Everything about Phantom of the Opera
Everything Phantom, all the time!
The Basic History of Phantom
If you are not interested in reading this whole page, but still want to know some more about Phantom, just read this paragraph and it should tell you everything you need to know!
Phantom of the Opera was originally written in French by Gaston Leroux as a "true story". In all reality, there is some truth to the things he says (see" Phact or Phiction" later on this page). The story in it's book format is of a man named Erik who has been banished to the underground cellar of the Opera Populaire (the real life Opera Garnier) for the death like appearance of his face. He falls in love with an actress, who, in turn, is in love with someone else as well. Neither are in her social status. Her angel, Erik, hated and abandoned, but loving and mysterious is far below her social status, but Vicomte Raoul de Chagny, an old friend of hers, is rich and far above her social status. Eventually, through many transformations, Gaston Leroux's Erik (Lerik) became the nameless phantom from the 2004 production which you have probably seen.
The Lingo
The Phan-names
Phans: The general term for all overly obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera.
Phangirl: A girl obsessed with Phantom of the Opera. She is usually in love with Erik. The more recent Phangirls tend to be in love with Gerard Butler as well.
Phanboy: A boy obsessed with Phantom of the Opera.
Authoress: 1: A young female who writes stories about characters she does not own and most likely in love with and posts them on the Internet 2: A young female character (usually written exactly like the female writing her) in a fanfic that controls the fates and actions of her stories' characters
Drive-by Phans: Phans that temporarily become enormously obsessed, but a week later have no care in the world
EPGT or EPBT: "Evil Phan Girl Twin" or "Evil Phan Boy Twin". The EPGT/EPBT are usually blamed for outrageous bursts of Phantom related mayhem
Erik's Angels: A spinoff of "Charlie's Angels", it is any female who is obsessed with Erik and would defend him with her life
E/Cer: Really short for "Erik and Christine shipper" meaning that it is those that believe Erik and Christine should be together
Leroux: To tell someone they are a Leroux is to tell them they are just about the best thing on this side of the hemisphere
The Cast Names
Lerik: Erik, the lead character, based on Gaston Leroux's original story (A combination of Leroux and Erik)
Gerik: The nameless Phantom played by Gerard Butler in the 2004 production. Gerik, though loved by recent Phangirls, is usually considered an insult to older phans.
Merik: Michael Crawford's Erik. See "The Cast" on this page.
CD: Shorthand for Charles Dance, from the 1991 mini series
CR: Shorthand for Claude Rains, Erique Claudin (Erik) from the 1943 film
GB: Shorthand for Gerard/Gerry Butler; the Phantom from the 2004 film
LC: Shorthand for Lon Chaney, the first movie Phantom from the 1925 silent movie
MC: The first ever and first Broadway Phantom named Michael Crawford
The Acronyms
POTO: Shorthand for Phantom of the Opera (Other versions poto, Poto, tPoto, TPOTO, tPOTO)
ALW: Short for Andrew Lloyd Webber, the creator of the most common Broadway version of Phantom.
AIAOY: Short for All I Ask Of You, the song shared between Christine and Raoul and a bit is shared by "the phantom" and Christine later in the show. (ALW's production)
PONR: Short for Point Of No Return, a song shared by "the phantom" and Christine. (ALW's production)
TOM: Short for Think of Me, sang by Christine at the beginning of the production (ALW's production)
MOTN: Short for Music Of The Night, a song sung by "the phantom".(ALW's production)
AOM: Short for Angel Of Music, a song shared by Christine and a close friend, Meg (ALW's production)
WYWSHA: Short for Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again, sang by Christine nearing on the end of the show (ALW's production)
DA: The generally insulting version of Phantom directed by Dario Argento. Note this is a reference to the VERSION, and not the actors. This is why it belongs under acronyms
DOM: Shorthand for Down Once More, the final song in which everything changes (ALW's production)
LTBL: Short for "Learn to Be Lonely, the exit music for the 2004 film
The References
Angel: 1: A reference to the song Angel of Music (ALW's production) 2: Short for "the phantom", the Angel of Music (A capital "A" must ALWAYS be used
Batcave: A reference from the incredibly odd youTUBE video, "Phantom in 15 minutes" In which the Phantom's lair is sometimes called the Batcave
Bootlegs: Any illegal recording of a theatrical production. This does not only apply to Phantom, but Phantom bootlegs are quite common.
