Not only has The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway won seven Tony Awards, including best musical, it’s also been the longest-running show to perform on Broadway. The Phantom of the Opera reveals the story of the Phantom and his obsession for one of the Paris Opera’s sopranos, Christine. The Phantom haunts the Paris Opera and proceeds to haunt the love of his life, Christine. Regardless of your knowledge on Broadway, musicals, or art inclination, The Phantom of the Opera is a must-watch classic in the artistic performance culture, showing a conglomeration of mystery, somberness, music, drama, and romance.
Le Fantôme de l’Opéra by Gaston Leroux, was a novel originally written in French at the beginning of the 20th century, which explains a lot about the dramatization of the plot line based on culture. The novel was inspired by historical events that occurred in the Paris Opera during the 19th century; the use of a former ballet dancer’s skeleton in an 1842 production of Der Freischütz. The novel then became a film in 1925, and finally was adapted into a play by Andrew Lloyd Webber that’s been now running for thirty-four years on Broadway. Understanding the play’s history is substantial to understanding its complexity.
I first watched the play in August of 2022, without any prior knowledge of the plot, history, or past performances on Broadway, and I can only say that the emotional impact of this play is of great dimension. The plotline of this play is the premise of its complexity. It’s hard to get a grip at first, but that’s one of the things that makes one pay special attention to detail. At the beginning of my spectator’s experience, I wasn’t a fan of Christine. Something about Emilie Kouatchou’s performance with the role of Christine didn’t click to me. Chrisitine was written to be innocent, naive and submissive. I didn’t like her character to begin with, very anti-feminist to my eyes, but once again, this is why we pay special attention to the timeline the play is based on. As a performer, Emilie was fantastic. She’s not only beautiful, with her has shimmering, captivating eyes, but her voice is soft and touching. Even so, it just didn’t click to me; her as Chrisitine. Her voice wasn’t Christine’s voice, and neither was she. The character of Christine finally started making sense to me when she sang with the Phantom for the first time, then it all made sense. Her trance in “The Music of the Night” was tingling, it vibrated throughout the entire theater, and I was finally able to see Christine as a woman and not a social construct. That scene was beyond powerful. Like that, there were many other very impactful scenes that carried a lot of weight on stage. The end of the play was the definition of “the Wow Effect”. Seeing Christine’s love story with Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, played by Greg Mills, made me think of Christine as the lead. I understood the Phantom of the Opera, from Christine’s point of view, as the portrayal of subconsciousness; of desire, of the forbidden, from her initial arousement by the Phantom in “The Music of the Night”, to “The Point of No Return”, in which she rejects her suppressed desires and chooses love. It didn’t hit me until the last scene, “Beyond the Lake”, that it was always about the Phantom; his love for Christine could even be questioned to be real, his intentions leading to his actions, and his whole character being a product of his nurture and environment; societal rejection turning him into the monster he was told to be, until he couldn’t bare it anymore. As an audience member, to watch that masquerade mask rising towards the white light as the music lowered, was sort of a magical feeling… It was the “Wow Effect”.
The Phantom’s performance, played by Ben Crawford was what made the play come to life, it gave it sense. The Phantom’s character is written to be mysterious, and have a horrendous physicality, yet be attractive in a very implicit way. It was his voice, and Crawford’s credibility in playing this role — which after so many years wouldn’t be surprising to have become a part of him — I believed him. He was the Phantom of the night, and there was something real about Crawford playing this role. It was greatly played, with an energy that did feel beyond the physical world. It was mysterious, chilling, uncanny, and it was definitely ghostly.
Before the play even began, the first thing I observed was the theater and scenic design, how elegant and sophisticated it was, how expensive even. The chandelier at the Majestic Theater and the golden borders were a delight to the eye. The scenic design, the lights, the smoke, and the special effects all together were one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed on stage. I was astonished. The way they recreated certain scenarios; the lake with the smoke and the lights, the bridges, and the usage of that chandelier and golden statue to add to the musical performance and plot was marvelous. Adding to the scenery were costumes and make-up, which made a beautiful representation of the luxury and presence of the French bourgeois in the 19th century. It was Maria Björnson who designed the set and costumes of the show. The picture of this play was truly memorable.
A classic that gives you the chills, with a plotline that leaves you uncertain, and gets you out of your five senses. The scenic design, costumes, music, storyline, actors, lighting and special effects put together in this show make it an unforgettable experience. And after that last scene when the lights begin to dim and the music keeps playing in the background, there is a special feeling inside of the spectator, and a resounding voice in the back of one’s head that goes “wow”.
