Latest "phantom of the opera" Podcast Episodes
Phantom Of The Future part 1 - The Story At The Heart Of The City
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - March 29, 2021 06:00 - 6 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsThe year is 2030. Phantom has been revived in Toronto, but not like before. As the city is transforming toward justice and sustainability, so, too, the production leads the way by being produced justly and non-extractively. The story, long gone, has returned to the heart of the city. This fir...
Phantom of the Underworlds: Erik as Lord of Sex and Death
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - November 28, 2020 02:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this (LOL very much belated - Oops) Halloween/Samhain episode, I explore some of Phantom’s mythological roots. In particular, I explore some of our Erik’s connections to/resonances with deities of the underworld, death and passion! Oh, and apologies for the issues with the sound-quality. T...
At The Intersection of Trauma and Politics: My Review of the Phanfic Shadow Government/Shadows Over Eden
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - October 17, 2020 22:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I discuss the brilliant Phanfic Shadow Government/Shadows Over Eden by Quiet2885. I discuss how it explores the intersection of trauma and politics in a way I haven’t seen done elsewhere in Phanfiction. And I discuss some of the reasons why I find I prefer the original online P...
Music Of Quarantine/Quarantine Of The Opera: My Interview With Melissa Duijvestijn
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - August 29, 2020 23:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode I interview Dutch Phan Melissa Duijvestijn. We talk about some of her experiences as an Autistic and Visually Impaired Phan, and also about the very cool POTO role-play and recording groups she’s involved in! #ManderleyAgain #QuarantineOfTheOpera #MusicOfQuarantine Plus, bonus, ...
PSA: #SaveTheBrilliantOriginal!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - August 07, 2020 02:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsPSA #SaveTheBrilliantOriginal #PhantomoftheOpera! As folks may know, the London and Broadway flagship productions have been closed due to #COVID19 (read more about it on the podcast blog). So now, we need to make sure that, when they reopen, Hal Prince’s, Gillian Lynn’s and Maria Bjornson’s or...
Review of Leroux Sequel Lazare by K. E. Torwood
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - July 23, 2020 05:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this twentieth episode - Wow!, I review and discuss the awesome Queer sequel to the Leroux novel - Lazare: Gaston Leroux’s Continued Investigation Concerning The Phantom Of The Opera - by K. E. Torwood. I talk about how this book is not only masterfully written, but awesomely historical and i...
Do I Become His Prey: POTO, Violence And The Spirit of Transformative Justice
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - June 02, 2020 05:00 - 57 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsContent warning. This episode weighs in on on-going discussions of whether or not Phantom condones, glorifies or romanticizes violence, especially gendered violence. I argue that it doesn’t! And I discuss how, instead, Phantom addresses certain realities of trauma and makes a powerful case for...
Review: Phantom's French Language Debut!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - February 28, 2020 22:00 - 55 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this first episode of 2020 - Wow! - I review the French language in-concert production of the Lloyd Webber Phantom that ran from January 8th to 26th 2020 in Montreal, Canada. I had the sheer privilege of going twice, and really loved it both times! Although, I also found myself having some f...
When All Is Lost: Environmental Justice In A POTO Phanfic
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - December 18, 2019 06:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, in honour of COP25 (the climate negotiations that just took place at the UN) and the students striking for climate justice, I discuss the amazing Phanfic When All Is Lost by Quiet2885. I talk about what environmental justice is, and explore how it’s thoroughly woven into the plo...
This The Phantom's Opera: The Magic of Haunting In POTO
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - November 12, 2019 22:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsHappy belated Halloween/Samhain everyone!! In this slightly belated (Oops, sorry about that) Halloween/Samhain episode, I talk about haunting in POTO! I explore what it means when the haunting isn’t by the ghost or spirit of a deceased victim of injustice, but a living, breathing human-being. ...
Denied Me and Betrayed Me: Thoughts On the Lawrence Connor Production
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - September 05, 2019 18:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsWow!! This is the first episode of the second year of the podcast!! Is that not cool? Anyway, in this episode, I discuss the recent U.K. and U.S./Canada touring productions of the ALW Phantom directed by Lawrence Connor. I discuss some of the changes he’s made from the original, and why some ...
Tribute to Hal Prince #RIPHalPrince
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - August 29, 2019 22:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsA tribute to Phantom’s legendary director Hal Prince, who sadly passed away on July 31 2019 at the age of 91 after a truly awesome and ground-breaking career that spanned nearly seven decades, winning him 21 Tony awards and transforming the modern musical stage! The whole music-theatre world, an...
RIP Kevin Jackson!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - July 27, 2019 22:00 - 2 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsSharing some very sad news. Kevin Jackson, co-founder and co-organizer of the Toronto Disability Pride March @TDPM, has recently passed away very suddenly. RIP Kevin, and huge condolences to all the friends, family and colleagues he leaves behind, especially to his fiancee! Also, his fiancee i...