"Bravi, Bravi, Bravissimi": A line from ALW's musical that compliments Christine's performance. It is often used between Phans as a congratulatory response
"Bravo, Monsieur! Such spirited words!" : A line from ALW's production (theatrical only) from the phantom to Raoul. It is often said between Phans when somebody says something incredible stupid or obvious
Canon: Refers to the novel Le Fantome de L'Opera by Gaston Leroux, the first ever version of The Phantom of the Opera. Canon is not strictly Phantom, but always is referring to the original version
"Carlotta" or "to pull a Carlotta": 1: To be selfish, arrogant and rude 2: To give a dreadful performance, particularily said of vocal performances
Cherry lip gloss: The Holy Grail of Raoul lovers, and the ammunition of Raoul haters. It is a joke on Raoul's long, slightly girlish hairstyle in the 2004 movie version
"Christine" or "to pull a Christine": To act silly, childish and naive
Christine envy: To hate Christine because she is able to be with Erik (or for Raoul lovers: the ability to be with Raoul). Symptoms frequently include: Picking out her every fault, calling her unworthy, and killing her off in stories you may write
Christine suicide or Christine style suicide: To beat your head against hard objects on a frightened impulse
Daroga: 1: One of three names that the Persian goes by (others being Nadir and the Persian) Daroga is Persian for Chief of Police 2: Amongst Phans, this may also mean a person of authority e.g. "my Spanish Daroga" would simply mean my Spanish teacher
"Do you remember your first time?": A common way to describe your first big-time Phantom experience. This is generally theatrical, but not always
"Emmy" or "to pull an Emmy": To do something only mediocre, but then brag publicly and excessively about how well you did
"Erik" or "to pull an Erik": To do something you know Erik would do. Some examples are staying in solitude, showing up uninvited and such Erik-like activities
The Final Lair or The Final Lair Sequence: The last twenty or so minutes of ALW's production in which Christine must choose between Raoul and Erik
Firmin Syndrome: To use conflicting, or simply horrific grammar.
Fondest Greetings to You All: A common greeting between Phans and the header of one of Erik's many notes
"Free her! Do what you like, only free her!": A customary response to an incredibly stupid remark. It is considered quite rude. This quote is from "Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer" (ALW's production)
Genius/Unseen Genius: A reference to Erik in which capitals must always be used
Glomp: The same as a tackle-cuddle, it is often used on Erik, ALWAYS against his will. Also, the glomp is a sign of appreciation and wonder at other phans and their creations (Phics, pictures and such) This is not strictly Phantom and can be seen on any community site
"I'm Blonde, what's your excuse?": A holy phrase amongst Meg worshippers.
"I remain your obediant servant": A parting phrase amongst phans, it is a quote from the end of all of the Phantom's notes
Life: Something friends and family frequently tell us to get. Note the lack of "ph"
Liphe: Pronouned exactly like "life", the "ph" tells you it is a world that revolves solely around POTO
"Madame Giry" or "to pull a Madame Giry": To keep secrets that could change the course of their lives
Mary Sue or Self Insert: Obnoxious Phanphic characters (generally of the female persuasion) Who always look past Erik's deformity with no problems, are better than Christine in every way imaginable and always end up having five precious cellar dwelling children. This is not striclty Phantom and is ANNOYING everywhere!
"Meg" or "to pull a Meg": To not believe in the Phantom
Notes: Erik's communication with the managers and annoying divas
The Cast
The Phantoms...
Lon Chaney: The very first actor to play Erik in a major role, he is best known in this role for designing his own makeup and frightening some of the audience so bad they fainted.
Claude Rains: Usually considered the most inaccurate version of Phantom, it features "Erique Claudin" rather than Erik with no last name known or Erik Destler. Also, rather than Christine Daae, it features a Christine Dubois whom he teaches not out of love, but out of a desperate need for money. Really, it was meant to give a more detailed description of what "really" happened, but it wrecked mystery and twisted the original story.
Herbert Lom: Another maimed plot in an attempt to uncover Erik's history. This one, however, is a good bit more realistic than the Claude Rains version. Rather than Erik no-name\Destler, we have Professor L. Petrie and the lovely Christine Charles rather than Christine Daae. Also, rather than causing the falling chandelier, he is crushed by it.
William Finley: Actually called Phantom of Paradise, it was a rock stage production that mixed the basics of Faust (another good, Phantom-related production), Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Phantom of the Opera. A man similiar to the hunchback sold his soul for musical reasons. That is basically the extent of it.
Peter Straker: Ken Hill's Phantom's (inspiration for ALW's Phantom) Erik.
Michael Crawford: The first ever ALW Phantom and the first Broadway ALW Phantom. Usually considered the ultimate Phantom. He won a Tony for being the best man lead role in 1988 for his role in Phantom
Robert Englund: A notoriously gory version giving more insight into Erik's world by saying he has made a pact with the devil, thus leaving his face terribly disfigured
Richard White: Played Erik on a cast recording of Yeston/Kopit's musical. You probably know him best as Gaston from Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
Charles Dance: Starred in a 1990 miniseries hosted by NBC. He is well known in the phantom world as a masked figure playing a flute. (a very famous picture of him)
Gerard Butler: Currently the most common version, he isn't known for how well he can sing, just by how well he looks with his short torn down. (all due respects, Gerard, really!)
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