Why ‘Phantom of the Opera’?
2003 - Brad Little as The Phantom
Obsession. Love. Acceptance. The Mask.
Ah, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, where to begin? Whether you’ve seen the musical, watched any version, or read the book. It’s a story that stays with you. I think most of us can resonate with some part of the story.
Except my husband, but that’s a tale for a different day.
My history with POTO starts when I was a wee young thing in Dayton, Ohio and my parents went to see the musical in the early 90s. They played the cassette tape over surround sound while we could clean on Saturday mornings and I HATED IT. It scared me, terrified me, actually.
One fateful Saturday, I was cleaning up in my room when I heard the opening notes of the overture, you know, the BUUM, BUM BUM BUM BA BUUUM that would wake the dead, and came running down the stairs, sobbing. I smacked the off button and screamed for them to stop playing it. Subtle, I know.
The following weekend, my sister and I were at soccer practice. I got off the field and noticed my mom and had put on her new Phantom sweatshirt, it had a huge glow in the dark mask on the front. I began pulling at her sweatshirt and crying for her to take it off.
Yikes.
My parents cooled it on POTO while I worked through whatever it was I was going through.
Years later, I picked the original soundtrack with Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman back up and fell in love with it. Fear can turn to love, as the musical states. I began to devour anything POTO related I could get my hands on; the original book, retellings, the old movies, I couldn’t get enough of it. We went to see the touring musical in 2003 at the Schuster Center in Dayton, Ohio starring Brad Little as the Phantom. The following year the movie starring Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler came out. I feel deeper in love.
Don’t come at me, I love Gerard Butler as the Phantom. I stand by it 22 years later.
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ shaped me at such a young age. I think initially it was how Christine was desired by Erik/the Phantom. As a gawky teenager with braces and a face full of acne, I did not feel attractive most of the time, definitely not desirable. I wanted someone to be obsessed with me the way the Phantom obsessed over Christine, no judgement here please, I was 13.
On a deeper level, the story communicates the beauty and cruelty that we as humans possess. Erik/the Phantom wanted nothing except to be loved and accepted. No one gave him that, he was castaway at every turn, until one young ingenue, Christine, gave him a small amount of attention. Now, I’m not agreeing the murder and the stalking and the kidnapping, BUT the Phantom represents a certain part of all of us that just wants to be accepted.
The story and all of its evolutions has stuck with me over the decades. Approaching its 40th anniversary, the music in the original musical is amazing and has stood the test of time, gaining throngs of new followers everyday. It’s haunting, beautiful, and speaks to the deep need inside each of us to be loved for who we are.
And, oh, the mask. The Phantom’s mask might as well be its own character. I’ve also always been drawn to the fact that we can cover up the messy parts we don’t want people to see. Parts we’re ashamed of, parts we’re grieving, parts we’re unsure of how someone will react. No matter how authentic a person may seem, there’s a face we show the world and a face we hide away.
Now, over thirty years after I first encountered the musical, I welcome the opening notes of the overture. I wear my mom’s vintage sweatshirt with the Phantom’s mask. I had the privilege of seeing the current touring cast of the musical in Chicago back in January. I still devour every new retelling or movie that comes out. I even wrote my own! Haunted will be released October 7, 2026. I love the story in whatever form it takes.
Do you have a ‘Phantom’ story? What made you fall in love with ‘The Phantom of the Opera’?
Emily
Photo credit: My dad. It was taken in 2003 outside the Schuster Center. We saw the musical one night and I was too afraid to meet the cast. My dad drove me all the way downtown the following night and stood outside with me I could meet the cast. I was totally starstruck but met Brad Little (the Phantom, above), Marni Raab (Christine) and Tim Martin Gleason (Raoul).