The Royal Ballet: Raven Girl & Connectome (October 22nd, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

Raven Girl

& 

Connectome

Oct. 22nd, 2015

I had the pleasure of seeing these two ballets as a treat for myself to celebrate the end school (for now, anyway!). Originally I'd planned on going on Saturday, but the allure of  seeing Lauren Cuthbertson live was too much, so at 8am, I arrived at the ROH to grab a day ticket (of course, no one else showed up til 930, but still I got a cheap return, which was an excellent seat). This review will be divided in two sections, one for each ballet. I have also been asked by some people to review seats/venues in my reviews, so I'll do that first.

Seat/Venue Review: I sat A99 in the Stalls Circle Right, and it was £24. Definitely the best seat I've sat in at the ROH thus far, you could see 95% of the stage, and there were no heads or other obstructions in front of me. It's so close you're practically on the stage. I did get a slightly sore neck from having it turned the entire time, and the light from the orchestra was distracting at times, but it was an excellent seat, especially considering the price. Would definitely sit there again. As always, the ROH is a great venue, though the programs are very overpriced and they only sell them in the lobby.

Raven Girl

Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood
© Dave Morgan

Raven Girl featured Sarah Lamb as the titular character, Edward Watson as the Postman, Olivia Cowley as the Raven, Paul Kay as 'Boy', Thiago Soares as the Doctor, Poppy Downing as a Raven Child (a role which I didn't even notice…), and Eric Underwood as the Raven Prince. They were supported by Hannah Grennell, Sander Blommaert, Marcelino Sambe, and Artists of the Royal Ballet.

The basis of the story is a raven and a postman fall in love (yes, you read that right), and have a child, the Raven Girl. This half-girl, half-bird looks human, but cannot speak, and longs for wings. Despite what other reviewers had said, I thought the narrative itself was relatively simple to follow. I'd read a basic summary beforehand, and that's all I needed to keep track of what was happening. To be fair, the actual narrative was interspersed with some bizarre group dances, and the conclusion came out of nowhere and made very little sense, but all in all, I didn't have a problem with it. I assume the group numbers were to cover up changes in set or mark the passage of time, but it felt a little random.

I had mixed feelings about the sets. Some of the set pieces were stunning; the rocky backdrop of the Raven's cave was incredibly effective, as were the large glass box which held the wings. But some things, like the window that moved around a lot, and some of the smaller set pieces (like the door at the beginning and other bits of chairs, chalkboards, etc.) felt awkward and out of place. I was also incredibly irritated by the text on the screen; it took an eternity to show up (it began with a series of random letters appearing and flickering until they reached the intended words), and this didn't really add anything, so it felt unnecessary. I liked to consistency of colour in the set though; everything was grey, black, and white. Costuming was hit and miss, and the lack of consistency bothered me - if the prince is meant to be a raven, where's his headpiece? And where did Raven Girl's wings go? I understand practicality, but if they knew they wanted to do this dance with the two of them, why didn't they consider this in the overall costume design, rather than changing everything for the last piece? I think that's part of what made the last dance between Raven Girl and the Prince feel so disconnected from everything else. I also didn't really like the floppiness of the raven costumes as it was distracting; I felt they could've been more effectively designed. The headpieces were awesome though.

Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood
(google)

I have to admit, I didn't really pay attention to most of the male dancers. Partially because the characters portrayed by the girls were more intriguing, and partially because I tend to watch them more closely anyway so I can learn from them, and apply whatever I've learned to my own dancing. So I can tell you that Eric Underwood had extreme control, but lacked any emotional connection and wasn't particularly interesting. Edward Watson was charming and believable as the Postman, but he certainly didn't look comfortable with the partnering with the Raven; he was hauling her around and grimacing all the while. The 'Boy' didn't do any actual dancing as far as I noticed, he was more of a prop. I thought it was interesting that the ensemble of ravens was made up of both male and female dancers; if I weren't sitting so close, the two would've been indistinguishable. Usually the men and women have such different styles and ways of movement.

Sarah Lamb was lovely as the Raven Girl. I felt that this was a better part for her than Juliet; it was more wild and free, and it allowed her to explore a character that was very unique in that it's not something that really exists in other ballets (aside from maybe Swan Lake). However, I did feel that at times, she forgot she was playing a character and was like "Ok, now I dance." This was most noticeable during the partnering with the Raven Prince at the end; I didn't feel there was an opportunity for these two characters to develop a relationship, so they were more sort of dancing for themselves and putting on a performance rather than 'living' it. That said, Sarah has beautiful lines and gorgeous feet. I still felt as though her jumps were quite heavy (how can such a small, slim person land so loudly?), but she was very confident in the hoops and climbing up the chairs. I also felt she handled the awkwardly huge wings with ease, which had to be difficult (they didn't look light). My favourite part of her performance was how flawlessly she portrayed drugged/asleep; she was being dragged around and manipulated into various positions, and managed to maintain beautifully pointed feet and legs, graceful movement, etc without actually looking like she was still in control of her body. It was very intriguing and incredibly well done. Actually, she did this very well as Juliet too. So she's just really good at playing dead.

Olivia Cowley and Edward Watson
© Dave Morgan

I have to write about Olivia Cowley, because she was one of the highlights of the piece. From about 10 seconds into her first appearance onstage, I knew she was going to be the one to watch. She truly embodied the character of the Raven in everything she did; the constant rapid head movements, her arms and legs bending and moving exactly how a bird would - it's difficult to describe, and has to be seen to be truly appreciated. But you didn't see a trained dancer, you saw a wild, frenetic-yet-elegant bird. Her elegance and finesse made the sometimes awkwardly choreographed partner work look so much better. Olivia's acting, too, was just sublime. I'm always amazed how dancers manage to act without saying a work, but they have the advantage of facial expression - Olivia did all the work without her face, and produced twice the result of most dancers. You could see what her character was thinking and feeling just through head tilts and arm movements, such as when the Raven Girl got wings and her mother and father were upset by it, yet you could see the tenderness and love in the 'mothers' movement (I'm so not doing Olivia justice here). I also loved her dancing by itself. She has the most beautiful extensions (I want legs like hers!), and there's a very light, airy, and fluid quality about everything that she does. An all-around stellar dancer who I will definitely be making a point of seeing dance again. She absolutely needs to dance Juliet in R&J, and based on her ability to play a bird with such finesse, the Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. 

Connectome

The cast of Connectome featured Lauren Cuthbertson in the lead role, with Steven McRae and Edward Watson as the leading men. They were supported by a corps of men, including Luca Acri, Matthew Ball, Tomas Mock, and Marcelino Sambe.

© Dave Morgan

I'd heard mainly negative or neutral reviews of this piece, so I wasn't expecting much. I don't know what those reviewers were thinking, however, because I loved it! To be fair, any theme/storyline went completely over my head. I had no idea what the piece was meant to be about or what it was trying to convey (I believe it had something to do with identity/connections between people? Who knows). At the same time though, I found it intriguing to watch.

The set - a series of long poles - was very intricate, yet didn't feel overcrowded or 'too much'. The choreography was such that the dancers moved through the poles with grace and ease, and it added a sense of dimension to the overall performance. This was helped by the simplicity of the costumes, the lead dancers wore simple white leotards (ok so the men were basically wearing underwear), and the supporting men wore greenish/beige. The result was a visual effect that felt very controlled, clean, and modern. At one point, projections were used on the white poles that made up the set - I couldn't for the life of me tell what these were meant to be though, as I was at a bad angle to see them. But they were pretty cool, so I guess my point here is that they could have thought the logistics of that through a bit better, but overall the lighting design complemented the set and ballet very nicely. The music was a bit odd and got repetitive at times, but overall I liked it.  

