Musical Theatre Diary & Etc.: Review: Another Phantom of the Opera for 2011

Musical: The Phantom of the Opera

Venue: Her Majesty's Theatre, London, UK

Date: 28th November 2011 at 19:30

Cast: John Owen-Jones (Phantom), Katie Hall (alternate Christine), Killian Donnelly (Raoul), Wendy Ferguson (Carlotta), Gareth Snook (M. Andre), Barry James (M. Firmin), Annatt Bass (u/s Madame Giry), Jeremy Secombe (Piangi) and Anna Forbes (Meg)

Rating: *****

Review:

2011 has really been a Phantom year for me. I began the year watching The Phantom of the Opera in London on 1st January starring my all-time favourite Phantom and Carlotta, then in October, I was there at the Royal Albert Hall for its 25th Anniversary celebration. And now, once again before the year is over and before John Owen-Jones, who in my opinion is the best Phantom, leaves the show on December 10 (to make way for the new production of Phantom UK tour), my friends and I paid another visit to Phantom's original home in London.

We got our tickets from tkts and this is the first time that I saw Phantom from the second floor in the royal circle, fifth row, centre view. It is, by all means, a great seat and you get a clear view of the stage. However, the upper circle above me prevented me from seeing the chandelier in its position on the top of the theatre as well as everything that was going on up on the top part of the stage but it was only a few minutes that you missed so there are a lot left to be enjoyed. The good part of sitting further away is that you get to see everything that was happening on the whole stage. I also got to notice some little details that took place further back upstage such as how Christine missed the ballet rehearsal of Hannibal causing Madame Giry to shout out her name. Some effects were also better viewed further away such as the lake underneath the Opera House and Phantom's disappearance trick after "Why So Silent".

A view of the stage from where I was sitting at the beginning of the show

John Owen-Jones didn't disappoint at all as the Phantom from his first line in "The Mirror" to the very last tear-jerking "It's over now, the music of the night". His "Music of the Night" was definitive. I was quite interested in how he played with the Italian accent during "The Point of No Return". It came out a bit funny at first but it grew on you and made pretty good sense. After all, he was disguising as Italian tenor, Piangi. And I just loved how he sang his last solo verse using his own voice. It was so hauntingly good! I found myself enjoying his Final Lair more this time around. There also seemed to be some mishap with the chair at the end but luckily he managed to disappear or it would have been an interesting night! :)

The brilliant John Owen-Jones as the Phantom

I never seemed to be able to catch Sofia Escobar. Last time I got her alternate, Tabitha Webb and this time I got her another, Katie Hall. I know Katie from her work as Cosette in Les Miserables so I was actually quite looking forward to seeing how she takes on the role of Christine. Overall, I enjoyed her performance very much, though not as much as Tabitha or Sierra Boggess (from the 25th anniversary production). Her cadenza broke a little at the end of "Think of Me" but her "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" was just beautiful and heartbreaking.

Katie Hall as Christine
(seen here during The Point of No Return)

Killian Donnelly was our Raoul and I was very looking forward to seeing him a lot. Having seen him as Enjolras in Les Miserables in the West End, I know that he definitely has a great voice and stage presence. As Raoul, he didn't let me down a bit. I like him a lot better than Hadley Fraser (from the 25th anniversary production) who was wayyyyy too harsh. Here, I found Killian to be quite balanced in the role, partly as the lovestruck and romantic Raoul (in All I Ask of You), while I could feel his aggressive and hot-tempered characters boiling underneath (from the scenes in the Manager's office). I really liked his different takes on the role which was different from the many Raouls I've seen (both live and on YouTube). I liked how he took time in Christine's dressing room and not just ramming through the script especially before he leaves and he said "two minutes", held Christine hand, kissed it, looked at her in the eye, paused and then softly said "Little Lotte".

Killian Donnelly as Raoul in Christine's Dressing Room
(seen here with Sofia Escobar)

The rest of the cast was simply fantastic. Wendy Ferguson still proves to be my all-time favourite Carlotta. I just realized that in all the 3 Phantom productions I've seen this year, she played Carlotta in all of them! Gareth Snook and Barry James played the roles of M. Andre and M. Firmin respectively wonderfully as always (even better here than in the Albert Hall, I feel). Jeremy Secombe definitely showed how Piangi should be played (unlike the commercially famous Wynne Evans) and he was really funny. Annatt Bass was our understudy for Madame Giry and she was not as good as Cheryl McAvoy or Liz Robertson whom I saw before. Anna Forbes was a bit below standard for me as Meg. I would also like to pay a special mention to Philip Griffiths who was fantastic as both the auctioneer and M. Reyer.

Killian Donnelly, Gareth Snook and Barry James
as Raoul, M. Andre and M. Firmin during "Think of Me"

Jeremy Secombe, Barry James, Gareth Snook and Wendy Ferguson
as Piangi, M. Firmin, M. Andre and Carlotta during "Prima Donna"

The production was still as beautiful and impressive as ever and in my opinion, if I have to see only one Phantom of the Opera in my life, it will have to be this one with this cast at this venue. It is truly the "brilliant original" and here's to 25 more years!