Disclaimer: I LOVE Phantom and I always will.
I saw the matinee of Phantom on Saturday. This is my 13th time seeing the show since 1998! The production is in great shape, but Ben Crawford and Jay Armstrong Johnson are two of the weakest leads I've ever seen in the show. Kaley Ann Voorhees, by contrast, was outstanding as Christine and she outshone her co-stars in a big way. The managers, Carlotta and Piangi were also great.
I know that BC and JAJ recently joined the cast, but it feels like they have no idea who the characters are. BC was palatable, but JAJ was just awful. There was no chemistry between him and Kaley. I didn't buy the fact that Raoul had affections for Christine at all. There was no desperation when Christine disappear through the mirror. Does he even care about her? He LOVES her. His "obsession" mirrors that of the Phantom's affection for Christine. His performance left me frustrated. His voice had no "operatic" luster and absolutely no strength either. He was GREAT in "On the Town" - but this is a serious miscasting and the show suffers. It baffles me that he was "the best" when they recast the role... Oh well. I'll let it go!
Ben Crawford was OK... but his voice was inconsistent and he couldn't sustain the long notes in "Music of the Night." He is definitely still exploring the character finding his way. He accidentally revealed the deformity when Christine rips off the mask when he's supposed to keep his face upstage AND covered by his hand. However, he didn't seem to care when the mask got ripped off, There was none of that frantic humiliation, shame and embarrassment that previous Phantoms conveyed. I think part of it was that I just didn't like his voice as far as voices ago. It's hard to compare to Hugh Panaro and James Barbour who are gold standard Phantoms.
I saw it almost a year ago to date with James Barbour, Alie Ewoldt and Rodney Ingram. A SOLID casting and I left ecstatic... this was a disappointing viewing to say the least.
One plus is that James Caddick was conducting! He electrifies the orchestra whenever he's there and this was no exception! He seemed to be very gracious when the audience clapped following the exit music. |