Journey to a Strange New World: Queer/Crip Desire in the ALW Phantom
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - July 26, 2019 21:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, which marks the 1-year #podiversary of the show - Wow!!, I celebrate both that and #Pride2019 by exploring how the ALW stage-musical of Phantom actually contains a lot of Queer Crip sexuality and desire! I also run a little non-competitive contest for folks to win a poster-versi...
The Angel's Flight: A Review of The Angels of Music Series Book 2 by Louise Anne Bateman!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - June 07, 2019 02:00 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this rather overdue episode (Oops, sorry about that), I finally review The Angel’s Flight by Louise Anne Bateman - the sequel to The Angel’s Shadow and second book in her Angels of Music series. In particular, I review the really superb full-cast dramatized audiobook of the novel! Btw, corre...
What Makes You Beautiful: Interview with Bridget Liang.
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - April 26, 2019 23:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this awesome, extended episode, I interview local Toronto author and activist Bridget Liang about their recently released young-adult novel What Makes You Beautiful, all about a bunch of Queer/Trans youth and a highschool production of Phantom! We talk musicals, gender, Queerness, surviving t...
From Christine to the Khanum: Femininity in Phantom
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - April 01, 2019 15:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this (slightly belated - LOL Oops) episode in honour of International Women’s Day, I talk about gender in Phantom. In particular, I explore what the Leroux novel, the ALW musical and the novel by Susan Kay do with femininity, and how they all present subtle but powerful critiques of the domin...
Christine, I Love You! - Romantic Relationships In POTO #ValentinesDay
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - February 14, 2019 06:00 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this first episode of 2019, because it’s Valentine’s Day, I talk about romance in Phantom! I explore how the ALW stage-musical contrasts two distinct versions of romantic relationship, one decidedly heteronormative, and one more daring and potentially radical. P.S., Heads-up for very mild re...
Review: The Angel's Shadow by Louise Anne Bateman
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - December 24, 2018 04:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I review Louise Anne Bateman’s Phanfic novel The Angel’s Shadow, book 1 of her Angels of Music Saga. In particular, I review her superb full-cast audio-dramatization of the book! Although, I discuss aspects of the plot, characters and Ms. Bateman’s excellent writing as well. S...
Masquerade: from Poe to ALW
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - November 21, 2018 20:15 - 36 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I explore the famous Masquerade scenes found in both the original Leroux novel and the ALW stage-musical. I look at the original short story, Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe, that they’re based on, and some of the ways that story has been interpreted. And then I expl...
My Power Over You Grows Stronger Yet!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - October 31, 2018 07:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsI’m back finally! And in this episode, I talk about obsession. I discuss obsession in the story of Phantom a bit, but I mostly discuss the experience of being an obsessed Phan. And I try to tie it in to the history of obsession in Western culture and medicine, and think a bit about how obsessi...
Your Spirit And My Voice!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - September 22, 2018 06:00 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I explore the critical role Phantom and becoming a Phan played in shaping my Disabled identity and politics, and how the Phantom’s spirit helped me find my voice as a Disabled person! I share this in honour of Toronto Disability Pride 2018, which is today. So happy Disability P...
Our Strange Duet: The Oft Overlooked Power of the Title Song!
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - September 04, 2018 21:00 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I discuss the Title Song from POTO - the one actually entitled “The Phantom of the Opera”. I talk about some of the awesome things that I read going on in that song/scene, and some of the reasons why it was that song in particular that made me first fall in love with Phantom!
Turning From True Beauty
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - August 06, 2018 21:00 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I discuss some of the things I take serious issue with in the Gerik, aka the 2004 film adaptation of the Lloyd Webber Phantom. I talk about why I find this film adaptation extremely problematic, and ultimately unfaithful to the spirit of the stage-version! Warning, here there b...
That Man And Mystery: POTO and the Trouble With Normal part 2, ALW
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - July 20, 2018 20:00 - 40 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this episode, I talk about the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage-musical of Phantom, and explore how it deals with and relates to the idea of “normal/normalcy”. Like with the discussion of the Leroux novel last time, I explore both the musical itself as a text, and some of the historical context in w...
RIP Gillian Lynne.
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - July 07, 2018 11:00 - 3 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsA short tribute to Gillian Lynne, the original choreographer of the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage-musical of Phantom and of many other shows as well. She sadly passed away on Sunday July 1 2018 at the age of 92, after a career spanning 7 decades! Her loss will be felt by the music-theatre world, es...
Poor, Unhappy Erik: POTO and the Trouble With Normal part 1, Leroux.
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - July 07, 2018 10:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this second episode, I talk about the original novel of Phantom by Gaston Leroux and its relationship to the concepts of “normal”/“normalcy”. I explore the historical context of the novel, and look at how that context might impact the novel’s handling of those issues. Apologies, btw, for thi...
Whose Is The Face In The Mask?
In This Labyrinth: Justice From the Heart of The Phantom Of The Opera - June 12, 2018 22:00 - 37 minutes ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsIn this very first episode, I take some time to introduce myself and the podcast. I explain something of my background and where I'm coming from in doing this show, and some of what inspired me to do it. And I cover the basics of how the podcast is going to work and some of what I hope to cover...
Related "phantom of the opera" Topics