“The Phantom of the Opera” Happy 25th Anniversary
on Broadway at the Majestic Theater
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| Hugh Panaro |
Photo: Robert Mannis
Believe it! It has been twenty-five years since I saw the
Broadway production of “The Phantom of the Opera.” When the invitation came to
make a return visit to the show, I hesitated worrying …well, more on that
further down the page. My first encounter with the scarred and scary man behind
the mask came in 1943. I was five year old and by then a very sophisticated
movie fan.
That particular glossy Technicolor version starred Claude
Rains (as the Phantom) and Nelson Eddy, and though I later discovered it was a
mere shadow of the famous Gaston Leroux novel, still it was responsible for
giving me more than a few enduring nightmares.
That first traumatizing confrontation was to be rekindled later as an
adult and only shortly before the much-heralded opening of the Andrew Lloyd
Webber-Harold Prince musical version when I watched the absolutely terrifying
silent-screen version starring the “Man of a Thousand Faces” Lon Chaney on TCM.
So here I am reporting on how I was once again mesmerized by
the mystery and the menace of this horrific but also unabashedly romantic
story. I don’t know or really care how many Phantoms have played the role since
Michael Crawford originated the role in 1988 (that would be different story),
but I was more than pleased by the sensitively acted and beautifully sung
performance by Hugh Panaro as the bruised, vindictive but also impassioned
musician who seduced his beloved pupil Christine Daae (a wondrously sung and
finely acted performance by the beautiful Mary Michael Patterson.)
Congratulations are in order to the entire supporting company,
those on stage and off-stage for keeping the performance as fresh and vital as
if it had just opened. Keeping faith with the original direction by Harold Prince cannot
be easy after all these years. Sir Webber’s operatically conceived score has
also become so embedded in our consciousness that were once considered highfalutin
arias rings out like a series of pop hit tunes.
What cannot be understated is how much a grand stage
spectacle this is, providing as much of the thrills and chills as does the
eerie plot. As designed, draped and bedecked to a fare-thee-well by Maria
Bjornson (who also designed the sumptuous costumes), both the fragmented lights
and shadows world beneath the Paris Opera House and the glittering,
gilt-encrusted Belle Epoque world above are a dazzling mixture of menace and
magic.
After twenty five-years, the show looks and moves like a dream, all
fluid imagery and intoxicating atmosphere enhanced by the spectacular lighting
designed by Andrew Bridge.
A return visit may give you reason to understand the popularity of this
ambitious musical drama, and if you have never seen it you owe it to yourself to
experience the kind of musical theater that will probably never have its equal
in our time.
“The Phantom of the Opera”
Majestic Theater, 247 W. 44th
Street
For tickets ($27.00 - $132.00) call (212) 239 - 6200