Lauren Cuthbertson
© Dave Morgan

I have to write about Lauren Cuthbertson, because, well... Lauren Cuthbertson. This is the first time I saw her dance live, and I was completely blown away. She was mesmerising - the DVDs of Alice and R&J don't do her justice. It's hard to put a finger on what made her so interesting and engaging to watch; the quality of movement was obviously stellar - such fluidity and ease. It doesn't look like she's performing very practiced choreography, if that makes any sense. Because I was so close to the stage, I could actually hear the dancers breathing - my point here is that most of the dancers were just breathing whenever it was convenient, but Lauren's breaths were very controlled. She only let out a loud breath at certain moments in the choreography, which was weird, but it added something. I don't really know how to describe it; it's very much like what we had to do in AGG routines, which I think is why I noticed it.  So her performance felt fresh and new, but also very controlled. Does that make any sense? Yeah I didn't think so. Another one of those that needs to be seen to be understood. Anyway, I loved it, and I'm absolutely dying to see more of her dancing. It's just subtly brilliant.

Edward Watson and Steven McRae were dynamic and exciting; they interacted nicely, fitting together like two puzzle pieces rather than one overpowering the other. The male ensemble made a good support structure; they didn't stand out individually, but moved together as a unit.

I feel like I didn't do either of these pieces justice, but with shorter, unfamiliar pieces, it's difficult to do any hard-hitting analysis. But I hope this gave an idea of what I liked and disliked about Raven Girl and Connectome. I definitely encourage seeing both if you get the chance, and if you ever get the opportunity to see Lauren Cuthbertson and/or Olivia Cowley, you are very lucky indeed. 

I also wanted to share this link to Dave Morgan's photography of these two pieces, the photographs are stunning and give a bit of a glimpse into how visually beautiful and dynamic Raven Girl and Connectome are. 

The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet (September 22nd, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

Romeo and Juliet

Sept 22nd, 2015

A trip to the Royal Opera House is always exciting, but doubly so when you're going to see your favourite ballet! My favourite shakespeare play and my favourite ballet, Romeo and Juliet is a beautiful story with so many different possible interpretations, and I was very excited to see what the Royal Ballet had put together. I was also lucky enough to see the show as it was being filmed and streamed live across the world. It was very exciting. Anyway, onto the review!

The cast of this performance was as follows: Sarah Lamb (Juliet), Steven McRae (Romeo), Alexander Campbell (Mercutio), Gary Avis (Tybalt), Tristan Dyer (Benvolio), Ryoichi Hirano (Paris), Christopher Saunders (Lord Capulet), Elizabeth McGorian (Lady Capulet), Bennet Gartside (Escalus), Lara Turk (Rosaline), Genesia Rosato (Nurse), Alastair Marriot (Friar Laurence/Lord Montague), and Sian Murphy (Lady Montague). Juliet's Friends were played by Elizabeth Harrod, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Fumi Kaneko, Emma Maguire, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, and Romany Padjak. The Three Harlots were played by Itziar Mendizabal, Olivia Cowley, and Helen Crawford. 

This production was very different from Ratmansky's R&J at the National Ballet of Canada, which is the only other version of the ballet I've seen live (and which I love dearly). Of course, Prokofiev's beautiful score is the same, and the orchestra at the ROH is absolutely stunning. All in all, though, I have to say I probably preferred NBoC's R&J. However, there were many things I enjoyed about the Royal Ballet's, and I'll discuss that first.

The costuming, first of all, was beautiful. The court gowns were sumptuous and richly coloured, with immaculate headpieces. The women's dresses were light as air, and moved beautifully as the girl's turned and jumped. All of the men's tops were detailed, sparkly (yay), and looked perfect for the period. I liked that there was a clear colour scheme; one family was in red (Capulet) while the other was in shades of green and blue (Montague). It made it easier to tell who was who (though I couldn't tell you the difference between Mercutio and Benvolio until the former died). I really liked the attention to detail; the costume designer successfully made the piece look like it came straight out of renaissance Italy (the headpieces/wigs were very helpful in creating this vision). 

The set design was also very good. Big, grand buildings and backdrops. Nothing was left to the imagination; it was all there in front of you, and the dancers interacted with the set, which I loved. This is important to me because so often detailed sets aren't really incorporated into the ballet, in which case the set looks more like its in the way than anything else. So in this way, the interaction between the choreography and set design were very well thought out.  

The leads, Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae, were no doubt phenomenal dancers individually. Exquisite technique, flawless execution, not a bobble or wobble in sight. McRae didn't dance much individually, but his interactions with Benvolio and Mercutio were charming and entertaining, and the three of them danced together as a group very well. McRae established a playful young man who became utterly consumed by his love for Juliet. Lamb's approach to Juliet I felt was not fully fleshed out. She excelled at the 'Juliet Alone' variation (it was beautifully emotional), but otherwise, while I saw the young naive girl, there was nothing else to the character. Moreover, for being so small and thin, she landed her jumps very heavily. She didn't feel very airy or free. I wasn't really feeling these two as a partnership either. There was little to no connection; they looked at each other and smiled occasionally, but I couldn't feel the chemistry that is so essential for a believable Romeo and Juliet. Some of it may have been the choreography; there was very much a sense of 'ok, now we're dancing…. now let's stop dancing, emote a bit… ok, back to dancing' if that makes any sense. It just felt lacklustre, and I really couldn't get into the story because of it.

I also felt that some of the choreography was rather weak. The aforementioned interactions between Romeo and Juliet aside, in general, the choreography felt repetitive (more so than your average ballet). How many times can one dancer, who is otherwise an extraordinary dancer, do the same arabesque to plie? Apparently, eight or nine times a scene. I did really like the little dance interludes that Mercutio, Benvolio, and Romeo had every once in a while. Those three dancers worked very well together, and the choreography was clever, spritely, and interesting. Other than that, though, it just felt boring. As well, there was a lot more emphasis on the period dance (especially at the ball) rather than straight ballet. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn't to my taste. There was a particular scene in Ratmanksy's R&J where the Friar is telling Juliet what the potion will do, and how the plan is meant to work - I won't say exactly what it is (see my June 2013 Review), but let's just say that Ratmansky's way of explaining it to the audience was far more effective than the Friar waving his hands around a few times and 'voila!' explained!

Although I didn't enjoy this trip to Romeo and Juliet and I do believe it's a solid production, there were a number of weaknesses I felt should be addressed that prevented it being my ideal R&J. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Royal Ballet this year. The costuming, set design, and technical abilities of the dancers is beyond compare. 

The Phantom of the Opera (September 25th, 2015)

The Phantom of the Opera

Sept 25th, 2015

So, this was my first foray into the new cast at Phantom. There was an almost complete overhaul of the principle cast, and I had an understudy on for one of the roles that hadn't changed. So all but 2 of the principles (plus understudy Lisa-Anne Wood) I hadn't seen before. I thought it would take me longer to brave the new bunch, but then Lisa-Anne had scheduled dates, so… we all know how that ended. Anyway, it was a bit difficult given so many special people had left, but overall, I really enjoyed the new cast. I'm going to organise this by actor; I'll try to include as much detail as I can, but I'm writing this late at night so it's a bit fuzzy.

John Owen-Jones (Phantom)

John Owen-Jones
(Google)

Ah, the great 'JOJ', essentially a legend within the online Phantom community. I'm not sure of exact dates, but either he or Scott Davies (or possibly an understudy/standby) were my first ever Phantom, so it was exciting to see JOJ, whether this was the first or second time. And I have to say, he certainly lives up to all of the hype.

What. A. Voice. Seriously. His first notes in Angel of Music practically boom around the theatre; it's so powerful that I'm surprised the mirror wasn't shaking. He has a great stage presence as the Phantom - cold and intimidating, rather than trying to do that 'sexy' thing a lot of Phantoms do. Liked how unhinged he was in Stranger Than You Dreamt It - you could really see the craziness and it didn't feel contrived (if I can be very un-eloquent - he totally lost his shit at Christine - I mean, not literally, but you know what I mean). 

