Phantom of the Opera Reviews

Geoff and Pauline Wanstall from England

SHOWING ITS AGE!

My husband and I have seen Phantom three times in London plus the film and this production was certainly not a patch on the London one. We felt that some of the performers were rather lack lustre, the music was a terrible let down - where was the wonderful crescendo at the beginning? The sound was pretty awful and I have heard better singers than the woman who played Christine in our local amateur theatre. Andrew Lloyd Webber would be horrified if he saw this production as it is now. We also thought that some of the theatre staff were extremely rude to the paying customers, shouting at them to sit down in their seats! They should be taught some manners! It just wouldn't happen in London! Perhaps the director should head down to see the production of Curtains where the cast are so enthusiastic and you can hear every word spoken and sung.

Carl from Pennsylvania

12 YEARS CAN CHANGE (FOR THE WORST)

I saw Phantom 12 years ago, and I was actually hooked on theater since. Fast forward 2008 (I know I am late on writing this). I was extremely excited for my fiance to to experience Phantom. It hurt, Alot! The acting was mediocre, the singing was horrid. I cannot however blame all the problems on the actors. It was obvious to me that after seeing the movie (oops!) that they had indeed changed it to fit the movie. The phantom went from a cool, collective temper, to a whiney spazmatic kid who gets picked on in school. I would not recommend this shows to anyone who wants to enjoy their first show. Who knows maybe I will give it another shot in twelve years.

Anonymous from New York, New York

POOR PERFORMANCE

I hate saying it but nothing stunning here. I am a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera and this performance significantly fell short of expectations. They used a significantly wet mix for the mics which wreaked of reverb rather than letting the hall do it naturally. They cut the Phantom's mic off one line early at one point. When the Phantom takes Christine to his dungeon of sorts the first time the two disappear below the stage and then immediately reappear above on a bridge of sorts - obviously doubles. The audio perspective clearly changed so either the performers were singing under the stage in a very closed-in space, or a recording was used that also had closed-in characteristics - either way I could tell something was wrong. To make things worse the doubles had some trouble synching up to the other actors/recording with their lips. Tons more wrong but not enough characters left. The Phantom was probably the only unquestionably good aspect about the show.

SAH from Chicago, Illinois

UNDERWHELMING

Matinee performance, 1/11/2014 sitting in Row F Seat 18 it’s rightmost near front of the theatre, Aisle 1. Good seating; most of the action takes place at stage right. Yet, I was unable to see movement at stage right Theatre Populaire. I couldn’t see Raul I heard him. The Ford Cadillac stage is too small to accommodate this play. Scaled down scenes, less numbers of actors on stage accommodating small limited space. No spectacle, grandeur of stage, props, lighting, etc. Stage blocking cast two characters directly in my line of sight to middle stage so I didn’t see the Phantom’s entrance to or his costume at the Masquerade ball binoculars did not help… Changes made to the story didn’t enhance or expand on it they only detracted from it & the atmosphere. Maybe my problem is I am spoiled by viewing the Royal Albert Hall’s version of the play; same director, however RAH’S version is well above par in every aspect to the current version. The acting could have been better; many times, it lacked fire, intensity, joviality, horror/comedy as displayed in other versions. Phantom of the Opera 2013/14 is not a play for anyone who has seen it at another time, place, and/or in another venue.

Anonymous from Cincinnati, Ohio

BUMMED, THIS PHANTOM WAS NOT AMAZING :(

If you have never seen other productions of the Phantom Of the Opera, and if this was your first time seeing it, then you probably thought it was fantastic but not knowing what the past shows were like let me just say that I have been to many other productions of Phantom and this one was a total disappointment and I was dissatisfied with it . The set was interesting but It did not have the grandeur of past sets & did not feel like broadway. Very lacking. No passion from the actors Singing was just ok I have heard better. Over all. I think it was poorly done. Costumes were disappointing and even more disappointing was Masquerade, no splendid costumes and grand staircase no crashing cymbals, not nearly good enough singing. Feeling so let down because I know how amazing the Phantom can be I've seen it ! And this show was anything but. So so dissatisfied and disappointed. What a bummer. I have seen it before and it was so much better in the past than in this production. Shame.

Michele from Cincinnati, Ohio

WHERE'S THE GRANDEUR?

Attended the Phantom last night with my four children, ranging from 12 to 25. It was their first time and thoroughly enjoyed it. I, however, was sadly disappointed. Where was all the pizzazz? Hate the new set. From the moment the chandelier was revealed, I knew the grandeur was gone. The simple up and down motion of the chandelier is far less dramatic than it rising from and falling to the stage.The phantom lacked any huge presence and seemed like just some guy. Voices were decent but difficult to make out the lyrics if you didn't know them. Masquerade was the saddest part of all. No staircase, no flamboyant costume.And what happened to the zillions of candles when the phantom is taking Christine on his boat? That was supposed to be an iconic scene but felt so watered down it made no impact. Where was the scene with Christine in a bridal gown? Just cut that? The phantom's disappearance at the end was also anticlimactic. For a $700 night out,I don't feel we got our money's worth. Sa

John from Cincinnati, Ohio

VERY DISAPOINTING

Having seen Phantom of the Opera on multiple occasions in different cities, I have to say that last evenings performance left me wanting. There was a distinct lack of depth or emotion in the singing and the stage design minimized all the grandeur of the original. For most first time theater goers this may have been a pleasant enough experience however, if you've seen a previous production of PTO I would skip this particular endeavor. They changed the lyrics of several songs, what were they thinking?

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