The Phantom of the Opera (April 10th and 11th, 2015)

The Phantom of the Opera

This is kind of a two shows in one review, though I'm doing it by actor rather than chronologically. The casts were mostly the same both nights, but with Emmi Christensson as Christine on the 10th and Harriet Jones on the 11th. I’m keeping everything fairly brief; just a few things I wanted to say about each person.

Scott Davies (Phantom)

I don’t adore his Phantom, but it’s nice to see every once in a while, and I haven’t seen him since last October or November (I think…) so I was happy to see him again.

Scott Davies (POTO Twitter)

There are a lot of things Scott does really well. His voice is really fabulous; powerful and strong, and it really echoes through the theatre, which makes it feel like the Phantom literally is everywhere. I also love how he keeps up a very consistent character in that you can sense the crazy underneath the calm exterior early on, so the insanity kind of builds up in a believable way. There’s no unprompted snap or turnaround, which I like. The Phantom is a hard character to read, so keeping a consistent, believable character is essential.

The thing that irritates me most about Scott is in the Final Lair. He really, really draws out the moments from the kiss to letting Raoul free. It’s not effective; rather than dramatic, it feels overdrawn and exhausted. I really don’t like how much time he spends threatening Raoul with the candle – what are you going to do, set his hair on fire? He’s soaking wet and you’re on a lake… nice idea. I’d rather he just grab the candle and get it over with; it makes more sense. My favourite way to handle this part of the scene is when the Phantom spends the little marching-music-bit mostly with Christine or on his own ‘considering his options’ (facial expression and blocking are key here), and the release of Raoul is very sudden and unpredictable. It just makes more sense.

All in all, I like Scott’s Phantom. It’s not among my favourites, but it’s refreshing to see every once in a while, just because it’s quite different from everyone else.

Emmi Christensson (Christine)

Emmi Christensson
(Her website)

I’ve been a lot more impressed by her Christine as of late (to be honest, her jumping in and basically saving the show when Harriet went off ill is a big reason for that. You can’t not respect someone who can do that and still pull off a good performance). I still think she lacks a real character to Christine; she goes for a spacy, zoned-out Christine, but then her Christine gets sort of angry. Maybe that’s why I find her Christine hard to sympathise with; theres nothing there to be sympathetic to. There’s no vulnerability, no underlying passion/fire that makes you really care about the character. On the bright side, her accent doesn’t emerge nearly as often as it used to, and she sings beautifully. The one thing I do like is how, when the Phantom lunges at Raoul in the Final Lair, Emmi throws herself between them and yells, “Don’t touch him!” I like it, it fits. I feel like I should have more to say about her, but I don’t. There’s just not a lot to talk about that I haven’t already mentioned in past reviews.

Harriet Jones (Christine)

I have really terrible luck trying to see Harriet as Christine, but I finally had her on for a full show! It was really nice as I’m loving her Christine lately and she and Layla Harrison as Meg are just the golden pair. Layla’s a very spunky, perceptive, ‘present’ Meg (in that she doesn’t just sit there and smile – more on that later), and Harriet’s Christine actually responds to this. They seem like they really have a relationship, rather than Meg doing all the work in the friendship and Christine staring off blankly into space. That’s probably the area where I think Harriet has really improved; she doesn’t stare blankly into space anymore. I get that that might’ve been a character choice, but it’s so much more believable when Christine is engaged with what’s going on around her.

Harriet’s voice is stunning of course, but now she’s really making the songs her own, adding nice little touches here and there. Think of Me is just glorious vocally, but there are certain little… I don’t want to call them accents but I can’t think of a better word,  in the way she sings certain words or phrases. You can hear her as a person (well, character) in her singing voice. It just gives everything a bit more personality. The reason Harriet’s TOM stands out to me so much is that it’s very easy to make that song sound very choppy (like at “promise me / that sometimes” – does that make any sense at all? Probably not, but I know what I mean - it’s sort of the transition between the more ‘neutral’ bits and the big operatic notes. She makes everything flow together rather than just big notes here and there.)

 

I seriously, seriously love her Point of No Return. That’s always been one of my main favourite moments of hers, but something about it today was perfect. The one thing I think I don’t like is at, “speech disappears into silence… silence,” she sort of holds her skirt back… it just looks awkward. And that’s probably why the poor skirt has gotten so limp; it’s so amazing and swishy normally; let it go! (let it go, don’t hold it back anymore…) Speaking of that line, that’s another one that you can really hear her in it, rather than it being all opera singer. Another of those is “…consume us” and “When will the blood begin to race, the sleeping bud burst into bloom?” I don’t know why I like how she sings it, I just do. There’s something about it that makes the song come alive; she’s not just singing, she’s living.

I think I said in past reviews that I had no good reason for not liking her Christine – and had so many reasons to love it - I just didn’t. Well, finally, I have lots of reasons to love her Christine, and I do! I’m not sure exactly what the shift was, but I’m happy because it’s been bugging me since this time last year. I’m really looking forward to seeing her again, hopefully when I’m down there for more Layla-Meg in May!