I really loved JOJ in Wandering Child; he had this way of singing it that was incredibly hypnotic, so you're not sitting there thinking "Really, Christine, really?" You can see what makes him so alluring. He also went totally crazy with the fireballs; he doesn't hold back at all. I may have been seeing things wrong, but it somehow looked like he had two in his hand that he threw onto the stage seconds before the fire at the front of the stage came up. Anyway, it was a cool touch, and I liked it because it looked like the Phantom was really in control of all that was going on. Another cool touch was after Raoul and Christine ran off, he screamed "CHRISTINE!" as a last-ditch effort to get her back.

In PONR, I loved that JOJ kept up the fake Italian accent until he sat down next to Christine; it made it more believable that she wouldn't realise it was the Phantom. I loved this Final Lair; it was extremely confrontational, which is what made it awesome. JOJ was the driving force behind this; his stature and presence is very intimidating, and any softness from the earlier parts of the show was gone. But Christine was having none of his crap, and that only made his Phantom angrier. Lisa and JOJ really played off of each other much better than most other Christine/Phantom pairs I've seen have. Unfortunately I don't remember a lot about the Lair, but I remember liking JOJ and his performance a lot. The one thing I do remember is his "Go NOW and leave… meeeee!" It was really great (a few people started clapping). Hard to understand, but great. Very passionate and emotional. He also gave a little laugh when the monkey music box started up, like "Huh, ironic timing". It was a nice touch. A funny thing that happened was the cloak started falling down over the chair, so just before Alicia tore the cloak away, a large white hand came out to straighten it. I giggled a bit. I definitely look forward to seeing JOJ's Phantom again. 

Lisa-Anne Wood (Christine)

Lisa-Anne Wood (w/ Geronimo Rauch)
(Tumblr)

What's left to say about her?! I always forget just how good she is until I see the show again. Lisa is absolutely phenomenal. I truly do believe she's among the best, if not the best, Christines there has ever been. She has the voice, the acting, the look - everything is just there (wow, I sound like a broken record). There's nothing really missing. I mean, because I'm neurotic there are a few things I wish she did slightly differently, but for the most part, I love her Christine to bits, and it's difficult to narrow down just a few things to write about. But I've done my best. 

I. Loved. Her. Think of Me. It's always struck me as a bit of an awkward song, because obviously it's not just a performance, the song itself has some meaning to it. And it's essentially here that Christine sound very youthful, joyful, and pure in this song to contrast Carlotta's very overdone version. Anyway, Lisa doesn't do my favourite TOM ever, but it's up there. I like her transition from Hannibal to TOM; she starts out with her head down, very tentative, but you can really see Christine starting to get more comfortable and really give it her all. Lisa's TOM hits all the notes I want it to; very natural and beautiful, great voice, etc. Her cadenza (I think that's what they're called? Sorry, I'm a skater, not a singer) was absolutely glorious. She holds all the notes as long as she possibly could (well, I'm sure she can go longer, but as long as was logical), which I thought was a nice added touch. It didn't feel like she was cutting the song off. Angel of Music was really nice; we all know how I feel about Alicia as Meg, so we're not gonna talk about that. Nadim and Lisa are so adorable together; they just look really good, but his sensitivity and protectiveness matches her innocence and naiveté very nicely. They make it look like a mutual caring rather than one-sided (often on Christine's part). Love the acting from Lisa when Nadim was saying "you must change" etc; she doesn't just stop at 'things have changed', she was frantically trying to explain herself out of the situation, though of course Raoul wouldn't listen. It seemed more real. Also loved her acting in AOM with the Phantom; she doesn't do the whole 'hyptonised' thing, but rather a combination of fear and curiosity, which was an interesting choice that I really liked.

All I have to say about the Title Song is holy bananas does Lisa just look like Christine. Like, it's not Lisa-Anne Wood on stage. It's Christine Daae. That is all. (I mean obviously the singing is good and her acting was nice - she doesn't look like she's lip synching at all- but I never have much to say about the title song just because it's prerecorded, so it never changes). Nice STYDI (her voice is so clear and high, I love it). Her 'curious' acting is great.

A small note from Il Muto; I LOVED, as in, seriously adored, that Christine jumped on the bed, curled up in a ball, and covered her head. She was visibly shaking; it really looked as if she expected something horrible to happen. THe look of abject terror she gave Firmin when he announced that she was going to perform was heartbreaking. It was a small touch, but I thought it was very effective. It was a very childlike thing to do, which matched the rest of Lisa's approach to Christine very nicely.

Twisted Every Way has to be another of my absolute favourite moments of Lisa's Christine. It's such a small thing, but in my opinion, TEW can be make it or break it for my perception of Christine. Some Christines just look far too chill about it all. I love how you can see her getting increasingly distressed through the scene, and she just explodes on "Stop, I'll go mad!" I've never seen anyone scream that line quite the way she did. The distress and fear was very visceral; you could see it in her face and in the way she clutched Raoul, and even more so in her voice. I think the reason I liked it so much is because that was where I really started to feel for Christine; anyone that can make me actually care about a character like that deserves a cookie. I liked that when everyone had converged around her at the end of the song, she was covering her head and her eyes with her hands as if she were trying to block it all out.  Her "I can't!" was also great, she basically screamed it, and hardly stopped to say that, just sprinted off stage as fast as she could. When she came back on for the rehearsal, her face said "I'm about six seconds from absolutely losing it again," which was nice, because that's exactly what happens next.

Lisa-Anne Wood
(Pinterest)

So. Wishing. Epic is a word I would use to describe it. Heart-breaking works too. Spectacular also comes to mind. I could go with emotional if I wanted to keep things simple. Whichever word I use, the point is the same. I've only seen one other Christine who can execute Wishing as well as Lisa can. And she keeps changing it up, adding new details, keeping it fresh - that's another thing I love about her; in five shows, I still don't feel like I'm watching her do exactly the same thing twice. Anyway, back to Wishing - the way she sings "and speaks my name" has changed, and I'm not entirely sure how to describe how she sings it, but it (especially 'name') sounds more like a raw keening than just 'singing' it; it's really, really beautiful, and really effective. It's the little touches like this that Lisa adds to her singing that make you really feel Christine's grief and pain. Her faces and movement are great too, but if you close your eyes and just listen, that's all you need to know how Christine feels. To me, that's the mark of an excellent Christine. That's not to say she doesn't have her beautiful, operatic-y moments - she totally does. Lisa's got a gorgeous, if a little higher than I always expect, voice, and she uses it to its fullest extent in this song. I guess what I'm trying to say is she's not holding anything back, and it shows. But voice aside, her acting too is totally on point. She doesn't overdo the fake sobbing, and you can really see and feel the amount of character growth in the song - she goes from very distressed and emotional to quite sure of herself (does that make sense?). I like that arc; it makes her development in the rest of the show seem more real (she starts out the show very naive and innocent (Hannibal through , shifts to distressed and scared, and then comes away quite confident and fierce). Anyway, she always has me teary when she sings Wishing, and if I had to pick a single favourite thing from her performance (who would do such a cruel thing to me?), it would be this.

Onto Point of No Return, which is certainly another highlight. This is also where the character development Lisa's built up is very important - I said she ended Wishing rather sure of herself, and her PONR would make absolutely no sense if she hadn't made that development very clear. Lisa's PONR is very sultry, and she's definitely not playing the "I'm scared out of my mind but I'm gonna go along with it anyway" angle, which I appreciate. I really don't think her Christine expects anything to happen (which is complemented by JOJ's Phantom expertly imitating Piangi, so it really is believable that she wouldn't know). So the result is a very different, but very interesting take on PONR. I love that at the end of the song, she really fights to get away from him (JOJ was literally dragging her by both arms) and she got out of his grasp as soon as she could (Arms pulled away on "stand and watch it burn" - a little detail that I think is brilliant. Don't ask me why, I just like it). I like that she doesn't just let herself be dragged around. 

