neck and your arm, so it’s more likely to save your life, if that makes sense!
Kjrsten Schindler
2025-03-17 02:48:02 +0000 UTCI really love how Sierra does "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again." There's a fair bit of the context from the book that the musical cuts for time, but (not sure if this counts as spoilers or not?) Christine and her father travelled so much, just the two of them, that for most of her life he was really her only support and closest friend. Because they were so close, she was left adrift after his death (just before she entered/while she was in the Conservatory--for singing, she's not a dancer in the book--making her in her very early 20s when the events of the book take place). She was sleepwalking through life, buried in grief and depression until her ghostly teacher--the "Angel of Music" came to her and gave her a reason to live again. Only now in the musical, she's found out that teacher, the one who gave her the support she once had from her father, is a man and a murderer. She thought she had fallen into one of her father's stories, but now she's stuck in a nightmare, and nothing her father ever taught her has prepared her for how to navigate this. Sierra does such a wonderful job of portraying that old grief and new determination/desperation to let go of the past. I think Christine's development gets a little undercut in "Wandering Child" as, girl, you KNOW that the "Angel" is actually the Phantom, come on. But then in the book the Phantom is supposed to be able to hypnotize with his voice, and I can kind of see that in a situation where she's so desperate for support and guidance from someone who's just fully on her side that for a moment she'd want her Angel--her uncomplicated teacher and friend--back.
Karen S.
2025-03-17 02:09:43 +0000 UTCYou will want to react to the after-credits material. There is a speech by Andrew Lloyd Webber after the curtain call, and for the 25th anniversary special, they do a number of ensemble encores of a few pieces where they bring out guest soloists and former cast members who held title roles in previous productions. It is well worth the extra time to digest and analyze because the music is brilliant. Don't miss out. It's worth the price of admission alone.
Adam Pacio
2025-03-17 01:31:57 +0000 UTCRemember earlier where the phantom was giving orders...."Our don juan must lose some weight, it's not healthy in a man of Piangi's age".....now you know why, he killed Piangi to take on his role....
Terris Johnson
2025-03-17 01:06:54 +0000 UTCChristine doesn’t know at first that it is the Phantom in past the point of no return. She thinks it is the tenor but when she is holding his hands she feels his mask brush against her face and that makes her realize it’s him. She then looks much more scared and is trying to pull away from him. Also love these reactions I decided to watch the musical after watching the first episode and am obsessed with the music now.
Sophia Barsness
2025-03-16 23:25:54 +0000 UTCAlso, the phantom wasn't really proposing. He was telling her that he wants her to be with him and then forced his ring on her finger without bothering to wait for her response. That is not how one proposes...
PumpkinSparks
2025-03-16 22:09:47 +0000 UTCPiangis and Carlottas actors are so underrated in this production. Especially in "the Don Juan production" their acting is on point! Those two don't really get the music and have problems singing their part (as we see in the rehearsal scene) The actors perfectly portray how they are struggling with the performance - a more concentrating rigid performance, occasionally choosing to miss half a beat, worried faces behind a mask of smiling: their acting is on freaking point! They've done this throughout the show (when the characters are performing), but especially in this scene *chefs kiss*
PumpkinSparks
2025-03-16 22:07:57 +0000 UTCAlso fyi, you reacted to Down Once More and Track Down This Murderer in this video. They're quick ones! Next video will be "The Final Lair" through the curtain call
Scott Boyd
2025-03-16 21:35:21 +0000 UTCTwo of my favourite songs!
Jemina_Monster
2025-03-16 21:18:26 +0000 UTCThe part the phantom took in the play was originally piangi’s (the tenors), and he killed him before taking his costume and taking his place to go sing with Christine. The hand at the level of the eyes is to prevent the phantom from hooking you in his noose, his favoured method of killing as seen in the last two murders, having a hand up leaves space between the noose and your neck and prevents you from being strangled I ADORE these reactions and hearing your analysis on all the instruments and techniques present in the show.
Katie
2025-03-16 21:15:08 +0000 UTCChristine thought she was performing with the Tenor. The Phantom wrote the stage direction specifically so that the tenor would cover his face with the black cloak. This way the Phantom could switch places unnoticed. It's also why in Masquerade when he first presented them with the Opera he told the tenor to lose some weight, because it would be too obvious they'd switched places. He basically murdered him to keep him quiet and not ruin the plan. He was getting a bit too "handsy" with Christine and that's what clued her in that something was wrong.
SeeJay
2025-03-16 21:08:01 +0000 UTCPoint of no return is my favorite song from this musical. Also the reason Christine doesn’t at first think it’s the phantom under the black cloak is because the tenor character had put it on just before. Because in the opera the phantom wrote this character is trying to pretend to be someone else to trick Christine’s character . And the reason the phantom is able to come out in the cloak is because he killed the tenor backstage . In the movie version they make that clearer
Caitlin Dunham
2025-03-16 20:58:04 +0000 UTCMan, Wishing you were somehow here again is my FAVORITE song from Phantom. It's so sad and beautiful. Honestly PoTO is such a great musical. Make sure you hang around to watch AFTER the bows in this version, because you get something really cool at the end! (Seriously don't wanna miss it) Also, PoTO has a SEQUEL! A musical sequel called "Love Never Dies." It is terrible as a story, like...it's bad. But the music is actually pretty good and it does have a Pro shot! (Not the same cast sadly)
Thistle
2025-03-16 20:42:35 +0000 UTCMy favourite song is past the point of no return
Liz Lilliman
2025-03-16 20:40:49 +0000 UTCAlso "Keep the hand at the level of your eyes" so if the noose falls over your head, your forearm will be in between it and your neck, so you can't be strangled.
Magnus Taliesin
2025-03-16 20:35:06 +0000 UTCI love this performance of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again so much. Her voice is beautiful but she doesn't worry about keeping it "pretty." The roughness of the emotion comes through and it's devastating. Nothing is like Phantom of the Opera but I recommend other older musicals for epic spectacle and emotional stories, especially Miss Saigon, Les Miserables (if you don't know it already), and some other ALW musicals. Sunset Boulevard isn't one of his more popular ones but the original London recording is one of my favorites.
Christen
2025-03-16 20:29:50 +0000 UTCSo Christine being so playful in Point of No Return is fully her character. She starts to realize something's wrong partway through the song, realizing that uh. oh. that's not Piangi...
Magnus Taliesin
2025-03-16 20:29:24 +0000 UTCJust so you're aware, there is some extra stuff after the curtain call for the 25th anniversary that I think is worth including in the reaction! Its an extra like 20 mins or so though so definitely something to keep in mind.
Scott Boyd
2025-03-16 20:16:22 +0000 UTCi think “keep your hand at the level of your eyes” is a warning: everyone who has died to the phantom was by hanging. so if your hand is there, its much harder to finish the job…..at least that is how i have always interpreted it 🤷♀️
Brittany Cornwell
2025-03-16 19:54:12 +0000 UTCThat violin section before wishing is literally my favourite part of the show hands down
Heather M
2025-03-16 19:21:29 +0000 UTC