Layla Harrison (Meg)

Layla Harrison and Harriet Jones
(Operafantomet Tumblr)

Layla Harrison as Meg Giry… what is there left to say? She’s absolutely extraordinary. There is absolutely no one that can match Layla’s portrayal of Meg; she’s nails every single aspect of the character, from her dancing, to her singing, to her acting – she is second to none. Layla creates a developed and thoughtful character with very little material and stage time to go on. Her acting and stage presence is sublime; she makes you feel for and care about a character that is otherwise easy to push to the side. Layla makes you remember who Meg is, and why she’s important.

I wish I could talk about everything, but I want to mention a few little things that stood out to me. First of all, her singing voice. Layla has a beautiful voice, and unlike other Megs, it doesn’t come out overly cutesy or forced. It’s very clear, pure, and natural; the perfect sound for Meg. She holds her own vocally opposite Harriet’s Christine (and Emmi’s, but Harriet has the stronger voice of those two), which is not an easy thing to do.

Layla Harrison

I also adore her dancing. She extends everything to the absolute last second, then gracefully floats into the next movement or extension. Layla makes everything she does look so elegant and effortless; when she does the pirouettes in the hoops in Il Muto, you don’t get the sense that she’s panicking about those. Some girls tend to look right at their feet the whole time – snapping their head up just in time for the pirouette - and you can tell they’re worried about making a wrong step; Layla’s just look effortless. And again, absolutely floating out of the final one. It’s just gorgeous to watch.

I love how Layla’s Meg is constantly engaged with Christine and the other ballet girls. She’s their star dancer a bit of a diva at times, so it makes sense that she’s just one of those people that talks to everyone, and that is always very ‘present’. The relationship between Meg and Christine is one of my favourite things in the show, and in the past, I’ve seen the responsibility of establishing that relationship fall entirely onto Meg’s shoulders (zoned-out Christines are not my favourite). Unlike others who shrink into the shadows because of this, Layla really stands out and builds up a believable and adorable relationship with her Christines (especially Harriet, though this is because Harriet actively commits to building the friendship as well). Layla and Harriet are so cute as a Meg/Christine duo; their hand holding and little smiles here and there make it real, rather than a friendship that’s ‘just for show’.

Layla Harrison as Meg
(Tumblr)

Another moment I really like of Layla’s is Notes. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; if you’re not watching Layla-Meg during Notes (and you should be – she draws your attention so easily). She creates a personality for Meg without making it obnoxious, and really puts that personality to good use. The eye rolls, sighs, and other subtle actions show exactly how Meg is reacting to the situation. Her interactions with other characters are really thoughtful; nothing seems random or out of place. And sometimes, it’s Layla’s actions that make something make sense. For example, the discovery of Piangi’s body. Layla’s Meg absolutely loses it (that scream is ear shattering!) and then keeps up the distress until she exits the stage. Besides making you realize just how crucial Piangi’s murder is to the eventual end of the show (“Revenge Piangi! Revenge for Buquet!” face it, Piangi was a lot more loved than Buquet; his death and Christine’s capture were catalysts for the mob going after the Phantom), it also gives Meg something to react to, which Layla does (so many Meg’s just scream, hug Raoul, then seem totally unaffected. Hardly realistic). Anyway, it’s all of these details that Layla puts into her performance that makes Meg such a valuable character.

Most importantly, one never tires of watching Layla’s Meg. She keeps it fresh and interesting while maintaining a consistent and believable character. Though the entire show was full of great performances and I love the show itself, Layla’s Meg was absolutely the highlight both nights.

Fiona Finsbury (Carlotta)

Fiona is another understudy that I completely adore. She’s got a fabulous voice for sure, but it’s her acting and interpretation of Carlotta that is really unique.

Fiona Finsbury
(Fiona's Twitter)

I love how she does Carlotta’s panic after the curtain falls on her; she looks absolutely terrified, not just angry. This makes her walking out on the show seem less diva-ish; she’s not doing it out of spite, but out of fear for her safety. Of course, Fiona still keeps Carlotta’s diva-ness very out there, but there’s more to her than just being a prima donna. I love the range of emotions Fiona puts across in Notes/Prima Donna; it makes her very entertaining and interesting to watch. Another favourite moment of mine is “She’s mad!” She doesn’t just say it and leave it there; she sort of smirks at Piangi after the fact, and looks rather chastened when he doesn’t respond in kind. It does make you kind of hate Carlotta for treating Christine that way, but at the same time, the commitment to a consistent character on Fiona’s part is just fabulous.

One final thing that really stood out in my mind was during Don Juan; Fiona/Carlotta looked absolutely terrified. Huge eyes, hesitant movements – it was really effective at communicating that this was not your normal every day performance; Carlotta had seen what the Phantom could do to people, and he’d already gone after her once – who’s to say he wouldn’t try it again in this performance? I think choosing to portray Carlotta as very fearful in this scene was an excellent decision. Fiona is very clever with her character choices, and everything is very well done.

I had a really great time at these two shows. It’s shows like these that remind me why I keep coming back to Phantom. The passion and talent these performers put into the show are amazing, and I think it’s 90% of the reason Phantom is still going strong today. Sure, the story’s nice, the costumes and set are gorgeous – but without these incredible performers, all of that would be meaningless.

Well, that was awfully philosophical. On that note, hope you enjoyed this (very mangled and nonsensical) review! I may review the show or shows in May – not sure yet. I’ll also be posting a review of Sweeney Todd sometime next week, so stay tuned!