Lisa-Anne Wood
(Pinterest)

As I've already mentioned, this Final Lair might just have been the most terrifying, emotional, and confrontational one I've ever seen. If there was ever a Final Lair that I wish had been captured on video, it was this one. Partly because I can't really remember details anymore, it was that intense. But I really love how much ferocity Lisa shows; you can see how Christine's gotten to that point of being fed up with being walked all over and she really gets in the Phantom's face (which was kind of funny because Lisa is tiny and JOJ is not). At one point, she slammed the bouquet into his chest (at "It's in your soul"), and I was just thinking "YES this is why you are my favourite." I loved that when she went to return the ring, she was trying not to look at him; the Phantom was trying to hold onto both of her hands and get her to stay, but she just wouldn't make eye contact and got the heck out of there. There was a nice sense of finality to it. Also loved her reaction to Raoul being freed; she just screamed "Raoul!" and dove on top of him. It was interesting because he was so protective of her earlier in the show, but now it was her turn to be the protector. She was keeping herself between him and the Phantom as much as possible for most of the show. Last thing: "You deceived me!" was screamed, and she was visibly breaking down as she said it. It was a moving touch. There are so many more things I liked about this and I may add to it later, but I'm trying not to write a novel here.

Of the few things I didn't like, the thing that bugged me the most is she does the same 'skirt thrust' in PONR that Harriet did ('speech disappears into silence *grabs skirt* … silence *grabs skirt*) - that skirt is so wonderfully swishy and voluminous; let it go! I still miss Olivia and her twirls. Anyway, it's a tiny thing and it really doesn't affect anything else, but for whatever reason, it irritates me. It just doesn't look right. My other issue is her grabbing the Phantom's mask way too early in Stranger Than You Dreamt It, but I'm going to assume that was a momentary lapse as I'd never seen her do that before. But I loved the look she had on her face that whole section (and she's gotten that fake trip down to a science; it doesn't look silly anymore). The only other thing I could've used was a slightly longer pause before the tears of hate bit. But I loved the way she sung the line itself. I'm just partial to a little bit of a longer pause. 

In general, I really love that Lisa-Anne uses acting that's subtle enough to not seem overwhelming in the front row, but big enough that it really projects to the circles. It's nice that no matter where I'm sitting, I can really see how thorough and detailed her acting is, as it's my favourite part about her portrayal. Aside from my minor neuroses, there's really nothing that I don't like about Lisa's Christine, which, for those of you that know me, is saying something. I really look forward to seeing her as Christine more in the future, and I absolutely cannot wait for her to be the official alternate (and maybe principle next cast? Fingers crossed!) come June. She's absolutely perfect. 

Nadim Namaan (Raoul)

Nadim Namaan
(Tumblr)

I'd heard great things about Nadim's Raoul (though nothing specific - more like "He's so good you're gonna love him!") and I'd really enjoyed his voice in Playing Our Part a couple years ago, and his acting in Titanic in Toronto was fabulous. So I was really excited to see him play Raoul. I have to admit, most of my focus was on Lisa-Anne, but from what I saw of his Raoul, I really liked, and he definitely makes my top 3 Raouls. 

Nadim has a really strong, deep voice, which I typically don't like, but with his more protective (I'm going to use that word a lot to describe him), kindhearted approach to the character, it worked. His auction was a lot more coughy/hoarse than I'm used to, but it did make sense in the context, so I liked it. Loved how excited he looked at the gala; he was really thrilled to see Christine again, and this carried over to the dressing room. He wasn't as stuck up or self centred as recent Raouls have been - his attention was much more focused on Christine and you could really see the connection and chemistry between the two. Side note, I thought Nadim and Lisa were a really adorable pair. 

In All I Ask of You, Nadim was still playing the very protective Raoul. It was a really nice touch and something I'd never seen before. He was acting like he couldn't bear to let her out of his sight or arms. Very calculating during the lead up to Don Juan/PONR; liked that you could really see his thought process. Very involved acting; just because he was off in the corner thinking didn't mean he was ignoring what was happening around him. Also liked how powerful his voice his; you can easily hear him in all of the group songs. I also really liked his acting in Twisted Every Way; it was more like Raoul really saw having Christine perform as the only way to catch the Phantom, and the best thing to do for her benefit. Whereas other Raoul's don't seem to care about Christine's fear, Nadim was actively trying to comfort her and assure her that it would all be ok. 

Liked how concerned Nadim acted over Christine when he got through the gate at the Final Lair. He looked like he was giving her a once over to make sure she hadn't been harmed, and then didn't want to let her out of his grasp, just to keep her safe. He really struggled agains the noose and his might've been the most believable 'hanging' I've ever seen. It didn't look contrived or false.

I can't wait to see Nadim's Raoul again; I have no doubt aspects will grow and change as he settles into the role, and it should be very interesting. I'm also curious to see if his main character traits change at all depending on which Christine he's with; Lisa's is a Christine that very much needs protection and love, whereas Emmi's doesn't. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing it. Nadim's a great Raoul.

Megan Llewellyn (Carlotta)

I had no idea what to expect with her, and I'm still not entirely sure what to think. I really loved her Hannibal/Think of Me. She was sassy, funny, and emotional. I could really see a fleshed out character. I loved her little interaction with the managers at "These things do 'appen;' she really took her time with expressing her distress and emotion. Her voice was very big and powerful and she had a great accent going, but I felt that some of her inflections and phrasing seemed off. It was a bit stop-and-start. Other than that, I felt that her character kind of disappeared after Hannibal; she hadn't really figured out a defined character to go with, so I look forward to seeing her develop that further, because she's got a really great Hannibal. 

Michael Matus (Andre)

Nothing extraordinary, but good signing voice, decent acting. Didn't really see anything that made his character stand out, but he wasn't bad either. He could have milked the humour a bit more in the Il Muto Ballet introduction. I didn't feel that he and Christopher Dickens made a very interesting pair; there were no special interactions or connection between the two. 

Christopher Dickins (Firmin)

I really wasn't sure about him at first; he was very loud, very 'out there' - almost avant garde. But as the show wore on, and he really kept this loud, enthusiastic portrayal going, it grew on me. It was a nice contrast to his far more muted business partner, and I had a good time (and a lot of laughs) watching him. Definitely looking forward to seeing more from him. 

Paul Morrissey (Piangi)

This guy was awesome. I have no idea how many times he's been on (it's early in the cast so I'm gonna guess not many), but he really had his stuff together. He does Jeremy Secomb's extra long 'Hooooooooooooome' which I loved to pieces. It's so funny watching the cast react to it and the audience absolutely loved it. He has a stronger, richer voice from the principle Piangi, and I enjoyed his humorous characterisation a lot. Absolutely want to see more from him (and I would totally support his replacing John Ellis). 

Alicia Beck (Meg Giry)

Alicia Beck
(Phantom Photo Brochure)

So she's obviously not new, but I wanted to say briefly that I was pleasantly surprised by her today. She kept her eyeballs inside her head, and her acting wasn't quite so twitchy. She does blink an awful lot though. Her singing was more in-tune and just generally more pleasant to listen to as well. Her Angel of Music is still shrill and nauseating, but other than that, she wasn't half bad. Her dancing has gotten stronger too; she's not tipping out of the pirouettes so often and she actually has quite nice feet and extensions. 

