The Phantom of the Opera (North American Tour)(January 17th, 2016 Matinee)

The Phantom of the Opera:

North American Tour

January 17th, 2016

Matinee

Well, it only took me about five years, but I finally saw the much-discussed tour of The Phantom of the Opera. To be fair, I have seen one of the UK Tour bootlegs (it was a gift, and it was my favourite Christine… don't judge, I didn't keep it) so I did have a rough idea of what I was walking into, and I also know that the general consensus was that the restaged tour, to put it bluntly, sucked pretty badly. But nevertheless, everything is worth seeing at least once, and I'm really glad I did go to this production as I quite liked it. 

I'm going to discuss individual performances briefly, before moving onto a more general review of the production itself. 

Seat/Venue Review: I don't love the Princess of Wales Theatre; the view from the seats are good, plenty of leg room, etc., but the bathroom and concessions situation is deplorable. There are only four bathrooms in the entire theatre (and it's a big theatre!), and they're all underneath the orchestra. Also, popcorn should never be allowed into live theatre. Enough said. But my seat was great; it was E23 in the Orchestra (premium seat… way expensive), and the view was just about perfect. No obstructions, no heads - if I'm being picky I would've liked to be 4/5 rows closer to the front.

Celia Hottenstein (alt. Christine Daae)

Celia Hottenstein (Pinterest)

Friends who had seen the show and know my taste in Christines (strong emotional actors, detailed characterisations, and good dancing) insisted I see Celia, and that I'd love her. I'm always a bit skeptical about pre-judging anyone, but I couldn't help but be excited to see her. She really was wonderful. The first thing that really stood out to me was her dancing - she's a gorgeous dancer (and not just because she dances en pointe, which is a real selling pointe (haha) for any Christine; I'm going to guess she's had a lot of dance training - she has the crazy hyperextended legs that a lot of ballet dancers and RGs get from all the stretching. I could be wrong though); Celia has beautiful arms, lovely extension, and great musicality. Her Hannibal was smooth and effortless, Masquerade was fluid, elegant, and expressive, and PONR was sharp and sultry - every dance she did really captured the feel of the piece. I would've happily had her show up in Il Muto ballet just to watch her dance more, she was that good (very reminiscent of Layla Harrison, actually, in terms of expression and elegance). 

I also really loved Celia's acting. There was a nice evolution of character through the performance, from very shy, happy-in-the-background Christine, to a more mature, strong woman. In the beginning, I liked that though Christine is shoved in the back, Celia was still acting very perceptive, watching Carlotta carefully, etc. It was a nice touch. Some other moments that stood out to me acting-wise include Think of Me, Angel of Music, the journey to the lair, beginning All I Ask of You, Wishing, and the Final Lair. At the beginning of TOM, I liked how she was looking very unsure, and when Firmin/Andre complained about her she got this really sassy look on her face like "watch me!" then proceeded to be incredible. Nothing specific in Angel of Music, I just thought she was very convincing, I liked the character and relationships with Meg and Raoul she was establishing in this scene. It set everything up for what followed. Also loved watching her remember Raoul; it was a cute moment. In the journey to the Lair, Celia's reactions to the vanishing stairs were great. You could feel the fear and apprehension, but also the excitement and anticipation of this new adventure (Celia's Christine struck me as having a bit of an adventurous/rebellious streak, which I loved, and which kept popping up through the show. I'd never seen that take before, but it really worked well). At the beginning of AAIOY, her little emotional breakdown after Raoul stopped her from throwing herself off the roof was really heartbreaking (a general comment; Celia's acting was very realistic. Yay for feeling bad for fictional characters). Same deal for Wishing; realistic, emotional acting that made me teary. The set in that scene was so pathetic that Celia was carrying the entire scene with her voice and acting, and she single-handedly managed to make that a beautiful, heartbreaking scene. Kudos. Then at the end of the Final Lair, I loved how Celia really stood up to the Phantom, got in his face, didn't act all injured and pathetic, and basically was the only mentally stable person in that scene. The very end, when she came back to drop the ring of, had me in tears again - when the Phantom was singing that he loved her, you could see the sadness and distress in her face and actions. I'm going to overuse the word heartbreaking because it fits (sorry, former english teachers). Acting wise, my only actual complaint was the really pathetic Raoul slap. I get no one wants to really hurt their fellow actor, but given the type of character Celia established (that rebellious streak I mentioned earlier), I thought the slap could've been a bit more… passionate. I also thought that in the final lair it would've been more effective to throw the music scores all around rather then tossing them up in the air like a giant volleyball. But all-around, Celia's acting was incredibly convincing, and very detailed and thoughtful. But the best part was that it was totally unique to her; there was nothing cookie-cutter about her acting, and I'd never see quite that approach before. I really enjoyed it. 

