The first scenes went well – there were tears in the audience's eyes when Sam sang 'Think of Me', wearing a beautiful white dress with lots of frills and beading. Lancer had gotten it at a secondhand shop as a used wedding dress, and the play's costume designers had taken care of the rest.

Before that, Tucker had rigged a fake curtain to fall on Carlotta, played by Paulina (she may have a screechy voice, but so did Carlotta, so Mr. Lancer thought it was perfect.) The audience gasped at the perfect time when it looked like she would be crushed by it, but she dodged in time to look like she'd been injured, but really wasn't.

And even before that, the crew had created an enormous chandelier to rest on most of the stage while the auction scene went on, rigged to the ceiling to be able to swing over the audience on cue.

It was now the scene where Christine and her dancer friend Meg talk about her success and the Angel of Music. The stage was dark, only a few candles lighting it and washing the blonde and brunette in a soft, flickering light.

"Father once spoke of an angel…I used to dream he'd appear...Now as I sing, I can sense him...And I know he's here..." Sam sang softly, darkly, as if in a trance. "Here in this room he calls me softly...somewhere inside...hiding...Somehow I know he's always with me...he - the unseen genius..."

Meg, played by Star, sang back a bit uneasily, "Christine, you must have been dreaming...stories like this can't come true...Christine, you're talking in riddles...and it's not like you..."

"Angel of Music! Guide and guardian! Grant to me your glory!" Sam belted out, the emotion washing over the audience.

Star murmured to herself, "Who is this angel? This..."

At the same time, they began to sing. "Angel of Music! Hide no longer! Secret and strange angel..."

As Sam began to sing once her parts, the words struck a chord within her. Aaron's face came to mind as the words trailed from her lips. "He's with me, even now..."

Seemingly bewildered, Star sang back, "Your hands are cold..."

Sam's eyes glistened with emotion. "All around me..."

"Your face, Christine, its white..." Star said, fear in her voice. And even though it was part of the song, Sam knew it was true. Her face was drained of color as Aaron's face in her mind smirked at her, striking fear into her heart.

"It frightens me…" She whispered, holding a hand to her bosom.

Star, as if knowing this wasn't just a scene, took Sam's hand and looked pleadingly into Sam's eyes. "Don't be frightened…"

The crowd was almost on the edge of their seats, no one breathing, until the girl who played Giry purposely interrupted the moment.

But in Sam's mind, the moment had not been broken, but had gotten stronger.

...

The next scene was in her dressing room, which the set creators had done amazingly well. It was set upon a moving stage, so that as she stepped into the mirror the scene would change from her dressing room to Phantom's lair. There were flowers and candles everywhere, and an antique bureau where Sam sat and brushed her hair, awaiting Aaron's entrance.

When he did, she was supposed to look excited to see him, as he was her long-lost love, so a big smile adorned her face as he entered. "Oh, Raoul, it is you!"

Aaron smiled at her and the magic in Sam caused love for him to leap, because this was the only time he'd ever smiled without smugness or smirking. They proceeded with their dialogue until Sam told him, "Father said, "When I'm in heaven, child, I will send the Angel of Music to you". Well, father is dead, Raoul, and I have been visited by the Angel of Music."

With a cheery smile, Aaron replied, "No doubt of it. And now we'll go to supper!"

Acting nervous, Sam looked around as if expecting to see the Phantom. "No, Raoul, the Angel of Music is very strict."

"I shan't keep you up late!" Aaron cajoled.

"No, Raoul…" Sam said, rebelling against his forcing her to do what she didn't want.

"You must change. I must get my hat. Two minutes, Little Lotte." He interrupted her, giving her a kiss and then leaving the room.

"Raoul!" Sam cried after him, but he didn't return. As she picked up a hand mirror and looked into it sadly, she spoke her dialogue. The next words were scarily true, in her life and in the play. "Things have changed, Raoul."

After a moment, a voice boomed over the speakers. "Insolent boy! A slave of fashion basking in your
glory! Ignorant fool! This brave young suitor, sharing in my triumph!" The crowd gasped at the voice, and some people cheered for the real start of the play.

A wide smile adorned Sam's face at the voice. "Angel! I hear you! Speak -I listen...stay by my side, guide me! Angel, my soul was weak - forgive me...enter at last, Master!"

The voice once again spoke. "Flattering child, you shall know me, see why in shadow I hide! Look at your face in the mirror - I am there inside!"

Sam looked at a full length mirror they'd place on the stage, entranced. "Angel of Music! Guide and guardian! Grant to me your glory! Angel of Music! Hide no longer! Come to me, strange angel..."

"I am your Angel...Come to me: Angel of Music ..."

You could hear Aaron rattling something backstage, yelling, "Who's in there?"

Sam drifted closer to the mirror, as Phantom sang softly, seductively, "I am your Angel of Music...Come to me: Angel of Music..."