Everyone else

I really didn't like the new ballet girl. My first thought was "that's the best they could do to replace Layla?" You know how you don't realise how good someone is until they're gone? Yeah, that. I mean, I knew Layla was good, but I didn't fully appreciate her fluidity and stage presence until now. Anyway, the new BG, Lily Howes, was just… awkward. Very jerky and abrupt; she was going from position to position without any transition between the two. She was also practically jumping into the attitude positions in the Hannibal Ballet, and her attitude didn't match everyone else's (It almost looked like she was attempting an MG or ring…). Her arms were very awkwardly bent. The other weird thing was her face; it looked like she was trying really hard to act and not just smile, but that resulted in an almost constant duck face. Very odd. It also didn't look like any of her costumes fit. The hannibal bodice looked too low-cut and the hips far too wide (and long), and the leggings on her Masquerade costume were all wrinkled. Obviously that's not her fault, but it was noticeable, and didn't help my perception of her. Anyway, she's young and new, and I hope she'll get the hang of it soon. Zoe Arshamian, a ballet girl who has been around for a year but was always kind of in the background, has stepped into Layla's spot in Il Muto and part of Hannibal, which I was pleased with. Zoe's a nice, if not particularly interesting, dancer. But I did generally like the rest of the new ensemble. No one stuck out in a bad way, anyway. 

All in all, this was a good show, and I loved a majority of the new cast. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Lisa-Anne and the rest in the future, and hopefully seeing Celinde Schoenmaker and some other understudies in the future. 

Sleeping Beauty at the National Ballet of Canada

Sleeping Beauty

National Ballet of Canada

Unfortunately, National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty has closed at this point, but I thought it was worth reviewing anyway. It was quite different from anything I've ever seen before, so it's an interesting challenge to write about. I attended the matinee on Saturday, June 20th (the second to last performance), and the cast included Svetlana Lunkina as Princess Aurora and Francesco Gabriele Frola as Prince Florimund. I had a bit of a challenge identifying who was playing who (i.e. aside from the third variation, I have no idea who was playing the fairies) as I missed the announcement of who was filling in for who, so apologies if I misidentify anyone.

Svetlana Lunkina and Francisco Gabriele Frola
(Ross Petty on Twitter)

The production itself was alright. It felt a bit dated and dry at some point; you can certainly tell it is a classical ballet choreographed many years ago (this particular choreography was first performed at National Ballet in the 1970s). There was very much a stop-and-start feel to it - there would be a short dance, then bows, then another dance, bows - wash, rinse, repeat. The story of sleeping beauty itself is beautiful, but in this case, it seems more like a loose plot line used to explain why people are where they are. Essentially, the story was an excuse to have certain pieces of choreography set in certain places with certain emotions. The best dancing and choreography was in the third act, by which point most pre tense of a storyline had been abandoned. 

The performances of the lead dancers, Lunkina and Frola, were alright. It's somewhat forgivable that they weren't perfect as they had little time to learn the role together (Lunkina was a last-minute replacement for injured Elena Lobsanova). Lunkina's technique is divine, she never faltered, her turns, jumps, etc. were on point - I'd expect nothing less from a Russian trained dancer (Bolshoi, nonetheless).  The partnering with Frola felt somewhat awkward; en pointe, she was a good few inches taller than him, and their extensions didn't match very well. But it was nice enough. Frola doesn't have quite the finesse or feet of Guillaume Cote. The emotional execution wasn't there - he was just trying to get through the choreography. He was a nervous turner (though his third-act turns were more secure), but his jumps were exquisite. Such amazing height, beautiful flexibility, and he really covered the stage with his jumps. At one point, he actually ran out of stage. Frola definitely has a lot of potential; he just needs a bit more confidence in his abilities, and to really start performing his parts. 

Artists of the Ballet (national ballet website)

A few other performers I'd like to mention are Meghan Pugh and Christopher Stalzer, who danced the Pussycats. That PDD was charming, entertaining, and just fun to watch. A very cute duo who worked well together. I also thought the Corps were much stronger than I'd seen them in the past; one particular dancer (who is shorter than everyone else) is still very weak (low jumps, a beat behind everyone else) is still in there and still draws attention for the wrong reasons, but the rest of the dancers were beautifully in synch (I loved the scene with the Naiads). 

Emma Hawes
(ballet.co.uk)

A review of Sleeping Beauty would be incomplete without mentioning the gorgeous Emma Hawes. I had seen all the attention she was getting in the Nutcracker, and thought she couldn't possibly be that good. I was wrong. I was so, so wrong. Hawes - in this performance, dancing the Third Fairy Variation and Princess Florine - is absolutely exquisite. I'd say a promotion to second soloist wasn't quite enough - I'd happily see her dance principle parts. Her technique is rock solid - pirouettes and balances were all held to their absolute limit (and then some), stunning extensions, beautiful flexibility - this girl has it all. She brought charm and entertainment to both of her parts, and was simply a joy to watch.

Another thing I'd like to mention is the costumes! Some were absolutely stunning - bluebird/Florine, the third fairy (orange), and the Lilac Fairy in particular. But others seemed very worn out and faded, and in need of updating. It became very easy to confuse characters because everyone's costumes looked exactly the same. Not the most creative costume design I've ever seen. Nevertheless, it served its purpose. 

So, not the best production National Ballet had ever put on, but I did enjoy it very much and it is a classic worth seeing. 

The Phantom of the Opera (June 5th, 2015)

The Phantom of the Opera

June 5th, 2015

(otherwise known as the day I became a dinosaur)

What a wonderful show! It was one of those that was so good that by the end, you forget the beginning. When you think something can't possibly get better, it goes and does. Especially Lisa-Anne (don't get me started on her. I'm writing a soliloquy below), but in general, everyone was just on today. They all looked exhausted at CC, and rightly so. It was quite the performance.

Lisa-Anne Wood

(Tumblr)

I am not ready to say goodbye to her Christine! I can't cry on my birthday (superstitions :P) but I got teary watching her Wishing because she's just such a wonderful Christine, and I want to see her another 10 times! 4 just wasn't enough. I guess I wasn't as grateful for the many times I saw my other favourite Christine until now. Oh well. Hopefully she'll come back in the next few years; she definitely deserves to be principal Christine. And now; you've seen the Olivia-Soliloquy, you've seen the Layla-Meg-Soliloquy, and now it's time for…. The Lisa-Anne-Soliloquy! (Otherwise called the LAWstine-Soliloquy. Take your pick). I've tried to organise it by scene, but forgive me if it gets a bit messy or repetitive at times. It's hard to cram an entire show (and an incredibly detailed portrayal of a character that I always thought I knew back to front) into a few paragraphs.

Disclaimer: Some of Lisa-Anne's stuff is really hard to write about because it's just so detailed and so right. It just works, and it's hard to explain why. You need to see it to understand it. So forgive my poor descriptions; I'm definitely not doing Lisa-Anne's performance justice. 

I usually ignore Christine in Hannibal (because ballet), but I liked watching Lisa-Anne as I think she's got a decent amount of ballet training, so it doesn't look like she's trying to fake being a dancer (Christine can't be a sucky dancer. She just can't. Why would she be in the ballet chorus if she was?). There was a really cute moment where Christine came back on stage after missing a good deal of the dance and looked so confident in what she was doing… until she noticed Meg doing something different, realised she was wrong, and then got very confused. I liked that she stayed looking somewhat uncomfortable for the whole dance. Beautiful Think of Me; voice, acting, the right look - Lisa-Anne just has it all, and you can see it right off the bat. A very shy, unconfident start to the song, but huge amounts of growth and confidence built throughout the song. I loved that she doesn't just smile her way through it; you can see Christine's joy and she realises how wonderful she's doing. It's really lovely and joyful to watch.

