The promo materials tout six current productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” around the world.
This includes flagship London West End’s production (27 years and counting) and the Broadway staging at New York’s Majestic Theater (approaching 26 years).
Producer Cameron Mackintosh’s reimagined North American tour, gracing Chicago’s Cadillac Palace through March 2, is every bit their equal. Indeed, this “Phantom” is an impeccable musical-theater experience not to be missed.
From the opening auction to its mystically sad and tender conclusion, Broadway in Chicago does its name proud with this Laurence Connor-directed masterpiece. Featuring the first new treatment of the renowned material directed by Hal Prince, Mackintosh and Connor deliver the deft touch of homage to past magnificence with a refocused look into the backstage of the opera house hosting the simultaneously entertaining and horrific goings on. A synopsis of the well-known plot can be found here.
This balance, allowing the iconic to be seen again for the first time, is what makes the production brilliant.
“Many of the people who come to see the show usually say they’ve never seen it before,” Mackintosh told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “So, it’s not that the new version is better than the old one. It’s just that it’s different.
“What was extraordinary and original 25 years ago can no longer be. You want people to come see the show because it’s still one of the greatest ever. I want to give audiences a new experience, not a piece of nostalgia. I want people who see the show to understand what the fuss was all about in the first place.”
The contemporary staging’s cast earns its own fuss.
In February 5’s matinee performance, Cooper Grodin’s Phantom captured every nuance of anger, violence, horror and sadness; original Phantom Michael Crawford would be impressed. So, too,Grace Morgan as Christine forged a brilliant balance of innocence and fear intertwined with a mature compassion that leaves audiences wistful for days after leaving the theater.
Nick Cartell as Christine’s suitor Raoul, Linda Balgord as opera choreographer Madame Giry andJacquelynne Fontaine as opera diva Carlotta are impeccably cast.
That said, casting of any “Phantom” production must be daunting solely in its requirement of the vocal chops necessary to deliver the legendary songbook in a celebrated musical centered on a company of opera singers. New audiences daily expect and deserve flawless renditions of “Think of Me,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” “The Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” and the list goes on.
This cast, along with its truly magnificent 52-member orchestra, delivers. Indeed, everything about this entire production is what Broadway in Chicago needs to be about.
Juxtaposed with early January’s “Ghost,” a show that could not leave town quickly enough, “Phantom” illustrates the need for Mackintosh to school Broadway in Chicago on what he does so well—defending, preserving and growing a luxury brand.
As recently noted in the Chicago Tribune, Mackintosh knows that to build his musical trademark through touring companies, the shows need to be the same as those being performed in London or New York. “[…] I wouldn’t do it unless the show was going to be equal of what people had read about,” he said.
At least one patron feels Broadway in Chicago needs to treat its audiences with the same respect.
It can do that by refusing to book probable substandard (typically non-Equity) productions. But more workably, it can market to the knowledgeable musical-theater patrons of greater Chicago with honest advertising, branding and ticket pricing that differentiates the major leagues from the minors.
Its failure to do so might just explain “Phantom”’s ticket availability on the bargain websites. Patrons should take advantage and grab them up, because this “Phantom” is no “Ghost.”
“The Phantom of the Opera” runs through March 2 at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph St., Chicago. Tickets range from $23 to $115 (plus fees) and are available by phone at 800-775-2000, in person at all Ticketmaster retail locations and at Broadway in Chicago’s website.
Barry Reszel is a Libertyville-based writer, at-home dad and executive director of the not-for-profit entertainment company Liberty Town Productions.
