| A re-visit to Phantom of the Opera: now that it's 2023, can Christine choose None of the Above? (spoilers, long) | |
| Last Edit: mikem 10:45 am EDT 04/07/23 | |
| Posted by: mikem 10:42 am EDT 04/07/23 | |
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| I saw Phantom for a last time after I was able to get a single seat at a reasonable price at the last minute. I have only seen the show twice before, once many years ago on Broadway, and once in the Las Vegas version. I frankly have not thought about the show much in at least a decade, so I don't know if my concerns are related to the current cast or to the show in general. Or to how the world is in 2023 compared to the late 1980s when the show was written. The chandelier comes down faster than I remember it -- I don't know if my memory is off or if it got permission to be faster at some point. Its descent seemed unnaturally slow last time. I had major problems with the central love triangle. Ben Crawford, the current Phantom, plays him like he is completely deranged from his first appearance. He is not seductive or charming; he is a crazed stalker killer. It is no surprise that Christine is not going to reciprocate his romantic feelings and choose him. I am guessing Crawford is pushing the crazy more than some other Phantoms would, but I think the fundamentals for that interpretation are there - the bridal mannequin is very early, and that is completely off. I also wonder how much my current thoughts are from how the action comes across in 2023: the Phantom is that relentlessly pushy guy who isn’t listening to the woman saying she is not interested and won’t take no for an answer; she sees some good qualities in him and tries not to be a jerk about it but he just isn’t listening. He's the original Incel. So the story seems to be about a lunatic stalker who’s going around killing people more than some romantic dilemma for Christine. But Raoul is no prize through the 2023 lens, either, at least as played by Paul Adam Schaefer, who played the part at my performance. Again, I think he may be going more in one direction than other Raouls but the backbone is there. Raoul is a privileged prig who talks over Christine and is incredibly dismissive of her fears during the rooftop scene and at other points. He doesn't seem to think of her as an equal. I guess Christine is supposed to fall in love with him because he's handsome and rich because he's not given a lot of positive personal qualities (or much of a personality at all) in the book. Carlotta is played by Raquel Suarez Groen on a very human level rather than an outsize diva. Rather than being a comic nemesis, her concerns seem completely reasonable in 2023: she is the box office draw for a struggling opera company, and everyone agrees that she is great at what she does. But she is being forced out because an inexperienced newcomer has a powerful backer (or two powerful backers), and her male employers aren’t listening to a word she says about the dangers to her personally. Rather than trying to protect her, they are dismissive and only placate her so they can get the money flowing back in. When she says, “Until these things stop happening, this thing (pointing to herself) is not happening” and walks out, it’s supposed to come across as a diva moment. But in the era of quiet quitting, her actions seem completely appropriate. She is in an unsafe working environment, and her male managers refuse to acknowledge it. She’s completely right to say no and walk out. Weird to think of Phantom as a workplace drama, but 80% of the first act takes place at work. All that being said, it was wonderful to be back. Phantom is one of the first shows I saw in New York, and I will always have a soft spot for it while still being aware of its flaws. The first thirty minutes up to Music of the Night are really well done: the quiet of the auction scene followed by the pulling back of the curtains and drapes and raising of the chandelier as we go back in time, the grandeur of the Hannibal scene, the introduction of the characters, the travel through the mirror… I do not think the show could be given a better staging than this one, and I am dreading the cut-rate version that will be replacing it. But then the seams start to show: at the end of Music of the Night, the Phantom simply says, “We should go back now before they miss you,” even though they have undoubtedly already missed her since she has disappeared after her debut performance, which the book never addresses. The show never reaches the peak of the first minutes again. But I wonder what the book for Phantom would be like if it were written today; I think it would be very different. |
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