Celia Hottenstein
(Phantom Tumblr)

Her voice was good, not the most powerful Christine ever, but she hit every note easily. The crazy high notes sounded clear and effortless. My one issue with her vocally is she tended to pronounce 'Music' like "moosic". It might be an accent thing (although of all the people in the show, Celia was closest to a british accent), but it sounded a bit funny. Thinking back, she does have some enunciation issues in general (i.e. "here in this room, he *halls* me softly"), though they're not too noticeable. But all in all, stellar Christine, loved her, really want to see her again… so hopefully she goes to the West End some day (that's where I see her fitting in best). Also, tall Christine, yay!

Eric Ruiz (u/s Phantom)

I must admit, I'm not too picky about my Phantoms. As long as they can sing decently and don't act too badly, I'm happy. Eric was a nice Phantom. Nothing really stood out; he seemed to struggle a bit with the really long, high notes, often lowering them halfway through the note (wow, so technical. I clearly know my music - best example of this I can think of is the note at the end of Music of the Night). He did have a strong, powerful voice though. It just wasn't typical phantom-y highness. The one thing I thought was interesting about him was his Phantom was very human rather than ethereal. I don't really know how to convey how he did this, but all I can say is Raoul's "He was nothing but a man" made a lot of sense with Eric's Phantom. Maybe it had to do with the staging, but I felt that Eric's portrayal was less ethereal or majestic than other Phantoms - he seemed to have a lot more emotion and his mini breakdowns (like at the end of the 1st act and in the final lair) were more consistent with man rather than 'angel'. Anyway, I liked what he did with it.  

Storm Lineberger (Raoul)

Storm Lineberger (google)

I don't necessarily like what was done with Raoul in this production direction-wise, but I thought Storm did the best he could with what he had. He toned down the violence of Raoul in the restaged version as much as possible (really, there's no way to make the fist fight after Wishing not ridiculous - but he tried. I'm basing this statement on having only seen Simon Bailey's restaged tour Raoul and hearing other reports of how overly violent Raoul was made in the tour), and made Raoul very protective towards Christine (but not overwhelmingly so, if that makes sense - he made sure she knew he was there for her, but didn't smother her physically or emotionally). I liked how in the Final Lair he kept edging towards Christine, trying to reason with the Phantom but also get closer to Christine to pull her away. I also liked that in Masquerade he kept Christine securely behind him and wasn't letting the Phantom anywhere near her. He seemed to have a solid grasp of multiple aspects of the character, which many Raouls lack. On the protective note, I liked how offended Storm looked when Christine basically said "You promised you would protect me, you failed!", I mean, she was right, but I still felt a bit bad for Raoul after that! Storm also had a really powerful voice that resonated through the theatre (which I liked because often Raoul gets drowned out in the group numbers), and he was good at expressing his character's emotions through his voice (in that he didn't really 'over sing'. Also he was probably the best looking Raoul I'd ever seen, and that doesn't hurt. So yeah, protective, non-violent, great voice, great hair, cool name. All-around good Raoul, and I'd happily see him again (actually he's another I could see in the London production, he has the type of stage presence they tend to go for. Why must all of these people be American?!). 

Rebecca Robbins (u/s Carlotta)

Rebecca Robbins
(www.rebeccarobbins.com)

Rebecca was SO funny. The restaged production seemed to put a heavier focus on Carlotta (taken from Piangi and Meg), but deservedly so when Carlotta is played as skilfully as Rebecca did. She had a great voice, humorous yet thoughtful acting, and an overall entertaining, engaging portrayal. To an extent, her Carlotta was a bit of a one-dimensional diva, but she did have a few moments of determination (Prima Donna), fear (TOM), taunting, etc. She had a wonderful voice, of course, and her comedic timing was absolutely on point. She was really playing of what was making the audience laugh and what was getting no response. Consistent accent, and I loved how fussy she was with Reyer during her rendition of TOM. 

