On August 30th, the final performances of the 2013/14 cast, I was lucky enough to be able to see both shows. I honestly don't remember a whole lot of them (especially the second one as I was sobbing through most of it), but I'll note down some details that I remember. The casts for the Matinee and evening were the same, aside from Harriet Jones being on as Christine at the Matinee and Olivia Brereton for the evening.
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| Matinee Cast |
The Matinee was what I'm told is known as a 'Muck up', where the performers added and changed all sorts of funny little details. I'm laughed more than cried this show, thanks to all the silly additions. My favourite by far was Ashleigh Fleming. She became a blonde Hannibal Princess, a mask-less Mirror Bride (don't know how she pulled this off. I swear she never blinked or moved a face muscle), a blue-haired Triangle Girl, and completely overdid her part in the Don Juan rehearsal (which I thought was hysterical and awesome). Anna Shircliff was another funny one; she wore a dark BG wig but a blonde fringe (how they did that, I've no idea), what looked like a Passarino wig for her Triton Girl in Masquerade, and I'm 99% sure she had her dressing gown on backwards for Bridge Christine. Charise Renouf (who's awesome parents I sat next to during the show) wore a BG wig for Masquerade. I'm not sure who (swing Fiona?), but one of the BGs left her Degas hair bow in for floor-Christine. Cat Lane wore a Mme Giry wig for Masquerade. Jeremy Secomb drew out the longest "
haaaaaaas come home" I think is humanly possible. It was so long, clear, and impressive that the entire cast started clapping on stage, and the audience was cheering by the time he was halfway through. Jeremy also hung out in Box 5 with Raoul during Il Muto. At Curtain Call, Geronimo had a sign taped to his tailcoat. I've no idea what it said, but Harriet was laughing quite hard so it must've been funny.
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Cat Lane's Mme. Giry Wig
for Masquerade
(Cat's Instagram) |
About the performances themselves, Harriet's first act is very strong. Her "Think of Me" is full of joy, it's infectious. But her second act seemed to fall flat with very wooden and 'rehearsed' acting (Wishing was the main culprit for this. I don't think crying can get much faker-looking than that). Antony was on fire this show; I thought he was going to murder the Phantom during the Final Lair (I've seen him go pretty insane, but he actually spit at the Phantom! Never seen that before). I really loved how much he struggled against the noose (on his absolute tippy-toes the entire time), and when the Phantom kissed Christine, he struggled harder, then on the second kiss turned the entire noose around to look away. Antony actually makes you feel for Raoul, which is awesome considering I mostly consider Raoul to be a stuck-up, arrogant jerk. Geronimo was fine during the show; he held back a bit at the matinee, but overall everything was good enough. No complaints, but nothing particularly stuck out.
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| Evening Cast |
The second show was incredibly emotional before I even sat down. However, I had the good fortune of sitting next to some incredibly friendly people, and that helped with the worst of my emotions. Regardless, I still sobbed my way through most of the show. There were
so many incredible performers, principles and ensemble alike, who left that night. It was impossible to watch each of the leaving people's performances as much as I would have wanted to, so I picked my battles. Obviously Olivia was the priority, but I also tried to focus on Antony, Jeremy, Cat, and Ashleigh. If I'm being totally honest, I don't remember a whole lot about the show. It sort of rushed by in a flurry of tears (I started crying as soon as I saw Olivia had tears in her eyes during Hannibal. And I'm not usually a crier. RG kind of whips that out of you). So I'll write about what I remember, but you can find detailed thoughts on Olivia's Christine, compiled from this show and the August 29th show, at the bottom of this post.
It was a relatively smooth show; no issues that I could pick out. The part of the show I enjoyed the most was probably the Il Muto ballet, because it was the one time I wasn't thinking "This is the last time I'll see _____!" Beautifully danced as usual; I love how much energy the BGs put into that piece. It's so intricate and yet delicate at the same time - I love it! Cat has improved over the summer (as has the styling of her wig) and now I'm quite sad to be seeing her go. She was a cute Meg with a solid voice and nice dancing and acting, and she will certainly be missed. Jeremy was a funny, personable Piangi. He made Piangi stand out in a good way, making it so much sadder when the character meets his untimely end. His big voice, brilliant comedic timing, and adorable relationship with his Carlotta (Lara Martins) has always been a highlight of this cast. Ashleigh had the most wonderful facial expressions during Hannibal and Don Juan (she's such a joy to watch), and her Mirror Bride has always been spot on (and a beautiful and well-acted Christine as well).
Of course, it wouldn't've been an Olivia-Christine show without a wardrobe malfunction. Minor ones this time, though. Her scarf got caught on either the Elissa skirt or Hannibal bodice during Think of Me (it actually looked kind of cool because the scarf was catching the air when she moved - she managed to shake it loose by the end of the song though). And one of my favourite mishaps, just because of the way she makes it work, the Aminta dress coming too far off her shoulders. It's happened a couple of times, and I love that she waits to fix it until the Phantom is done manhandling her, and then while looking absolutely terrified tries to pull it back over her shoulder in a very protective way as opposed to just yanking it back into place (that would feel out of character).
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Olivia and Antony
(Olivia's Twitter) |
One very poignant moment of this show was All I Ask of You. Olivia and Antony are a beautiful pairing; they just click so perfectly and it makes Christine and Raoul's relationship much more tolerable (and, dare I say it,
romantic). Well, Olivia was clearly crying during AIAOY, and Antony was giving her longer hugs and wiping away her real tears. It was so, so adorable. Antony and Olivia are a truly special pairing. In a way, I'm glad they're both leaving at the same time; it'd be hard to see one without the other. I seriously lost it during the AIAOY reprise at the very end, because it sounded as if they were both choking up. Both made these roles their own; Antony's Superhero, likeable Raoul and Olivia's interesting and multidimensional Christine.
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Geronimo Rauch, Olivia Brereton, and
Antony Hansen
(the best trio)(Antony's Twitter) |
Another favourite moment was, of course, Wishing. Olivia's song; many people can sing it. Some can act it too. But no one captures the emotion the same way Olivia does. She does the exact same hands, arms, and head movements every time, but each time I see it, it feels like the first time. Every word she sings is absolutely full of emotion, and I was sobbing into my hands by the time she sang "and speaks my
name" with her signature way of singing that last word. It rips your heart out every single time. She's also the only one who can pull off the crying at the beginning without making it look fake and ridiculous. Everything just feels so real, and that's why her Christine is so easy to sympathise with. The way she does the Journey to the Graveyard bit is almost haunting, which I think helps it to seem less contrived/rehearsed.
Unfortunately, I don't remember a whole lot else about the show. I do know that it was incredibly emotional for both the audience and performers, and despite crying through it, I enjoyed it immensely. Everyone put their heart and soul into this performance, and it was absolutely breathtaking.
It was very, very sad (I was crying into a friends shoulder after the show - thank you Sabine!) saying goodbye to all of these incredible performers. Each and every one of them has given brilliant performances during their time in Phantom, and I'm so glad I've written about nearly every performance so I and others can remember how amazing they all were in their respective roles. Wishing every departing member of this cast all the best as they continue their careers. I know we'll be seeing much more of them all in the future.
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With Olivia Brereton after
her final performance
(myself) |
Links
The Best of Olivia Brereton
The 2014/15 Cast Debut
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