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newmoonstarEver since they aired the 25th Anniversary production of The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall on PBS, I've been on a huge Phantom kick, which has even extended to Love Never Dies. This week I actually went to see the films of both productions on the big screen at the movie theater (final encore showings! Thank heaven I found out in time!!) and so, obviously, I have some thoughts!
The Phantom of The Opera: 25th Anniversary Live at Royal Albert Hall is AMAZING. (And about darn time they finally filmed a stage version of it, too!) Even though $18 is way too expensive for a movie, I didn't care, there was no way I was gonna miss this! I was blown away with how great it was on TV, and up on a big screen in a darkened theater with surround sound just makes it even better! It's a larger than life show that needs larger than life presentation. Next best thing to being there. (And actually probably better, because we get close ups! The costumes, man! So luscious!) And when it comes to PotO, the bigger the orchestra, the better, IMO. Even the OLC recording feels a little small on things like "All I Ask of You" after being spoiled by the huge orchestra of the movie. I want to be swept off my feet! And I totally was here!
But considering I already love every song, and every part is my favorite part, the only thing that could dim the awesomeness would be bad casting. But happily here, the cast was all good! Sierra Boggess is a pretty and nicely voiced Christine, even if she had a bit of a 'deer in the headlights' expression on her face most of the evening! But she cried at the end, and I really feel strongly that Christine should cry. It doesn't feel like there's a resolution if she doesn't! (But here she did, so yay!) Hadley Fraser's Raoul was a bit peevish for my taste, but he's handsome enough and has a fine voice. (And they were really sweet in "All I Ask of You" and sounded wonderful, which is really all I ask of any version of PotO!) The supporting cast were all just right too. The real star of the whole thing though (and rightly so, after all!) is Ramin Karimloo. He made me cry the first time I saw it, and even the second time I still got a little misty. I love him, holy crap. I still think it's a little weird to have the Phantom sound younger than Raoul, but acting wise, Ramin is just IT. He plays the Phantom from the depths of his soul; he's so intense and sincere, and you can tell he's just heaving this performance out of his guts. And his eyes really do burn! When Christine sings "His eyes will find me there! Those eyes that burn!" on a cast album it's just another lyric, but when you see this production, you get why she's freaked out! That stare could bore into your soul. Lordy. I don't know how he manages to be both more crazy AND more human than other Phantoms I've seen/heard, but he does. And I love how he reacts when Christine speaks so that you really see the Phantom thinking, like he's processing concepts that he never thought of before and being like "what?? how could I have got this wrong?" It makes it feel fresh and new, which is really something considering how long I've been devoted to the Original London Cast, and the movie. Everyone else in the cast was great too, (and a special shout-out for the managers, since Firmin and Andre are such thankless roles, and it really raises the tone of the whole thing when they're done well!) but I kind of can't get over Ramin. He's just heartbreaking, and even though he's too darn young (shouldn't he still be playing Raoul? He needs about ten years before he'll be the perfect Phantom) I'm really glad that this is the stage Phantom we get to keep forever.
To be continued in the next entry with thoughts on both productions of Love Never Dies!
The Phantom of The Opera: 25th Anniversary Live at Royal Albert Hall is AMAZING. (And about darn time they finally filmed a stage version of it, too!) Even though $18 is way too expensive for a movie, I didn't care, there was no way I was gonna miss this! I was blown away with how great it was on TV, and up on a big screen in a darkened theater with surround sound just makes it even better! It's a larger than life show that needs larger than life presentation. Next best thing to being there. (And actually probably better, because we get close ups! The costumes, man! So luscious!) And when it comes to PotO, the bigger the orchestra, the better, IMO. Even the OLC recording feels a little small on things like "All I Ask of You" after being spoiled by the huge orchestra of the movie. I want to be swept off my feet! And I totally was here!
But considering I already love every song, and every part is my favorite part, the only thing that could dim the awesomeness would be bad casting. But happily here, the cast was all good! Sierra Boggess is a pretty and nicely voiced Christine, even if she had a bit of a 'deer in the headlights' expression on her face most of the evening! But she cried at the end, and I really feel strongly that Christine should cry. It doesn't feel like there's a resolution if she doesn't! (But here she did, so yay!) Hadley Fraser's Raoul was a bit peevish for my taste, but he's handsome enough and has a fine voice. (And they were really sweet in "All I Ask of You" and sounded wonderful, which is really all I ask of any version of PotO!) The supporting cast were all just right too. The real star of the whole thing though (and rightly so, after all!) is Ramin Karimloo. He made me cry the first time I saw it, and even the second time I still got a little misty. I love him, holy crap. I still think it's a little weird to have the Phantom sound younger than Raoul, but acting wise, Ramin is just IT. He plays the Phantom from the depths of his soul; he's so intense and sincere, and you can tell he's just heaving this performance out of his guts. And his eyes really do burn! When Christine sings "His eyes will find me there! Those eyes that burn!" on a cast album it's just another lyric, but when you see this production, you get why she's freaked out! That stare could bore into your soul. Lordy. I don't know how he manages to be both more crazy AND more human than other Phantoms I've seen/heard, but he does. And I love how he reacts when Christine speaks so that you really see the Phantom thinking, like he's processing concepts that he never thought of before and being like "what?? how could I have got this wrong?" It makes it feel fresh and new, which is really something considering how long I've been devoted to the Original London Cast, and the movie. Everyone else in the cast was great too, (and a special shout-out for the managers, since Firmin and Andre are such thankless roles, and it really raises the tone of the whole thing when they're done well!) but I kind of can't get over Ramin. He's just heartbreaking, and even though he's too darn young (shouldn't he still be playing Raoul? He needs about ten years before he'll be the perfect Phantom) I'm really glad that this is the stage Phantom we get to keep forever.
To be continued in the next entry with thoughts on both productions of Love Never Dies!