Morgan Cowling (Meg Giry) and Anne Kanengeiser (Mme Giry)

Morgan Cowling (Phantom Tumblr)

Loved these two. Morgan was a very sassy, spunky Meg. A little more mature and grown up than most Megs - it was a very different take, but I liked it and she executed it well. Her Meg was clearly the leader of the BGs. I also liked that she established a secure relationship with Celia's Christine, they really did act like best friends, but Meg was clearly the more confident of the two. Morgan was also a lovely, expressive, and interesting dancer, with a strong singing voice (though her vibrato was a bit overboard - she was easily hitting the notes and wasn't going squeaky though, so no issues). She easily made it into my top 3 Megs. Anne Kanengeiser was an imposing yet sensitive Madame Giry. I felt she didn't really stand out too much - half the time I forgot Mme Giry was actually in a scene. But when she was the focus of the scene, she was amazing. Great voice, loved her acting and relationships with Christine, Raoul, and Meg. You definitely got the sense you wouldn't want to mess with Mme Giry (a la Meg in Angel of Music).  

Ballet Girls (Christina Dooling, Julie Eicher, Abigail Mentzer, Lily Rose Peck, Alexandra Pernice, Micki Weiner)

I have to mention the Corps de Ballet girls, because they were all fabulous. Gorgeous, gorgeous dancing (the restaged tour is far more dance-heavy than the original), great acting. They really stole the show for me (overall, if I could only pick one thing, the Corps de Ballet was probably the highlight of the entire show - even without the degas ballet, which is usually my favourite part of Phantom! I was so in awe of them that I couldn't even ask for an autograph at stage door… whoops!). Unfortunately I can't identify any particular girls as I don't know what they look like, but a dark-wigged soloist in Hannibal was very elegant and had the most beautiful extensions. There was some great acting going on (whoever was having the crying fit before Buquet's story was very amusing, and the one that was ignoring Carlotta in Hannibal - and subsequently got smacked by her - did a very convincing job. It's those little details that really make a show), and as far as I could tell they all had strong singing voices. I enjoyed the fact that all of the girls had developed little personalities, and all were very perceptive and reactive to the action occurring around them. I really cannot speak highly enough about the ballet girls. They were all wonderful. 

There were a number of other solid performances, and some that I just didn't like (i.e. Piangi), but this review is getting a little long, so I wanted to leave it there and move onto discussing the show itself. I'm dividing it into two acts, because my opinions on each act were vastly different.

Act One

I was pleasantly surprised how much I loved the first act of the restaged tour. I'd walked in with very low expectations (poor reviews, preconceived notions from the UK tour videos, etc.), which might've been a good thing, because I unexpectedly enjoyed most of what I saw. The transition between the auction and hannibal was very cleverly done, with dancers trickling in, a real hannibal princess replacing the mannequin with the princess dress, Raoul being slowly overwhelmed with these 'ghosts of the past'. It was eerie, and I loved it. My issue with Think of Me was the scarf - if they wanted to leave it out, they should've just left it out. They way they tried to introduce it with the dancers was cheesy and overcomplicated. I also thought it was blatantly obvious that Celia's hannibal bodice and gala skirt didn't match (US bodice + UK skirt = bad combination. The velvet doesn't match at all). I really missed the Degas dance, but I appreciated the effort that was made in trying to make the dressing room a bit Degas-esque. That scene was surprisingly realistic. I also liked the touches on the set (the UK Hannibal costume hanging on the wall, a ballet barre on the side). The dressing room looked 'lived in', and it made sense that Christine would still be in there rather than having her own room as in the original production. The checking herself out in the mirror thing was a bit odd, but it was kind of creepy to think that the Phantom was right behind that mirror watching her. I liked how they introduced Raoul, with her not remembering him at first. It was cute. And the rose! That was adorable. I liked that in this production, Raoul doesn't try to kiss her right off the bat, but they have a nice little bonding moment of remembering their childhood, and their relationship evolves from there. Celia and Storm were a very complementary C/R combination; I'm not exactly sure why, but they just matched well. Not Olivia and Antony, but pretty close.

The 'Vanishing Stairs' (Chris Mann and Katie Travis)
(photo by Matthew Murphy)

Loved the journey to the lair; the vanishing stairs were so magical, and the timing was excellent. This act just seemed so technically skilled that the sloppiness of the second act makes no sense. Anyway, it was breathtaking. Loved that you could feel Christine's anxiety and excitement through the choreography. Really well-done. Didn't really like the set up of the lair though; lose the bed, elevate the monkey box, and bring back the scary/awesome throne! The only thing I didn't like about this act was Music of the Night. The blocking and choreography were cheesy as all get out ("close your eyes…" *pulls out a blindfold* yeah, that was way too literal and far too 50-shades-of-grey-ish. Those around me were visibly uncomfortable with it). I liked how it started, with making it very much like a music lesson, but as soon as the blindfold was pulled out, it went downhill fast. Enough said about that, it was just embarrassing.

