"The Phantom of the Opera" at the Majestic Theatre

“The Phantom of the Opera” Happy 25^th Anniversary on Broadway at the Majestic Theater

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. 44^th Street

For tickets ($27.00 - $132.00) call (212) 239 - 6200