The Phantom of the Opera
My Double-Show Day
This was only the second time I've done a double-show day (though I have another one scheduled), and I enjoy it so much. Not only do I get to see my favourite show twice (spoiled, I know) but I get to analyse two shows with identical casts right beside each other. It's fascinating.
Anyway, keeping this one short (I don't think anyone needs another Olivia-Soliloquy, though I'd be more than happy to write one); mostly just point form notes of things I liked, disliked, random thoughts, etc. I knew this show would be Olivia, which was why I did both shows, but I got lucky and Antony was on as well, which is an awesome bonus. Layla wasn't on for either show, so I noticed a lot of new things about the ballet, the other dancers, etc, so that's getting it's own section/paragraph. Otherwise, excuse the lack of organisation. My brain isn't functioning properly at the moment.
**Disclaimer: When I'm commenting on blocking/spacing/etc. I realise it's often a director choice, not the actor. However, it's impossible for me to discern who made the decision, and I'm not trying to say I want it changed. It's just my thoughts on how I might like to see it differently, or what I think does/doesn't work. It's not intended as a criticism of any of the performers. Seriously, I love this cast so much, and I'd never want to hurt any of their feelings.**
Scott (Phantom) - Not my favourite, though I don't dislike him. He complements Harriet better than Olivia; Harriet has a bit more of a mellow approach which is better matched by Scott's rather melodramatic Phantom. With Scott and Olivia it's a bit too much on one stage, but it's definitely him that's overdoing it. There's a point where I'm just thinking, "Ok, I get it, you're crazy. Now please stop!" It's just too much, especially the Final Lair. Big, powerful voice though. The first "Insolent boy" comes out of nowhere and is very striking.
Olivia (Christine) - I adore her portrayal of Christine, but I'd sort of reached the point where I expected it to stay the same for the next little while. There's only so much more she can do, right? Wrong, apparently. She's improved, which was very unnerving when you think it's perfect already. The acting is still high quality, believable, and she does the character exactly the way I want it done (I hate 'doe-eyed' Christine portrayals), but her voice has just gotten much better! It's not that it was bad to begin with; it was gorgeous. I love the way she uses her voice for characterisation; she doesn't just sing through the songs. The voice, face, and movement all work together. But back to the point; she's got a really powerful voice! The cadenza at the end of Think of Me was the best I've heard from her. And it wasn't a one-show phenomenon because she sounded incredible for both shows. Anyway, I'm as impressed as ever. 10 shows, and she still manages to really draw you into the story and the character. It's great. Potentially only have two shows of her left, so that's… depressing, to put it mildly. On one hand, I'm interested to see what she'd bring to another role (I'd LOVE to see her as Luisa in Zorro or Elphaba in Wicked), but perfect Christines are rare. There was one thing I didn't like; there's a bit in Il Muto when Carlotta/Countess and Christine/Serafimo jump on the bed and stick their faces behind the fan. Harriet and Ashleigh both turn their faces inwards so they're hidden behind the fan, but Olivia keeps it outwards so from either side you can see her face sticking out from the fan. It's just a bit weird since Countess and Serafimo are supposed to be 'kissing' behind the fan so it makes more sense to have both of their faces hidden. But specific song-wise: Think of Me is fantastically done; she does sound pretty bad the first few lines (as she's supposed to), and then throughout the song there's a huge amount of growth and change in the voice, until you get to the cadenza which is just a bit epic. Wishing is gorgeous as usual (I cried - didn't think that was possibly with my antibiotic-filled eyes); I think this song is the best example of how she acts with her voice as well as her face and body. Some really picture-perfect moments in the second show. Again, massive voice during this show, so the songs were extra-powerful. Twisted Every Way killed me a bit; the terror and fear were so real, you could feel it in the audience. Heartbreaking, really.
Antony (Raoul) - Love, love, LOVE his Raoul. Sometimes, when I've got a not-so-good Raoul on, I just think Christine should leave Phantom and Raoul to sort themselves out and jump in the boat on her own. But Antony's Raoul has a lot of dimension and he's not as much of a vain idiot that Raoul often is. He's confident and still fits the mould of the time period, but he seems much more sensitive and aware of Christine. He's got a massive, powerful voice as well, which is great. But Antony-Raoul's best is the Final Lair. It's really, really incredible. First of all, bridge jump. It's important and I like it when it's actually in the show. But anyway, I like that his first thought isn't to get out of the lair, but to go after the Phantom and Christine has to hold him back. It reinforces his superhero-esque image. The noose is fluffing terrifying (it worked this time! Haha); I know what to expect, but it freaks me out every time. His Raoul really fights it at first, then you can sort of see him struggling as time goes by. He completely turns away for the Phantom/Christine kiss, which is heartbreaking. Then when the Phantom threatens him with the candle (seriously though, what's he going to do, set Raoul on fire? They're next to a lake, for goodness sake), Christine says "No/Please!" (first show was please, second was no) and Raoul repeats this, and I nearly cried again because Raoul has a vulnerable side. Who knew? It was amazing. Yeah, he's super brave and is really fighting for Christine, but in that moment you see that he doesn't want to die/lose Christine. It's sad. Really, really effective. But sad. And then the way he throws himself on the ground and takes forever to get up (with Christine's help) is hard to watch, because he's so powerful the rest of the show. At that point, I'm usually thinking something like, "seriously Christine, go with him already! He pretty much just died for you!" Anyway, awesome Raoul. So many little character additions that really make Raoul more likeable (as I said, Raoul can come off as a bit - ok, a lot - of a jerk, in which case you have to wonder what's wrong with Christine's head. So a likeable Raoul is important!)