Adored Il Muto; it was so delightfully camp. Absurdly cheesy and overdone, but in the best possible way. The set was great; the costumes could've used a bit of fluffing but they were nice enough. I couldn't really see the dancing in Il Muto because of the way they set up the stage (in order to make Buquet's strangling more visible), but I liked what I saw. I really didn't mind the change in costume from the original in this part; what they'd done with it worked well, and fit the setting of the mock opera. The set for All I Ask of You was gorgeous, and I loved the change in choreography/blocking here. It looked a bit like Christine was about to throw herself off the roof, and Raoul talked her out of it at the last second. It helped establish that protective relationship Raoul had over Christine. AAIOY itself was cute, romantic - I actually don't remember a lot about it other than I liked it. So yay. The Chandelier crash was certainly dramatic, but it dropped over the audience rather than into the stage, and it sort of stopped short, smoked a bit, then went dark. Basically, it started really well, then had a very anti-climactic ending. But all in all, I enjoyed the first act immensely.

Act Two
I spent most of the second act with my face stuffed in my program, trying (and failing) not to laugh. Yeah, it was that bad. I want to make it clear that it was not the fault of the actors. As mentioned above, most of them gave stellar performances. I'm blaming the failure of the second act of the show on direction (Laurence Connor, I'm looking - well, glaring - at you). I could go on a major rant, but instead I'll keep it short and just write about what really bugged me (and the odd thing or two that I liked). Surprisingly, I liked most of Masquerade. The set was very nicely done (reminiscent of Versailles' hall of mirrors; it made the stage and cast seem bigger). The costumes were ok, but I LOVED Celia's Star Princess. The colour, fit, shape of the skirt - everything was so perfect. It was an absolutely stunning costume and it suited her beautifully. I didn't like the Phantom's entrance and exit. It was far too easy for him to get caught, and yet he didn't, for no good reason. There was nothing threatening about him, and he literally just walked out of the room, and no one tried to go after him. Yawn. Notes II was a non event, neither good nor bad. Liked the Don Juan rehearsal set up; they were actually rehearsing, not just singing the score. The transition to Wishing started nicely, with the rehearsal disassembling chaotically, but unfortunately it went downhill from there.

Katie Hall in "Wandering Child" (UK Tour, 2012)

Wishing was really disappointing. From crew men running around putting the tiny, unconvincing set (pictured - it was so bizarre because up to this point, the sets had been really clever and effective) in place, to people just wandering in and out of the scene (no interesting or mysterious entrances) to the really ridiculous fight that the Phantom and Raoul had after the fact - all I'm going to say is thank goodness for Celia's acting and singing. She single handedly carried that scene. The fist fight was just embarrassingly bad. Poorly timed effects, clearly fake and forced confrontation - it just made absolutely no sense. Those around me were commenting on its ridiculousness too. I liked bits of PONR; the table dancing on Celia's part was really nice and sharp, and her acting was great. I liked that they added the gloves to the Phantom's costume to make it less clear that it was him. A huge range of emotions portrayed there, and you could see 'Christine's' mind working out the situation (she clearly realised it was the Phantom early on, and waited for her opportunity - very consistent with Celia's Christine's rebellious/independent streak). I really didn't like how Christine was basically sticking her leg in the phantom's face through her dress, it was so out of place. The ending was just ridiculous; I completely missed Piangi's death because it was way off in a corner, and Christine just ran off with the Phantom following her… so how the heck did they end up in the lair? Didn't make sense at all.

Without the mirror bride in the first lair, the wedding dress in the Final Lair made no sense. It didn't look like a wedding dress, so Christine may as well have done that scene in the Aminta costume. If they don't want to add a mirror bride, they should've at least put a veil on Christine to convey that it was, indeed a wedding dress. It probably would've made all that throwing her around on the bed even creepier, but that's probably a good thing. The lasso was also very sloppily done and didn't seem fully thought out. However, in the Final Lair I did like that Christine came back to return the ring and overheard the Phantom singing that he loved her, without them actually having another confrontation. It made it so much more heartbreaking, especially with Eric Ruiz's more human approach the Phantom and Celia's complete breakdown. So I liked that, and then when the Phantom finds the ring and realises she came back. Nice touch, I'd actually be ok with them putting that in the original production. I sort of liked how the Phantom was actually confronted by Meg and the guards at the end of the lair, but his disappearance was too obvious. You could see his feet disappear, and the way Meg was holding the cloak for so long just made the trick too clear.

So, my conclusion is that the first act is great, the second needs some serious reworking (and some new set design!). In general, the performers were excellent with some very thoughtful portrayals that I would love to see either in London or on Broadway. I'd happily see this tour again and would recommend that others see it, but I also really do hope they continue to work on the production and develop it.