Phantom of the Opera - Warsaw Roma theatre

[winter]

Obligatory pre-review disclosure: I like Phantom of the Opera, a lot. I adored the small stage version put up by the Palladium Stage theatre (clips available here), and after the first two rounds of auditions for the full Roma theatre non-replica production, I was overjoyed to hear that my favourites were also the judges' favourites for Erik and Raoul. Then they were abruptly cut, due to in one case "not enough acting ability" and in the other, current engagements keeping him from attending the audition. On top of that, I heard a lot of rumours that the musical's main sponsor fancies himself a director and meddled immensely in both casting and directing.

I saw the show yesterday. Verdict: Very good show. Can someone put the first Phantom out of his misery?


Sets

My first impression was the sets in the auction scene. They were gorgeously detailed and distressed, especially the ragged curtains. I've come to expect great animation work from Roma, and they did not disappoint: the transformation of the theatre was almost as dramatic as in the movie.

Later on, the animations were just as stellar. They made for very believable descents into the Phantom's lair, and a lot of the sets for the actual in-musical operas and ballets were animations seamlessly projected onto white sets. About the only one I can pick bones with would be Bouquet's death, but I've always thought it a weak point of the musical in general.

The sets themselves are gorgeous. The opera is lovingly detailed in gold and red, just as it should be. For once, they managed actual impressive, Takarazuka-like stairs. The graveyard is done up in Parisian fog with lanterns, a dramatic backdrop that lets the actors take first stage. The Don Juan set is modern and sharp, mirror-lined phallic obelisks and a red love seat that wouldn't be out of place in a Warlikowski opera.

What stole my heart was the Phantom's lair. It's oneiric, yes, and done up in old sets - but the cogwheels show. There are rivets and levers and pulleys, a steampunk nightmare with living statues. That set completely stole the show.

And a dramatically falling chandelier, which is usually a weak part of Phantom productions. That thing fell, rapidly.

Incidentally, lights work was stellar, especially on the chandelier (illuminating it occasionally to remind people of it) and on the mirror on the mirror scene. Coloured lights also made up to some extent for the monochromatic Masquerade costumes. They've put in some new light fixtures since I last was there, and they're really, really good at using them.

Cheapness watchlist: they still have only one crane, with everything else being moved by hand. They also still haven't learned that walls should not be hung from the ceiling, because when doors are slammed dramatically, the wall wobbles for minutes. Magical disappearing Phantom armchair should be adjusted to the fact the Phantom's not as slim as he was, because he had pronounced trouble disappearing. And I think I saw some recycled Tanz der Vampire bookcases in the directors' office.

Costumes

Costumes-wise, I was torn. I could see the concept work for them was good and solid, if sometimes uninspired with the male costumes and too monochromatic and contemporary in the Masquerade scene (all ensemble in black and white). Some pieces were very movie-inspired, but some were drop-dead gorgeous and original - particularly the Red Death costume with a half-mask and a five-metre-long red cape that was practical enough to let the Phantom swirl it, Christine's nightgown (drapey, lacey, and with no Hannibal costume showing since the Hannibal costume was just a gold bra and a skirt), and Christine's dramatic half-mourning dresses in the second act. There was also a novel way of dealing with the Point of No Return Phantom costume; the scene was movie-inspired, but instead of the implausible eye-mask, the Phantom wore a Zorro-like leather mask tied over his head, with the bottom parts of the scars showing down on the bare cheek.

On the other hand, they need to fire their tailors. I'm willing to overlook some iffy fabric choices, in particular latex

Masquerade

skirts, but not one pair of trousers in the entire show fit. I've seen these guys in Cats spandex: they do not have crooked legs. Also, lowered-crotch trousers may be appropriate for Fame, but we are not dealing with Phantom of the Opera, hiphop edition. High points go to Raoul, with an evening suit baggy enough to fit two of him, with a close second being Christine's sagging Think of me gown.

Direction

The directing concepts were solid, if nothing particularly novel for a non-replica production - nothing as dramatic as the Budapest concept of having Christine be unconscious throughout Music of the Night. It was very visible that their first inspiration was the movie, and the main change was the graveyard scene - after a single fireball in Bravo, Monsieur, the Phantom magics up a pair of swords and challenges Raoul to a duel.

The Phantom also used his steampunk sets well, especially in the final scene. Raoul crawled under the grate and was lassoed there, plus the lasso was lever-controlled - much more dramatic.

Overall, I think it showed that concepts were changing right up to the premiere. There was no real idea to the play, apart from what the actors brought with them. It could have been much better, but there was nothing I could take offense at. Just a general sense of disarray, of everyone making things up as they go along. Still, it's only been two weeks - with Tanz, it took them at least two months to come up with a coherent performance rather than a brilliant mess.