AIAOY needs it's own thing because it's Antony and Olivia (can't put it with only one of their paragraphs) and this combination is perfect! Probably my least favourite song in the show (aside from Notes), but these two do it so beautifully it's hard not to like it. It's so much less cheesy when the relationship between Christine and Raoul is more believable.
Cat (Meg) - Cat gets her own bit because she has improved SO much. She's not anticipating her lines anymore, her expression has gotten a lot better, her voice seems stronger. She draws attention for the right reasons now. I wish they'd style her wig a bit differently though; it looks quite limp.
Everyone else - Sassy Carlotta! It's my favourite thing (though one of these days I want Carlotta to hit someone with her umbrella during Notes/Prima Donna. That'd be hilarious). She and Jeremy complement each other very well. Jeremy's got brilliant comedic timing. I also really like this conductor; he's fun to watch. He really gets into it (he was singing along to POTO) and his eyes sparkle when he's conducting. It's cool to watch. Had the understudy (2nd cover?) Firmin on, and he was awesome. I probably liked him more than the principle Firmin. He just missed the timing on one thing at the beginning of Masquerade, but otherwise had a great sense of comedy.
So usually why I like the 2 show days is because I like seeing the differences between shows. They actually weren't too different this time. I think Olivia was a bit tired for the second show; didn't show in the voice or acting at all, but she nearly tripped coming out of the boat during POTO, which was a bit scary. I don't know if this was on purpose or not (it was funny either way) but she nearly fell over a few times during the curtain call. I love curtain calls with Olivia and Antony because they're not so serious. Probably my least favourite thing about Phantom is the curtain call, because it's still very… professional, whereas at Les Mis, for example, they fool around quite a bit during the curtain call. It's nice to see when the actors are having a good time as well. Also I think this was the first time Olivia hasn't had a major costume malfunction when I've been watching (whenever I watch her I keep expecting the entire costume to come open or something, that's how many issues she had when I've been watching), so maybe that curse is broken now. I think they've redone the Elissa skirts? Looks like the Christines are sort of snapping them into place so they stay aligned, and I don't think that was around before (they used to slip halfway around through the song). Olivia's dressing gown looks new too, though it may not be. It just looks a lot fuller and richer. Also love the front row because I really get to look at the details. And a big thing for me: you get to look right at the actors' eyes up close. Because it's in the eyes that you see the depth of the character.
And finally…
The Things I Noticed When Layla Wasn't On
Since I didn't have Layla to watch, I was mostly focusing on the dances as a whole, and on Georgia and Danielle (since I like watching Georgia and was told I would like Danielle, so had to watch her too). I love Georgia's effortless flexibility and Danielle has the most beautiful arms, and a great quality of movement. So I'm glad I got to see a bit more of them. In the group dances, it's usually Layla that draws the eye, but with her gone, I was surprised that Cat was drawing the attention the most. She's got some great expressions, and I like her as a dancer better than I thought I did.
Hannibal - They'd left a gap where Layla usually was on the entrance; I guess another of the girls was supposed to shift over and fill it in, but the dancers were perfectly matched down the sides and the back, so I think I would've had Cat shift to the middle. She did eventually, but there was a large gap at the very beginning. The 'archy' bit looked very incomplete with a missing dancer. Since there was an uneven number of girls, one of the dancers (I think Charise. I'm beginning to figure out the other dancers' names) sort of vanished when they needed to divide into two groups to even it out. Seamlessly done; I didn't see when she went out or came in (she was just suddenly gone, and then she was there again).
Buquet - Love the one girl who says "Ew, that's horrid!" in that scene. Cracks me up every time. Not 100% sure who this girl is, but she's got amazing facial expressions. They're hilarious. Didn't notice a missing dancer in this one, so that's good.
Il Muto - No gaps or awkward spacing this time, if you didn't know better you wouldn't've noticed a missing dancer. Danielle ended up with a solo pirouette; done beautifully, and positioned so that it didn't look like there were usually two turners. I noticed that Cat does Il Muto?! I'd never noticed that before; I always thought it was just the cover Megs that danced the Il Muto ballet as well.
Masquerade - Gap on the staircase where Layla usually is, definitely a missing dancer in this part in the back where Triton Girl (no clue who plays her) and Gypsy are doing these kicks/attitudes. It looks weird with only the one dancer. Watched Danielle (Fish), as I usually ignore that costume because it's so hideous (that headpiece is nauseating). She really is a beautiful dancer. She makes that stupid costume look less awkward. Funnily, if they took the nose/mouth piece of the headpiece and the 'tails' on the skirt away, it'd be a nice costume. It's a nice colour and the bodice and skirt are beautiful. Ah well. They can't all be perfect. Still love the Butterfly because sparkly. And purple. I love sparkly purple things. And Triton Girl, same reason (sparkles!!).
That pretty much covers the things I noticed when Layla wasn't on. I'm sure there are more things, and I'll add them in later when I remember them.
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