Phantom Of The Opera

       My sister and I have been wanting to see this show for a long time, but for one reason or another neither of us have found the time until now. We went with high hopes seeing as it has had brilliant reviews and has now been going for over 25 years. Both of us however were left disappointed and deflated.

       The theater, although nice, isn't as grand or as opulent as some of the others in London. Our seats would have been fantastic (Seats B16 and B17 of the Royal Circle), apart from the fact that the seats were only slightly higher than the row in front. This meant that both my view and that of my sister were blocked by the people in front of us. The staff of the theatre were nice, but seemed very disconnected from their jobs or the people they were dealing with.

       Some of the actors microphones didn't seem to be that loud throughout the production and were sometimes completely drowned out by the orchestra. Also, during scene changes I was able to hear the scenery bumping along the stage as it was being pushed into position. I was in the second row of the Royal Circle. I should NOT be able to hear the scenery moving, especially when there is something happening on the stage that I'm trying to listen to.

       As its now been going for so long, all the performers that are currently in the production are not widely known. Although all of them were competent singers and performers, I did fell that they were average at every point throughout the show. With Phantom Of The Opera, I am of the belief that all of the cast should be shockingly good singers. The best performer of the night for me was Jeremy Secomb as Ubaldo Piangi, however his part was exceptionally small for someone with his acting ability and voice quality. Most disappointing for me however was the Phantom himself. Don't get me wrong, Marcus Lovett did an acceptable job. However he has been in a number of musicals in his career, including the original Broadway production of Les Miserables, and i would have expected his singing and acting ability to blow me away. In the end however, it left me feeling rather flat.

       In in current state and with its current lineup of performers, I have to admit that I wouldn't recommend seeing the production. If however you cant afford the theater prices and don't want to wait for a new cast to materialise, Warner Brothers made a fantastic film in 2004. With an estimated budget of $70,000,000 and a fantastic cast (including Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson, Minnie Driver, and Simon Callow) its needles to say it is a fantastic film that is well worth watching.

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