One day, while enjoying coffee at Java’s, I was shocked to find an advertisement for a revival of “The Phantom of the Opera,” done by Cameron Mackintosh at Auditorium Theater. I had seen it performed in the Playhouse Square Theater in Cleveland, Ohio five years before and been under the assumption that I would be witnessing the final tour of the show. Thankfully, I was mistaken. After witnessing a fabulous revival of the cast, an ornate use of the stage and effects, and music that took me to a place beyond Earth itself, I was convinced that the modern production was just as powerful as the original.
“Phantom of the Opera” takes place in an opera house in Paris in 1881, where there lurks an opera ghost – a musical genius with a disfigurement that plagues half his face – who gives a young ballet dancer, Christine Daae, private voice lessons. When opera diva Carlotta threatens to quit the theater after strange happenings caused by the opera ghost, Christine gets a chance to audition for Carlotta’s role and successfully fulfills it. The Phantom takes Christine into his lair, doing so through a lagoon that can only be crossed by boat. The Phantom, or “the Angel of Music,” not only controls Christine through the power of his music but also influences her out of Christine’s father’s promise to his daughter that he would send her an angel of music. Christine’s love interest, Raoul, soon becomes a target of the Phantom’s wrath, since the Phantom wants to keep Christine to himself. The Phantom soon exercises considerable power over the entire theater. When he becomes displeased, terrible things occur – chandeliers crash and Buqet, a theater worker, hangs from the rafters. Eventually, Christine must choose between the gentle, caring Raoul and the passionate, gifted Phantom. The audience is thrown into a melodic and emotional torrent along the way.
I simply do not have room to describe every aspect of the production, which I adored. In terms of the Cooper Godin’s performance as the Phantom and Julia Udine’s performance as Christine, each were up against extremely high precedents set by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, members of the original cast. However, Grodin skillfully executed heated moments of enraged passion and tender, romantic moments, blending them together to make us believe that they were coming from the same individual. Udine reflected Christine’s internal battle, trying to choose a true lover, with mesmerizing compassion. Although giving commendable vocal performances in Act One, both Grodin and Udine conserved their vocal power throughout the show, not fully releasing it until the unraveling of the Phantom’s kidnapping of Christine during Act Two.
The stage was a complete masterpiece, from the theater owner’s ruby, plush office to the murky, foreboding lagoon that carried the audience into the Phantom’s lair. The execution of the musical balanced a lighthearted, jovial tone established by the theatre owner’s reactions to his own inability to control the theater with the deeply gothic feel of the Phantom’s lair and his relentless grasp on Christine’s heart.
Overall, I could not have asked for a more skillful and heartwrenching display of my all-time favorite musical. If you have some time to spare before finals, the show is going to be running through the 22-27th at the Auditorium Theater, tickets are available through Ticketmaster. The experience is worth every cent.
Kibler is a member of
the class of 2017.
