A Review

The Music of the Night

By R. J. Donovan

Andrew Lloyd Webber's "The Phantom of the Opera" has been with us non-stop for almost twenty years. At that rate, one might expect a touring production of the show to be a little threadbare. Happily, the opposite is true.

The version of "Phantom" at The Opera House thorough June 4 is as slick and as tight and as polished as the original -- whether you're talking London or New York.

Based on Gaston Leroux's novella about a mysterious and murderous figure who lurks in the shadows of the Paris Opera House, "Phantom" is lush from its first note to its last.

As the story goes, the disfigured but musically gifted Phantom longs for the virginal Christine Daee, Opera company chorus girl. He mysteriously nurtures her career and plots to have her star in an opera he has written. Disaster comes to anyone who dares step in his way.

Christine is unsettled by his presence but not fearful. She questions if he is an angel come to guide her musical journey.

Seeing the stage version again underscores how lacking the recent film treatment was. The real thrust of the Phantom's mystique comes from his supernatural powers --shooting flames through the air, diminishing a diva's voice to a croak, vanishing in a cloud of smoke, and sending the now-famous chandelier crashing to the stage floor with a verbal command. The film version took all that away from him, making him more human, and ruining the aura of mystery in the process.

That said, all the special effects are intact here, along with some very nice performances from D. C. Anderson and David Cryer as owners of the Opera House, Patti Davidson-Gorbea as the dark Madame Ghiry, and John Whitney in a lively turn as Ubaldo Piangi.

Having seen the show many times from London to New York and on tour, I may have heard Phantom's sung a little better, but few have captured the emotional sense of frustration that Gary Mauer offers in the title role. He'll never get what he wants no matter how menacing he is, and that comes across with heart-breaking clarity.

As Christine Daee, Rebecca Pitcher hits all the right notes, but she rushes some of her songs. An odd situation since she's been playing the role for quite a while.

No matter. Under the watchful eye of Hal Prince, its original Tony Award-winning director, “The Phantom of the Opera” remains passionate and radiant. And that’s reason enough for applause.

"The Phantom of the Opera" is at The Opera Theatre, 539 Washington Street in Boston, through June 4. For information, call 617-931-2787.

Production Photo: Joan Marcus

-- OnStage Boston

04/07/05