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| Home > NYC > Review: "Phantom" Haunted by Ghosts of 'Christines' Past |
| Review: "Phantom" Haunted by Ghosts of 'Christines' Past | | Date Created: Sep 17, 2004, 04:43 PM |
Title: "PHANTOM" Haunted by Ghosts of 'Christines' Past
Abstract: Here's a new look at "Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway before it becomes a major Hollywood Musical this Holiday Season.
Body: Back in 1988, as an avid follower of the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber (who at the time was most famous for writing the music for "Cats" and "Evita" ), I was among the lucky people who got to see something very special in the making. A piece of history being formed. For, on February 13, 1988, approximately 2 weeks after it had opened on Broadway, I got to see the original cast of "The Phantom of the Opera " perform the show that was the talk of the town at the time. Starring Michael Crawford, Steve Barton, and a notorious unknown by the name of Sarah Brightman , the thrilling show was a marvel of its time, with glorious music, incredible sets, and at the time, a running in-joke. For, you see, Lloyd Webber had written the work for his then-wife and protegee, Sarah Brightman, whom he had plucked from relative obscurity in the original London cast of Cats, and had trained her voice so that she could sing like an angel. And sing she did. Miss Brightman, although no longer married to Lloyd Webber (or, Baron Lloyd Webber as he's known these days), was the star attraction of this show, having been the one reason Broadway got to see Phantom at all. Her husband had threatened Actors Equity with pulling the show if she did not get cast in the role she had already played in London and on record. It was a nasty fight that led to a few repercussions with regard to shows that came here from abroad after it. And in the show, she plays the young ingenue, who is taught to sing by a mysterious Phantom who lurks beneath the famous Paris Opera house. Art imitating Life doesn't even begin to describe the parallel here. Indeed, certain lines in the show seemed to have been written to express their relationship. Phantom of the Opera belonged to the composer and his wife. And the embodiment of the Phantom himself, the amazing Michael Crawford, was icing on the cake. Phantom in 1988 was a piece of history in the making...
And as history goes on, and times change, certain things seem to stay the same. The show has been running to capacity houses for the past 16 years, and judging by the crowd I witnessed this week, show no signs of dying down. We shall see what happens once the new Hollywood movie premieres this December... But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The Phirst time I saw Phantom, I had what is typically known as "nosebleed" seats. One row from the very last row of the very last balcony (the Majestic Theatre, where Phantom plays, has various levels). Even from that treacherous height, whereby the actors are reverted to tiny matchstick forms in your view, the excitement was in the air. Everyone around us knew they were there for an "event". And the excitement kept the magic going throughout the 21/2 hour run of the show.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has become a household name since those days, and has created an additional output of work that was both entertaining and exciting. His shows were not the silly dance number ones you always hear jokes about. His shows were straight on sing-throughs - where every line is set to music. Rock operas. Pop Operas. Whatever you want to call them, they were unique and in and of their time.
"Phantom", though is a strange work, in that it is part Rock Opera and part Opera Opera, and part musical. As a person who is able to separate himself from what he enjoys and try to perceive it through the eyes of the average theatregoer, I find it difficult to understand why "Phantom" has appealed to so many and lasted for so long.
The show, though incredibly put together by the masterful Harold Prince, can be a slight bore to those who aren't the type to listen to the words very well. While there are exciting moments, for me, it is going to always be difficult to relive the thrilling feelings we had in those opening weeks. The original cast, which also happens to be the cast recorded on the soundtrack, was so much a part of what this show was about that it is difficult to see other people playing the parts. Though, I must say the play them well. The cast was exuberant and hard-working, and I actually had a seat where I could see them this time! Sixth row orchestra! Up close and personal. It's odd, how everything seemed so much... smaller from back then. Somehow the presence of Ms. Brightman and Michael Crawford made the show seem bigger, even from the balcony seats.
In all the show was still brilliant in many spots. The staging is like nothing out there at the moment, from sweeping candlelit dungeons, to the stage of the Paris Opera house, there is a grandiose feeling about Phantom evident particularly from the first few rows. It is also from this perspective that you get to "feel" one of Phantom's greatest effects-- the dropping of the Chandelier! Angered with the disrespect shown to him by the performers and the stage managers who refuse to cast his ingenue Christine in the latest production, the Phantom threatens the theatre with a disaster, that becomes manifest in the crash of the chandelier, which swings down precariously over the heads of the patrons seated in the orchestra. It's a grand effect, one of the many in this spectacular show that seems to be missing only one small thing, it's original stars (an impossibility now, since one of the originals, Steve Barton, who played Raoul, passed away a few years ago). If you can get through the operatic first few minutes, and get enough rest so that you don't feel dozy during the dull parts, Phantom is an amazing show that is worth being seen live.
I am eagerly looking forward to the new motion picture which will open this Winter, so, of course, you'll learn about my reaction to that right here in these pages.
Andrew Lloyd Webber's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Majestic Theatre - Broadway NYC
Viewed September 2004
Broadway's Second Longest Running show! |
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