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Broadway's all-time most successful musical is on tour, and is spending more than a month at the Kennedy Center. I grudgingly went to it, as the ticket prices were far more than I think that any musical is worth (I got stuck paying $114 for a seat in the back row of the 1st tier! - actually, I think that almost nothing other than the Bolshoi is worth that much money). While it was better than some of the other musicals that I've seen (in particular, Hairspray and The Light in the Piazza), I didn't quite get all the hype. My overall impression is that the creators were more interested in cramming as many songs as they could into it than they were in developing real characters. I suppose that part of this could stem from: a) I was about as far from the stage as it's possible to be in a very large theater; b) the singers were mic'd and highly amplified, so that the singing was more like the singing in a rock concert (a reviewer from the Washington Post thought that the amplification made it seem more like being at a movie than being at a live performance). There were too many things that were unexplained for my taste, such as why the ballet mistress knew so much about the Phantom but didn't tell anyone even after he murdered a stage hand and why the hero had to pursue the Phantom by himself (were the police a bunch of cowards?). All-in-all, I found it to be solidly average. But an A+ for the costume designer.

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I just saw the touring company for Phantom in Denver this afternoon, presumably the same company that presented at the Kennedy Center. I had seen Phantom on Broadway about five years ago and don't remember enough about the production to give a detailed comparison. The chandelier went up and down in Denver, but never swung across the orchestra heading for the balcony. The grand staircase was missing from the masquerade ball. The boat scenes were unimpressive, moving across a flat surface. But considering that it's designed for touring, the production overall was impressive. They have a circular set on a carousel on two levels that changes frequently and effectively conveyed many different environments. Flashing lights, flames, etc. kept up the surprise.

 

Phantom is in Denver for 2-1/2 weeks at the Buell Theatre, part of the Denver Performing Arts Center downtown. It seats almost 3000 and was sold out today, although I still see ads for the rest of the run. I haven't spotted any discounts on Goldstar. The amplification system in Buell always bothers me and it did again today -- at high volume, I hear a buzz-back raspy sound from some of the speakers, although that was infrequent. On the bright side, we paid only $55/ticket (list price) for excellent seats - 2/3 back in the orchestra but the house has a steep slope and fabulous sight lines. I don't know why tickets were so well-priced -- the extra-large house? the subsidies the DPAC gets from the regional performing arts sales tax? (1/10 of 1% of sales tax: http://scfd.org/)

 

I can understand why YouOverThere is bothered by plot mysteries, but overall you can see why this is such a long-running hit. Familiar and truly gorgeous songs, lots of action, opportunities for great singers, humor, colorful sets and costumes. My 10-year-old great-niece was with us today and she was entranced.

 

 

Edited by California
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