From the Third Row: The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway

From a young age, I have adored the story of The Phantom of the Opera. I have seen it live four times, watched the movie an endless amount of times, read the book, and listened to the album countless times. I live, breathe, sleep, and eat Phantom. My dream was always to see it on the dazzling streets Broadway, and it really didn’t hit me that I was finally seeing it until the famous chord filled the theatre. This was my dream, and it was coming true before my very eyes. The chandelier ascended with spark and flame and it was enough to bring me to actual tears.

Carlotta screeched her notes and strutted around the stage in true diva fashion, and the plot was off. Since I’ve seen Phantom about a kajillion times, I was feeling pretty confident that I knew what was going on. What happened next is something that can only be described with the beautiful words of John Mulaney. He talks about how he knew what was going on in the Catholic Church, but they made a change to the words said in mass, he didn’t know what was going on. The very same thing happened to me when Christine and Carlotta sang “Think of me.” I was lost. Everything I’ve ever known was thrown out of the window. I was sitting in the Majestic Theatre existing in a blur of Mr. Krabs’ confusion caliper. A quick Google after the show explained that on the tour and movie, the words are different than the Broadway production for whatever reason.

Eventually, my confusion was settled with The Phantom coming to save the day with his soaring voice and PHANominal acting, it was easy for him to win my heart. Personally, I found the stage chemistry to feel slightly forced between Phantom and Christine. After seeing the musical about a kajillion times, I have seen lots of variation on how the chemistry has been between Christine and Phantom, but this chemistry just felt forced and therefore wrong. Separately, the actor and actress were amazing, but together they just left a bitter taste in my mouth. With the rest of the story flowing smoothly, I allowed myself to settle in and relax for the rest of the production, until the end. In productions past, I’ve seen Phantom smash mirrors, do a stage trick through a trap door, and the combination of the two, smashing mirrors and then going through the shards of one into a secret passage. In the end, he shared his passionate look with Christine, sat in a chair, and disappeared, leaving only his mask. Of all the endings I’ve seen, I have to say that the smashing mirrors has always been my favorite. Overall, I recommend seeing The Phantom demand 20,000 franks from strangers, go on a murderous rampage, and crash a chandelier. It is simply a Broadway must-see.