Angel of Music is another song I usually ignore because of the Degas ballet happening in the background, but I do (obviously) like Lisa-Anne, so I swapped between the two rather than just watching the ballet. I'm not going to comment on Meg (see below… if you dare), so I'll just say that I thought Lisa-Anne did her best to establish the Meg/Christine relationship, though I don't think it came across very well (coughnotlisaannesfaultcough). Anyway, it was fine. Lisa-Anne has a beautiful voice and sensitive, thoughtful acting. Admittedly, I remember nothing of the Raoul/Christine Little Lotte scene. Sorry. But I can tell you that Lisa-Anne was probably wonderful; she is in everything else. Onto the Angel of Music with the Phantom; this is where I have my one nit-picky issue with Lisa-Anne. Is she hypnotised? Does she willingly go with the Phantom? If so, why? Curiosity? Don't get me wrong, she sung beautifully and the acting was nice - I just couldn't tell why she was doing what she was doing. I always think there needs to be a reason why Christine follows the Phantom into the mirror, so I'd just like to see that made a little more clear. But the other thing in the Mirror Scene - this is where I always think how much she just looks like the quintessential Christine.

(Tumblr)

Is it horrible that I can tell exactly who all of the doubles in the title song are? I think I've seen this cast too many times. Oh well. Anyway, Lisa-Anne. Great (read: not fake-looking) lip synching, interesting acting. I like that she's not too keen on being dragged around by the Phantom and resists quite a bit - she definitely doesn't seem to be in a trance like some others are, and I think her way is more interesting to watch because you wonder what's going through Christine's mind at the time. Anyway, Music of the Night. Loved. This. Seriously. Subtle acting; not trance-like in that she's definitely aware of her surroundings and what's going on. She doesn't overdo the wide-eyed thing that some Christine's do; it's just more realistic, if that makes sense. It doesn't feel contrived or over/underdone. She's really taking in what the Phantom's saying and responding to it. I loved it. This is one of those where you just need to see it to understand what I mean. There's something just very right about it. It works, but I can't really explain why.

I really don't like the new (well, I guess it's not new anymore, but still) directing in Il Muto. Olivia Brereton was the last person with the old direction (the really out there, humorous, almost obnoxious Serafimo) that I liked, so I don't want to blame Lisa-Anne for this one. But she did what she did well; I liked how she seemed rather afraid of Carlotta (so it's even better to see her standing up to Carlotta in Act 2). Not a whole lot to say about All I Ask of You; it was really good and I love all the emotion (fear -> apprehension -> calm) Lisa-Anne puts across. Gorgeous voice, interesting acting… yep! Everything's just there.

Masquerade is always nice to watch (until the mean Phantom ruins it); it's so cheerful. In all honesty, I usually watch the dancing rather than Christine/Raoul during Masquerade so I didn't catch a lot. But I love how Lisa-Anne's Christine really seems to be enjoying it; Christine has clearly relaxed into life since the Phantom disappeared and is calm, happy, and just having a fun time with Raoul at the party. So yeah, not too much to say, but fun to watch.

Another wow moment was Notes II/Twisted Every Way. I'm definitely getting really repetitive here, but I loved the emotion - she doesn't just pick one; there's a range (anger, fear, a bit of annoyance too) all happening at once. It's difficult to pick apart and I can understand that it might be a bit confusing if you haven't seen the show before (sometimes the more simplistic portrayals are easier to comprehend), but I'm all for detail and depth, and that's exactly what Lisa-Anne brings to this and every scene. My favourite part in this scene is when everyone is gathering around Christine right before "I'm sorry, I can't!", she was turning this way and that, clutching the front of her dress like she couldn't breath - you could literally see her getting more and more distressed. In the rehearsal that follows, you can tell she so does not want to be there - she looks as if she's about to have a breakdown any moment - which makes the lead-in to Wishing much more powerful.

(tumblr)

Lisa-Anne's performance of 'Wishing' was beyond perfect. Eons beyond it. There was just so much detail and thought put into it. I loved that through the song, you could see Christine's thought process and how her emotions develop. She wasn't just singing it; she was living it, and because of that, 'Wishing' was more powerful than I've ever seen before. This is a song where you don't typically see too much variance in blocking, and it's very hard to make it unique and not seem fake. Lisa-Anne's version is so fresh, detailed, and real (visceral is my favourite word for it). I loved it. I'm trying and failing to think of just one moment that stood out because it was all so good. But I think a good example of how detailed she made this song is the bit right before "too many years, fighting back tears";  the whole part leading up to that you can just see everything on her face - the sorrow at her father's death, how much she loved him, and the anxiety that's been built up around the events with the Phantom. None of it feels fake, and it makes the "too many years etc. etc." seem more real rather than staged. Does that make any sense? 

I do love Lisa-Anne's Point of No Return. It's very unique. Sultry, but not overly so (if that makes any sense). She does do that annoying skirt grab I hate ("Disappears into silence *grab*, silence *grab*), but she at least forgoes it on the next line, so it's forgivable. I couldn't tell exactly, but I think she was going for a slightly unsure Christine at the beginning (a few scared-looking glances into the theatre). I think this was a nice way to start it out; it doesn't make sense if Christine is all in at once, because she and everyone else knows something is going to happen. Christine definitely does get into it though, and aside from a few moments, looks like she doesn't have a clue what's happened until she feels the mask under the cloak. And this is where it gets really good; Lisa-Anne's Christine really fights the Phantom -  she doesn't just let herself get dragged around. This makes you feel so much worse for her when she can't get away (evil managers). I mentioned it in my last review, but the way she reaches up to pull back the hood and later pull off the mask is so unexpected - it looks like she's about to embrace him and she doesn't make a big dramatic deal of either thing. I loved that, it just makes it so much more exciting and interesting. 

That Final Lair. Oh. My. God. Lisa-Anne's Christine has always been on the fierce and fiery side, but this was something else entirely. What's important here is that Lisa-Anne thoroughly develops this side of Christine through the show (in the altercation with Carlotta in Notes II, for example), so it's not as if all the ferocity and anger is coming out of nowhere. It's a realistic transition. One of the most powerful moments was when she leapt in front of Raoul to protect him from the Phantom; she didn't look afraid, she didn't look like she was doing it because it was the blocking - she looked angry! And she wrapped her arms around Raoul in the most protective way. It was extremely effective. I also like that under all the fire, her Christine does still have a sensitive side. She's definitely not one of those that was in love with the Phantom (yay for that), but at the end when she was giving him the ring back, she took a second to almost comfort him - it was really sweet, and wrapped up the relationship between those two characters nicely. 

Geronimo Rauch

(Phantom Website)

A nice performance from him. He always gives consistently solid, interesting performances though. I love the faked Piangi accent in PONR, and his Music of the Night is incredibly powerful. The voice is just so there; it sounds very effortless and strong. Some of the acting touches are nice; I like how in MOTN when he sings "possess you" he has sort of an invisible rope that he pulls forward, pulling Christine with him. It makes the song have a more hypnotic effect. So yeah, all in all, I like him a lot, there's just not much to say!

Liam Tamne
Not one of my favourites, but he was alright this show. Great volume in the singing, but I hate how he reacts to Christine. There's a part in All I Ask of You where Christine is having the little freak out and holding onto him, and he's just got his arms out to the sides like "What is this thing and why is she touching me." I think his Raoul is one that liked the pretty little opera star rather than the real person, so it's a bit difficult to watch. I prefer Raoul to be much more sympathetic and loving. The one good thing is that Lisa-Anne's Christine definitely doesn't need Raoul; she's quite fiercely independent in a way. Her protecting Raoul in the final lair is more of a "Stop, you're not going to hurt anyone else!" than a "I love him!" So there's that. Anyway, good voice, bad acting choices - but at least his acting was believable and consistent, even if it wasn't the choice I would've made for the character.