The music blasted the chorus of the Phantom of the Opera, exciting the audience. They whooped as the first real sight of the Phantom phased through the mirror, especially excited because it was Danny Phantom. A few boys whistled and a lot of people clapped, but then they quieted down to listen to the song.

"In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came...that voice which calls to me and speaks my name..." Sam sang in a deep concerto voice. 'This is too close to the truth!' She thought wildly. 'This is starting to get scary!' But she was forced to continue, heart sinking at the lyrics. "And do I dream again? For now I find the Phantom of the Opera is there - inside my mind...

"Sing once again with me our strange duet...My power over you grows stronger yet...And though you turn from me, to glance behind," On cue, Sam turned to look behind her as the stage turned, but he pulled her back to face him, staring into her eyes. "The Phantom of the Opera is there - inside your mind. . ."

Sam swallowed hard. 'Was this play made for my life?' She wondered almost hysterically. It was describing her life is the past few weeks, wanting to be with Aaron, but this strange phantom was always inside her mind, questioning her love for the brown-haired boy. And as she began thinking about the ghost boy more and more, his power of making her question Aaron was growing.

"Those who have seen your face draw back in fear..." She cupped his unmasked cheek in her hand and gently stroked it. "I am the mask you wear..."

He held her hand to his cheek with his gloved hand. "It's me they hear..."

At the same time, they chorused, "Your/my spirit and your/my voice, in one combined; the Phantom of the Opera is there inside your/my mind..."

Finally the stage stopped turning and they were at the Phantom's lair. Tucker had created hovering candelabras with fake flames and a smoke machine made the lair look foggy and misty. They had also made the set up with a lot of mirrors like the real set, and a lot of cushions. After Phantom sang 'Music of the Night', Sam saw the paper-mache statue made to look like her and pretended to faint, falling on the cushions safely. Some boys in the audience laughed but most applauded her for her backwards fall that she did without flinching.

In the next scene, the backstage crew had hauled out a piano, which Phantom used as Sam slept. Beside it was a small music box that played gently as she stirred, keeping her in a half-awake trance. "I remember there was mist...swirling mist upon a vast, glassy lake..." She mumbled to herself, candlelight flickering across her porcelain face and raven hair. "There were candles all around and on the lake there was a boat, and in the boat there was a man..."

Phantom was working on a new song when he turned and noticed she was awake. His face was expressionless and he turned back to the piano as she walked up behind him. She gingerly reached out to touch his cheek and he leaned back in pleasure as she caressed his face. "Who was that shape
in the shadows?" She murmured. She rubbed the edges of the mask as his eyes closed and he leaned into her touch. "Whose is the face in the mask?"

With those words, she ripped off his mask.

With a shriek of outrage, he pretended to knock her down and covered the side of his face with his hand. "Damn you! You little prying Pandora! You little demon - is this what you wanted to see?" He screamed, towering over her as she shrank back in fear. "Curse you! You little Iying Delilah! You little viper! Now you cannot ever be free! Damn you!" He was running out of steam, though, and he finished with an annoyed, "Curse you!"

She was shaking, plastered to the floor. But then she realized – the shaking was fake. She wasn't scared. He had never hit her, but she expected to be scared. She wasn't scared because she knew he would never hurt her. The realization rocked her to her core and she nearly missed his next lines.

He paused for a moment, though, and began to sing softly to himself. "Stranger than you dreamt it – can you even dare to look or bear to think of me: this loathsome gargoyle, who burns in hell, but secretly yearns for heaven, secretly...secretly..."

As he finished out the song, he held out his hand for his mask which she still held in a white-knuckled grip. She gave it to him with a shaking hand and he helped her up, keeping her hands in his. He spoke quietly, darkly, not meeting her violet eyes. "Come, we must return - those two fools who run my theatre will be missing you."

...

The next scene was where the owners of the Opera House were arguing with each other and talked about receiving letters from the Phantom. He'd sent them to the owners, Andre and Firmin, as well as Raoul and Carlotta. To the owners he compelled them to pay his salary, to Raoul he demanded the man not see Christine again, and to Carlotta he said Christine would be taking her part in that night's play, or else harm would come to her. Finally, he sent a note to Madame Giry, the concierge of the Opera House, telling all of them that he is angry they have not done as he commanded. He demands that Christine take Carlotta's speaking role as countess that night and Carlotta be the pageboy. Then he says to leave Box 5 empty for him, where he will watch the play. He threatens horrible things if his demands aren't met.

After that, Paulina (as Carlotta) acted angry and pitiful, saying that they didn't care about her. Then came the 'Prima Donna' song, Sam's least favorite in the movie. At the end, the Phantom's voice echoed through the speakers. "So, it is to be war between us! If these demands are not
met, a disaster beyond your imagination will occur!"

...