The Phantom of the Opera (May 15th, 2014)

The Phantom of the Opera

Just a quick little review made up of notes I made on the train home when I didn't feel like studying. I would usually be more detailed and I may add back to this next week, but unfortunately I do have to study for exams. 

I saw both shows on May 15th; mostly the same cast but two different Phantoms, and there were many ensemble out of both shows (so two swings swapped tracks for the second show). A few interesting things happened but I will mention those later.

Scott Davies (Phantom, Matinee): Over-exaggerated; he gets very 'hissy' at the end ("You try my patien-sssssssssssss") which ruins the moment. Getting a bit tired of him; not bringing anything new to the role.

Geronimo Rauch (Phantom, Evening): Detailed and subtle portrayal; effective and realistic without overdoing it (he only goes 'mad' when it's really necessary). Stunning voice, great little touches in the voice (PONR accent, emotion, etc.). Loved what he did with the veil at the end; hugging it to himself and really acting like it was the last thing he had left of her. I absolutely adore Geronimo during the final lair; the choking-Christine bit, the creepy face-touching after the kiss - consistent but interesting portrayal. I prefer the Gero-Harriet pairing to the Scott-Harriet pairing now.  The one thing I would like Geronimo to do would be the dramatic cloak sweep that Scott does to hide his disappearance on the throne at the end. It's painfully obvious when Geronimo disappears, whereas with Scott, he's just suddenly not there (you don't see the knees disappear. 

Harriet Jones (Christine)
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Harriet Jones (Christine): Essentially perfect. Beautiful on stage (how can one person be so beautiful and so talented? I'm jealous), acting is spot on, she's using her voice to express emotion now. Dancing has improved (still a little tentative but that will come with more time). The only things I don't like of her are the - for lack of a better term - 'body stroke' in Angel of Music ("Enter at last, master!" - Getting a bit too literal there!) and the skirt holding in PONR. It just looks wrong. But really, I have literally no complaints about her, yet somehow she's just not clicking for me emotionally. I watch the whole show going "Wow, that was good!" or "Love how she did that!" but no emotional involvement. I don't know why; Harriet's absolutely amazing. It bugs me to no end that I don't love her Christine as much as I think I should. AIAOY, PONR, and Twisted Every Way are particularly incredible, vocally (obviously) but mostly because the acting is perfect. Those were the songs I had the most emotional response too (at this point I know the show back to front, so I evaluate everything by the emotional response as opposed to being wholly analytical). 

Sean Palmer (Raoul): Stronger voice than I usually hear from him, but still a very muted, uninterested portrayal. Only appears to have two facial expressions: bland and mildly irritated. That one line where Raoul goes "Angel of Music, fear my fury!" (I think that's the line?) this is what my mind went to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtM3KAychok (from 0:13) Just replace wrath with fury.

Layla Harrison (Meg Giry)
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Layla Harrison (Meg): Very pure, sincere voice (especially in show 2). Probably could've used a touch more volume (might've been a mic issue though? Janet/Carlotta's was going in and out a bit), but the sound itself was beautiful. Loved the interaction between Meg and Christine; strong relationship between the two. Gorgeous Il Muto pirouette. The interaction with Monsieur Reyer during Hannibal is hilarious; Layla's Meg cracks me up. The faces are just so accurate and interesting. Notes was amazing as usual; I was torn in the first show as I was trying to watch the unfamiliar Carlotta and Layla at the same time, but for the second show I focused solely on Meg. Again, it's the faces, the reactions, the expression - absolutely perfect. She gives Meg such a big personality. Meg's reaction to Piangi's death was very emotional (even more so the second time around even though I knew it was coming); she looks utterly terrified and upset and it's traumatising, to say the least. And on top of everything else her best friend was just kidnapped, so everything Layla did with Meg in this scene was just… heartbreaking. Layla's Meg is so detailed that it makes you really think about the character itself, which is even more depressing. Anyway, Layla's Meg is nothing short of perfect, but most importantly it's an interesting, well-executed portrayal of a character that has the potential to be really annoying, but is made to be entertaining and emotional. 

Janet Fischer (Carlotta): New Carlotta for me! I didn't check the cast board when I went in so I was very shocked when she walked out on stage! A very pleasant surprise as I didn't think I'd be lucky enough to see the second cover Carlotta (as second covers so rarely go on). She has a big voice, but I thought the acting could've been less muted and more interesting. The accent could've been less understated (and it fluctuated quite a bit), but but I loved her back-and-forth with Jeremy during Notes. 

Bloopers/Mistakes

- Harriet tore a ruffle off the bottom of her dressing gown when it caught on the portcullis during the first lair in the second show. Interestingly last time I saw her, she tore a ruffle off the bottom of her Aminta dress, so I hope Harriet's not my new Olivia (Olivia used to always have something go badly wrong with her costume when I saw her). 

- Janet tripped coming out for Hannibal; didn't flinch though. Well handled. 

- Apparently there was a collision between two dancers in Masquerade, but I didn't notice despite the fact that I had my eyes glued to one of them, so obviously that was very well hidden (is there anything  such skilled dancers can't handle?). 

All in all, two amazing shows. Lovely to see Harriet so much improved (really there's nothing left for her to improve. The only thing I'd like to see would be a bit of spontaneity or some added details, but I can't put my finger on exactly what I'd want within those parameters), and an absolute privilege to see the most incredible Meg - a complete, well-rounded, and gripping portrayal.