Alicia Beck

(tumblr)

You know when it's better to just shut your mouth and say nothing at all? That's probably what I should be doing right now. But I'm not going to! So… enjoy the snark. I hadn't seen Alicia's Meg in ages, so I'd forgotten just how… difficult it is. The singing is shrill, screechy, and off-key a good deal of the time. Her acting is overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time - the ridiculous, bug-eyed faces, the constant biting air (I don't even know how to describe it, but whenever she dances, she basically looks like she's eating an invisible cookie - it's bizarre). My companion for the evening described her as wooden, which I think is fair. It's so obvious that she's trying to put on a big performance, which just doesn't work. Also, she fell out of the pirouettes through the hoops in Il Muto, which happened last time I saw her too. So… yeah, disappointing. I could've done without Meg in this show at all.

Miscellaneous 

(Phantom Program)

Another show with a full set of Ballet Girls (minus the swing). It is really interesting to see how it looks when everyone's on. In Masquerade, with all of them on, there's so much going on at once that it's hard to watch anyone. I do like the Ballet Girl Daisy Hulbert though (Blonde ballet girl, Triton Girl in Masquerade); gorgeous, effortless high kicks, beautiful developpes and penches, and some nice, realistic acting going on. And, as always, Layla Harrison is absolutely stunning. Beautiful dancing, beautiful emotion, nailing the pirouettes in Il Muto - can't wait to see her as Meg later! I'm so sad she's leaving - though I know she's off to do amazing things, it's really unfortunate as the show won't be the same without her - the BGs need someone with that grace and elegance in the front of everything.

The Phantom of the Opera (May 22nd and 23rd, 2015)

The Phantom of the Opera

May 22nd and 23rd, 2015

May 23 Eve Cast

Some brief reviews of the Friday, May 22nd evening show, and both shows on Saturday, May 23rd. Principle casts varied each show, but I've posted photos of each cast board and I'll briefly review the main cast members, as well as those that stood out to me. Little reminder that I write things as I see them; that is, how a performance comes across to me on stage. 

Harriet Jones

I can't believe she's leaving! It feels like just a few weeks ago that I met her before I'd ever actually seen her performance (most awkward moment ever - what do I say? "Hi! Nice to meet you. I really hope you're good!"). It's so weird that she'll be gone...

Harriet Jones
(Tumblr)

I think I've reviewed Harriet around 12-14 times by this point and nothing's really changed recently, so I'll just keep it brief to a few things I liked (well, I liked the whole performance. So it's more a few things that stood out to me). As always, her Think of Me was so joyful and enjoyable to watch. She just lights up the stage in that song. She's a lot more cheerful in Masquerade when she used to be; she appears to be going for a much more exuberant approach than in the past, which works really well. It makes you feel bad for Christine when things come crashing down ("But she was so happy!!" :( ). I also really love her acting in MOTN - it's not exactly hypnotic, but it's natural and not forced. I maintain that she is the only one who can do that ridiculous trip with the mask without it looking fake. I also really enjoy her "Twisted Every Way"; it's a scene she's always been good at, but it's gotten a lot more emotional and 'real' in recent shows. 

The more recent development I've seen from Harriet is she's gotten a lot fiercer and more passionate in the Final Lair, which I absolutely adore. It helps to create the notion that Christine has developed from the cheerful little girl in Think of Me to the woman who has been through a hell of a lot in a very short period of time. In the Final Lair, Harriet creates a multidimensional character that is more than just angry or sad. It's sort of hard to describe, but it's very effective at making you feel for Christine's predicament. 

My one issue has always been and continues to be her "Wishing". Maybe it's tiredness by that point in the show, but it always feels lacklustre and just missing something. The fake crying is very contrived (though less so recently), and vocally it's just not as strong as everything else (which is so strange because with Harriet, her voice is 100% consistent - except in Wishing). So yeah, that's the only thing I really miss from her. But to be fair I think Wishing is the hardest song to do and there's only 2 out of 12 Christine's who I felt have pulled it off perfectly. 

Harriet Jones and Layla Harrison
(Tumblr)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Harriet and Layla Harrison as Meg are just WOW. The way they interact - Harriet reaching for Layla's hand all the time, the way they respond to each other - is very unique. Harriet's one of very few Christine's that really makes that friendship between Christine and Meg palpable. Of course, Layla helps a lot by being such a likeable, interesting Meg, but Harriet more than does her part in establishing their friendship as an important part of Christine's character. 

So… that's Harriet! I'll see her twice again in June and twice on Cast Change day (September 5th, peeps! Not too long!), which'll mean I've seen her Christine a whopping 21.5 times! Even if she's not my all time favourite, Harriet's consistently given enjoyable, thoughtful performances, and the show will miss her a lot. 

Geronimo Rauch 

I hadn't had Geronimo on in a while, so it was nice to see him again. He's got an incredible voice and some lovely nuances in the acting (MOTN is where this is most obvious; it's just the acting, voice, and movement coming together. The Final Lair is another good one for him). Vocally, I love how he sings "SING! Sing for ME!" It's very passionate rather than whiny, as some others come across. I love how he imitates Piangi's accent at the beginning of PONR, though I think he could probably do it for more than just the first line. I don't really have a lot to say about his performance, but it was solid and enjoyable. 

Lisa-Anne Wood

Lisa-Anne Wood
(Pinterest)

I completely adore Lisa-Anne's Christine. It is, without a doubt, one of the absolute best Christines out there and certainly one of my favourites. There's something almost reckless about her performance, which makes it feel so fresh and exciting. It's very unique as well; she goes from a very innocent, child-like, naive Christine (in the best possible way - I usually can't stand that style of Christine, but she executes it very well) to what I want to call a worldly Christine, but that doesn't seem right. It's more mature, more confident, and fiercer. The growth and character development that Lisa-Anne does is so palpable and makes her performance interesting and captivating. The three times I've seen her, she's given consistent, enjoyable, emotional performances. 

I think my favourite moment of hers had to be the end of Point of No Return. Holy bananas I have never been so shocked and surprised before. I know this show back to front, and yet somehow Lisa-Anne still managed to surprise me. First of all, her PONR really shows how far her Christine has come as a performer; she's quite sweet and demure in Think of Me, and then PONR is extremely sultry (more so than any other Christine I've seen). But it doesn't come out of nowhere; you can see how Christine's character development would have led her to be a stronger performer. But anyway, onto my favourite moment; basically instead of just ripping the mask off him very obviously like literally everyone else does (you can see it coming from a mile away), she reaches up to the Phantom as if she's about to kiss him (basically giving him a hug; his arms are around her waist, etc.)…. then BAM mask off, cue panic. It was completely unexpected; for a second I thought the blocking might've been changed (it happens) but nope, this is totally unique to Lisa-Anne and it's AWESOME. Ahem. Getting a bit carried away with myself here, but it was just so darn good and I could've watched it dozens of times over. It's such a small detail and there was so much more to her performance than that moment, but that was definitely my highlight.

Lisa-Anne Wood
(Operafantomet Tumblr)

There's so many other things I loved about Lisa-Anne's performance, so it's difficult to narrow it down to fit in this review. But I'll mention a few more highlights. Sort of off topic, but she looks exactly like I've always pictured Christine. I get that they're playing with wig colours/styles to suit the different actresses, but to me, the quintessential Christine is small, dark haired - basically looks exactly like Lisa-Anne (I'm wondering if that might be because that's what the first Christine I saw looked like - I think it was Deborah Dutcher). So that's nice. Her voice also suits Christine really nicely; it's not too overtly operatic, which I prefer and I think it sounds more real. She also puts lots of emotion into her voice. I also love that her acting is amazing; she's so expressive and interesting, but she never goes overboard. It's vibrant without being ridiculous - it's believable, essentially. She makes you see Christine as a real person rather than a character, so it's easier to sympathise with her and actually care about the outcome. Her TOM was bright and cheerful; she started out quite muted and tentative, and there was lots of growth through the song. Lisa-Anne's "Wishing" is absolutely gorgeous; she's one of only two Christines I can tolerate in that song (I've weirdly never been a fan of Wishing; most Christines are carbon copies of each other so it gets dull. Lisa-Anne and Olivia Brereton both make it very fresh, raw, and visceral. It doesn't feel like they're faking the emotion). I also loved how Lisa-Anne's Christine interacted with Meg. She's more of a Harriet-type in that she actually pays attention to and responds to Meg. I've seen her with three different Megs, and she interacts very nicely with all of them, though the best was Layla Harrison. I also thought she did a good job with Liam Tamne's Raoul (whom I find very… difficult to tolerate); she doesn't act absurdly in love or all over him all the time - she's independent and doesn't necessarily need him, but they still love each other. Does that make any sense? I could probably go on for a lot longer about her (I'll probably do a longer, more detailed review of her in June), but the last thing that really stuck out for me was the final lair. Raw and real. It was nice to see Christine standing up for herself and not taking any of the Phantom's crap. You could tell she was scared, but also fed up of all that was going on. It was very powerful.

