I like it when technology is applied on things that I enjoy watching that doesn’t make the production look too fake nor too artificial. If there was an excellent way to utilize technology that would improve the overall presentation of a musical, then I’m all for it.
This is the amazement I felt the moment I watched the 25th Anniversary production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” with Sierra Boggess playing Christine Daae and Ramin Karimloo playing The Phantom. It served as an enhancer to how The Phantom was described as a prodigy when it comes to mazes and mirrors.
The Pit and the Mirrors
The pit in the Royal Albert Hall is actually on the second floor of the stage where The Phantom occasionally appears. The first floor was where the mirrors turned out to be projectors that showed snippets of the mask. The middle part then opens to show The Phantom on a boat ready to take Christine to her lessons.
The arrangement that the production ended up improving the musical. Smoke and mirrors are already a staple in these performances but when the mirrors double as giant computer screens that show The Phantom while writing a letter (the notes signed as “OG”), it adds an eerie quality consistent to the haunting concept here.
Besides, when presenting a musical that has been performed several times over in the past, the only thing left for you to tweak are the visuals. I have mentioned this on my previous reviews of La Traviata here and here. It’s theater after all. So while voice quality and orchestral musicality come into the fore, visuals should never be compromised. No wonder I see myself going to Royal Albert Hall myself the moment I get the opportunity.
Our Era’s Christine
I can’t say that I belonged to the era when Sarah Brightman gave life to the character of Christine Daae. It was only after college that my interest in musicals sparked anew. And when I have immersed in it these past few months, it’s Sierra Boggess that I already watched as Christine. So the only Christines I knew were Brightman and Boggess.
So it is brave of me to say that Sierra is our era’s Christine – the name that immediately comes to mind whenever The Phantom’s Angel of Music comes into mind. I can’t think of anything else not that I am looking for it. You can suggest a few more names to me perhaps but I personally I have yet to witness someone better. I hope to watch her eventually in person soon.
OG
Everyone knew that the scare tactics are just mostly smoke and mirrors but the timing it takes to make them effective is just as important. Otherwise, the mirrors that showed The Phantom’s mask and the walls that reverberated his voice would not work.
This is a horror musical after all. There is song and dance but there is also The Phantom whose main purpose other than to sing and seduce Christine is to scare everyone too including Raoul (played by Hadley Fraser) even if he claims that he is not scared. A Phantom that fails to scare can be attributed to the production too.
This is not to downplay the acting/singing talent that Karimloo offered as The Phantom. Think of it as an effective alchemy of sheer human talent and advanced stagecraft technology. Both aspects meshed well in this production and all that is left for the audience to do is to enjoy the show.
And since this is an anniversary edition, at the end of the show, all the actors that played the role of The Phantom was present including the original Christine herself, Sarah Brightman. Broadway fans often forget that before Colm Wilkinson owned the role of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables, he once was The Phantom. Other notable actors present during the final part of the anniversary edition were Anthony Warlow, John Owen-Jones and Peter Joback. In case you would like to have a copy to add to your collection, it’s available on Amazon.
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