Talent will out. Talent and attitude together will turn preconceived notions upside down, as they did to me at the Fox Theatre last night. I've seen "The Phantom of the Opera" at least a dozen times, and I went more out of duty and hope than high expectations.
Wow! What a treat!
A talented, exciting cast, filled with high-flying, eager, hard-charging singers, actors and dancers made opening night as bright as a new dime. But it was more than mere talent, though it showed throughout the cast, and it was more than the fact that the Fox is the perfect venue for the play. Check the costumes and the poses in the scene where the company rehearses "Hannibal." Check the elephant, and the upstage statues. Then turn around and look at the theater walls, and remember what the lobby looked like when you entered the theater. It's all right there.
But a feeling of spirit and joy also flowed from the stage, carried along by a vocally strong company. And this may sound naïve, and I'm not on the CVB payroll, but I felt as if the players were actually excited about performing in St. Louis
Who's responsible? The program credits Peter von Mayrhauser as production supervisor, Jonathan Gorst as music director, David Caddick with musical supervision and directions and Denny Berry as dance supervisor. Big cheers for all four.
Except for a minor glitch early on, the Fox sound system was as good as I've ever heard it, Andrew Bridge's lighting was spot-on and the production design by Maria Bjornson, including sets and costumes, is a reprise of what she did for the original 1986 production, which means perfect.
Of course the story is old-fashioned romantic hokum. Gaston Leroux wrote the novel 98 years ago, when that sort of romantic hokum was in fashion. Andrew Lloyd Webber's music is good, and effective, but not great, with overtones of operatic music by other composers. Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe wrote workmanlike lyrics that nicely carry the romantic attitude and Stilgoe's book is overwhelmingly romantic, melodramatic and in the style of Leroux.
Tim Martin Gleason (the Phantom), Sean MacLaughlin (Raoul) and Trista Moldovan (Christine Daae) were exciting as the leads, though it seemed as though Gleason doffed his mask more than I've seen other Phantoms. Moldovan soared into the higher register. The men were better singers than actors, but there's no complaint. Nancy Hess, as Mme. Giry, the ballet-mistress, was splendidly dour, and Paloma Garcia-Lee, the young ballerina whose choice for a future lights the final scene, was perky and bright. Kim Stengel, David Gaschen, D.C. Anderson and Michael McCoy rounded out the principals and provided comic relief, Stengel as the operatic diva, Gaschen as her petulant consort. Anderson and McCoy as the new theater operators who got the Phantom as a purchasers' bonus. They're funny, and the group's big number, "Prima Donna" is a charmer.
My favorite number, "Masquerade," which opens the second act, was as excellent as ever, and of course, "Angel of Music," "All I Ask of You" and "The Music of the Night" are right where they are expected, and again and again and again.
At the Fox Theatre through Oct. 25
–Joe