Incidentally, choreography was middling. Blocking worked, but the actual dancing suffered in Masquerade. Very nice Hannibal sequence, but apart from that, the ballet dancers weren't particularly inspired. And someone should tell the guys that in the Masquerade part where they steal Christine, it's not Die Roten Stiefel anymore.

Ensemble and minor players

I really like the Roma ensemble, and it was a pleasure to see them again. They seemed to be having fun, especially Marcin Wortmann - I think I was seeing vampire shades in Don Juan, of the Krolock persuasion ;) Bouquet (Wojciech Paszkowski) gets props for being cheerfully creepy with the best of them and for eating the rose he got at curtain calls. And there was a boy ballet dancer in Hannibal (either Irminski or Jozwiak, he was on too briefly for me to get a good look) who was having way too much fun being bendy.

I saw Jakub Szydlowski and Wojciech Socha as Firmin and Andre, and they were just as stellar as I thought they would be. Szydlowski in particular is a favourite of mine - I wish he'd have tried out for Phantom. His dramatic timing is perfect, and his voice is dark honey.

Anna Gigiel is second Carlotta. She was Magda in Tanz der Vampire and she's gone a long way in terms of voice and charisma. She owned the stage just as it should be owned, and kind of pushed Piangi into the background, but that might have been for the better; he's no operatic tenor.

Madame Giry and Meg were also "just there", shuffling along. They're two characters who I think could have benefited from better direction and motivation; a pity, since they're two of my favourites in the musical. And they kept Meg in a tutu in the end scene; I much preferred the movie version with her as a proactive character in male garb, as the leader of the mob off to get rid of the Phantom.

Raoul

Marcin Mrozinski was the surprise of the evening for me. I've expected very little from a guy whose main accomplishments include being a Pop Idol semi-finalist, but Youtube did his voice a disservice. He's got a good, dramatic voice, with strength enough to hold his own and more in trio scenes. He's also an accomplished actor (he's currently studying theatre), and a self-admitted musical theatre geek. Being blond and handsome doesn't hurt, even if he was worst-off for costumes.

His Raoul was strong and earnest, believably protective. He doesn't believe in stories at first, but when he does, he accepts them and sets out to do something about it. He also trusts Christine immensely, believes in her and empowers her. He was so rooting for her in Point of No Return that I thought he'd fall out of the box ;) Good Raoul. Very good Raoul.

I was reminded of Steve Barton, in a good way. The voice isn't there yet, but this was Steve's Raoul, five to ten years younger. I believe I've got a new name to watch out for.

(Can't dance, mind you. Which really shows in the front row of Masquerade. Can move, but can't dance. Sort of like Máté Kamarás that way.)

Christine

Paulina Janczak is a musicals debutante, a 17-year-old choir girl who's studying piano and flute and singing and dancing. She's a discovery of Roma's music director, who has a known (thankfully platonic) preference for young girls. Again, I was expecting something dreadful.

Instead, I saw a young Pia Douwes. A similar voice - sharp at times, but strong and moving, a similar girlish innocence, and stage presence and strength enough to outshine. I've always despaired for a good Elisabeth candidate here; Paulina could do it in a flash.

What I liked most about her Christine was how much she was in control at the end, and how well the journey was portrayed. In Think of Me, she was believably terrified; by the time Final Lair came around, she owned the stage. In her interpretation, the usually soppy Wishing You Were Here was an empowered song, her take on Ich gehör nur mir.

Phantom

And now, I'll try to write something gentle enough. The thing is, I like Damian Aleksander. He's a very nice Munkustrap, he's got a great sense of humour, he takes good photographs and is the kind of guy you'd love to drag you to a gallery and go oooh at things with. He's got a little weight problem, but he can still turn somersaults and stalk with the best of them. And his voice is pure and pitch-perfect with a sing-song, bright smoothness.

Upon consideration, his problems are twofold: he's got a psychological education, so he tried getting at Erik's psychological make-up, including believable consequences of the disfigurement and upbringing. And he's forgotten that in the first act, at least, the Phantom should be appealing and darkly seductive.

In Music of the Night his Erik is a stooped, shambling, impulsive and many-inhibited creature, a semi-psychotic Quasimodo straight out of Gaston Leroux. He is singing about music, not as any metaphor but because music is the only thing that gives his life meaning. There is no shadow of physical passion, no love, no temptation, beyond a few faces that look constipated more than anything else. And this lays the first act flat, because the only thing Christine can feel towards such a Phantom is a fond pity.

This Erik is only engaging in the romantic because he was raised on a diet of opera and that's what he should do, if his life were one. This makes sense with the duel, since he believes that as the hero he'll win, but it does not make for carrying this musical in a dramatic sense. And the faces he pulled during MOTN were just ridiculously bad acting :P

Conclusion

It's a good musical, and I'll try catching it again. But I want it to be with other Phantoms, because this is not my Phantom.

(Audio will be up in a week or two. Need to track it.)