The Phantom of the Opera
aka "Phantowe'en"
Just a quick little review on a show that was a bit weird (so many technical/sound glitches!). This is really short, but the cast was comprised of people I've seen and written about multiple times.
This show was full of random, weird little glitches. The piano (?) bit during "Lot 666" sounded really bizarre; it was too loud and too shrill at the same time. Chandelier and Overture had no problems though. Raoul's hair was nearly set on fire by the Phantom's fireballs at the end of the Wandering Child trio. Emmi had some gala skirt issues during TOM, but didn't get a face full of scarf this time (and in Wishing, her cloak stayed on!), so that's good. There were more issues, but most of them were quite small (i.e. mics going in and out, music/sound issues, small costume/hair mishaps - like when The Phantom pulled Christine's necklace off in Masquerade, the necklace got stuck to her hair and Emmi had to pull it free - but most were pretty small and I doubt the audience noticed).
Geronimo was good; not as all out insane as Scott Davies but he has the most beautiful voice. Music of the Night really is hypnotising the way he sings it. You can't take your eyes off of him during that song, which I think is really important (you should be drawn in the same way Christine is, right?). I really liked Liam Tamne's Raoul after his first show, but now I'm finding he's faded into the background. He's good enough when he's on stage (I don't like how he does Raoul - Christine is not a prize to be won, Raoul! - though he does what he does well) but when Raoul's not the centre of attention, you forget he exists. Emmi, on the other hand, has improved exponentially. She's gone from stoic and emotionless to quite expressive. Not in the same way that Olivia was (in that it doesn't elicit an emotional reaction from me and it doesn't feel natural; it's very much acting a part, but in the best way, if that makes sense). I still have a passionate dislike of her Hannibal bodice (why such high cut legs?)(speaking of which, she had a major Gala skirt malfunction. It didn't come off, but it was twisted almost all the way around and slipped down the bodice so the fabric of the bodice was all bunched up around her waist), but her retina-burner doesn't look nearly as bad on stage as in photos. Anyway, Emmi's turned into a nice enough Christine. Not anywhere near to cracking my top three, but I don't mind seeing her anymore. Her PONR was actually really enjoyable; it had a very spontaneous feel. Decent Final Lair, decent Think of Me. Really enjoyed her Wishing, actually. She's stopped blowing her nose in the scarf, which was great. There was nothing that particularly stood out (except that final note… WOW), but nothing I didn't like either. Alicia Beck as Meg is certainly… loud. So I'll say that for her, she sounds confident with the singing, even if what's coming out of her mouth isn't the best. She's got some nice faces and some of the acting is really interesting, but often she overdoes it. A lot. A good example is when Mme Giry (u/s Shena Sanders, by the way. Nice job, though nothing stand-out) said, "Meg Giry, are you a dancer?" and Alicia gesture to her tutu with a big smile on her face. I can see why she might do that, given the angle she's tackling Meg from, but it felt overdone and cheesy. It's just too much. Fine in Notes, Hannibal, etc, though I'm not the biggest fan of her dancing (it's very.. straight. There's no fluidity to her movement, which is especially evident when she's dancing next to dancers like Danielle and Layla). Great to see Lara again as Carlotta; sassy diva as usual! She and John Ellis don't have the same chemistry as her and Jeremy Secomb, but they try. No comment on John as Piangi; nothing good to say there. I'm loving the ballet girls; the two new ones fit in very nicely, and despite being two dancers short, Hannibal, Masquerade, and Il Muto looked wonderful (that Masquerade though! One of the best I've seen in terms of the dancing).
I might be writing a review of Phantom this afternoon, but I definitely will be reviewing Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, so stay tuned for that!
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