'So things like that just remembering that although I do have to stay in the confines of the time period and in dialect, I can be as expressive as myself, Emilie.' 'Phantom' secrets (but) it's OK for her to have a more grounded lower voice if that's true to me. I try and bring myself to her as much as I can even in just the inflection of my voice, something as simple as that. 'This Christine feels very much close to me, and I relate a lot to her. He was really adamant about making sure that Christine felt like me, and that I didn't have to put on any sort of airs that I thought an ingenue character had to be or a Christine had to be,' she said. 'It was a big conversation when I was rehearsing first with our production supervisors. You're not going to get the same cookie-cutter character and I think that's the exciting part of 'Phantom,' too. Christine - a young soprano - starts the musical with a small role in the show within the show, but becomes the Phantom's love interest and he uses his influence to get her the lead role by any means possible.Įvery Phantom is different, every Christine is different. The Phantom, a mysterious character who inhabits the rafters, sabotages the ongoing opera to get what he wants from the new owners. But yeah, it was a wonderful night.”īased on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, 'Phantom of the Opera' tells the story of a love triangle that blossoms after two businessmen take ownership of a haunted opera house. 'I remember feeling like, 'OK, no matter what happens, the people out there have me and the people backstage have me and are supporting me.' I remember it being a whirlwind and being extremely tired by the end, ready to drop. They cheered when I first came on stage,' the 25-year-old actor told TODAY via Zoom.

'I remember feeling a lot of support from the audience. She felt pressure to live up to the role, yet also taken care of at the same time.

Kouatchou still remembers the first time she hit the stage playing Christine as an understudy in October 2021.

In celebration of Black history, Kouatchou sat down with TODAY to discuss disrupting an industry set in its ways and the significance of Black representation on Broadway, especially in predominately white musicals and plays. It marked the milestone by debuting its first Black Christine on Broadway, played by Emilie Kouatchou. The musical is the longest-running show on Broadway, celebrating 34 years last month. Broadway's groundbreaking musical 'Phantom of the Opera' has once again made history.

Think of me phantom of the opera stage