Overall, Lisa-Anne's Christine is astounding. There was nothing that stuck out to me that I didn't like  (Shock! Horror! What's wrong with me?!); I think Lisa-Anne is about as close to a perfect Christine as you can get. The acting, singing, dancing, etc. is all there - she's everything anyone could want in a Christine. I do hope one day to see her as at least alternate, preferably principle Christine. She's truly extraordinary in the part.

Kieran Brown

Kieran Brown and Lisa-Anne Wood
(Tumblr)

I was pleasantly surprised to have Kieran on! It wasn't actually on the cast board and Geronimo had been on just a few hours before, so when I heard the voice, I knew it wasn't Geronimo. Scott, maybe? It kind of looked like Scott. It took me about halfway through the title song to clue in who it had to be. Apparently Kieran went on very last second, and he did a wonderful job considering that. 

His acting was really good; I missed a bit of a lack of a developed character (I couldn't really tell what kind of phantom he was going for, it was jumping around a bit all over the place), but overall it was the highlight of his performance. He did seem to copy Geronimo's nuances a bit (i.e. choking Christine at "You try my patience!"), but that's fine. I loved how his MOTN was very emotional and involved, and the final lair was something. There was a bit of a mishap (the candle didn't spark), but he handled it well. My one issue was his voice; it seemed particularly weak during MOTN (the 'night' at the end especially), but I can't say whether that is because he wasn't prepared to go on (i.e. didn't have enough time to properly warm up) or if that's a regular occurrence. All in all, though, I did enjoy his Phantom and I'd be very happy to see it again (when I don't spend the first half of his time onstage trying to figure out who he is!). 

Layla Harrison

Layla Harrison
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What is there left to say about the incredible Layla Harrison? First things first, there is no better Meg. I've seen 10+ in the 49 times (?!) I've seen Phantom and no one has come anywhere near to her in acting, singing, or dancing. A true triple threat who puts her heart into each and every performance, and the result is a Meg that is likeable, intelligent, and important (it's so easy for Meg to fade into the background, so that Layla can make her a key character is noteworthy). I'll just pick a few scenes or moments to discuss, as if I didn't limit myself to the four scenes I have, I could easily write a couple thousand words on her performance. 

Angel of Music is the scene in which Layla first stood out to me as a unique Meg. This was where I first thought, more than two years ago, "Wow… that Meg can sing!" And that holds true today. She's got a gorgeous voice, even when under the weather. It's pure, sweet, and crystal clear. She's also good at using her voice to express complex emotions - there are so many layers to the way that she sings what she sings, which makes the character and whomever she's performing opposite far more interesting. But singing aside, Layla's acting is gorgeous here - she doesn't entirely abandon Meg's more bossy personality, but she demonstrates a side of Meg that is very caring and concerned towards Christine, and establishes the close bond between the two characters. It's a really beautiful scene to watch when Layla's involved (especially if Harriet Jones is on as well). 

Notes has to be my favourite scene of Layla's, simply because without her, it's dull and uninteresting. I think it says a lot if one performer can completely change the tone of a scene that incorporates six other people. Layla's Meg is involved in what's going on around her; she's curious and intelligent, trying to decipher the Phantom's notes, trying to work around her mother's orders, etc. She keeps it very interesting. Moreover, Layla's the only Meg to date I've seen that I can actually hear singing in Notes. Most Megs' voices are just not strong enough to be heard over the other, more powerful voices. Layla easily holds her own, and you can hear and understand 98% of what she sings. This is also where her acting abilities shine the most; she just makes the scene so interesting! You can't take your eyes off of Meg, wondering what she's up to, wishing the other characters would just listen to her because she definitely has something to contribute - it's amazing and so entertaining to watch.

Layla Harrison
(Program Scan)

The Il Muto ballet is one of my favourite parts of the show (I'm a ballet nerd, sue me. At this point, I could probably dance the whole thing with very few problems - you know, aside from the whole pointe thing. I'm working on it), and it's so exciting to see Layla dancing the featured part! She's a remarkable dancer that really expresses the music. Her technique is nearly flawless (I've never seen her falter on the pirouettes through the hoops and her arabesques are lovely), but the expression is what really shines. She extends every movement up til the last possible second and really feels and moves with the music. It's gorgeous to watch. 

Meg doesn't show up too much in Act 2 (just Masquerade, Don Juan, and at the very end) but Layla continues to make sure Meg's presence is felt. I love how her Meg looks over at Christine and Raoul during Masquerade and looks so happy - in an almost smug way, like "I knew it!" - for them - a stark contrast to Mme Giry's concern. Her interactions with Christine during the Rehearsal are so sweet; reaching out a hand, making sure Christine's ok, and clearly seeing she's not. It's very sweet. And of course the final lair; what better way to end the show than with the most wonderful Meg? It's believable that her Meg would've snuck down to the lair because her portrayal is of Meg as intelligent and stubborn. Therefore, you don't get a sense of "What the heck is she doing down here?". It's fabulous.

Layla Harrison
(Operafantomet Tumblr)

A couple misc. notes: I love how smug Layla-Meg looks when the managers are talking about what a promising dancer she is. It's adorable. The little interactions between Reyer and Meg during Christine's Think of Me are so cute; they're looking at each other, Meg's sneaking peeks at the score - there's so much to it and it changes every time. It's so cute, and I could probably watch that for the rest of the act if I had to. The last big thing I love is how much time and effort Layla spends establishing the relationship with Christine; she's very successful at establishing a close relationship, which no other Meg I've seen has successfully done (or in some cases even tried to do). Meg may be a bit bossy and smug, but she's not entirely full of herself and she does have the capacity to care about her best friend, which Layla really succeeds at putting across. Very well done.

Though all three shows were entertaining and enjoyable, the highlight for sure was Layla Harrison's Meg. It's a privilege to witness such a thoughtful, thorough portrayal of a character that is usually lifeless. There is truly no better Meg!

General

May 22 Eve Cast

This might've been the most ballet girls I've ever had on in one show (only Alicia Beck was missing); it was cool to see how it looks when there's that many people. With a full cast, it is very clear that London's choreography/staging is executed much more effectively than Broadway's (Broadway is just a sloppy, overcrowded mess in the big crowd scenes). Anyway, it was a great show. I'm still really not fond of John Ellis' Piangi (very thin, reedy voice, and he doesn't do anything with the character other than read the lines how they're written. It's too predictable). Loved having Lara Martins on for Carlotta again; she's so sassy and fiery, which is really entertaining. I also adore Tim Laurenti's Andre; he's so funny and 'out-there', in total contrast to the Firmin he was playing opposite. You get the sense that Andre's a bit 'out of it', but it's funny nonetheless. No one tops his costume reveal in Masquerade or his introduction to the Il Muto Ballet; I laugh so much when he's on!

I'm back at Phantom June 5th and 6th, so I'll be doing more extensive reviews of Lisa-Anne Wood, Harriet Jones, and Layla Harrison. So stay tuned for that!