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I have to say I was rather apprehensive by when time for me to see the show. I had talked two close friends into accompanying me, but I had read so many different opinions and reviews of the show that I wasn't sure what it was going to be like. We were early, so I sat reading the programme. The story given in it was...strange...to say the least. Erik Lebreck? The Persian dating Carlotta? The Persian Erik's rival? And who are Mr and Mrs Midnight? The more I read, the more I felt I was going to hate the show. From what I was told, all the singing was all pre-recorded and the music wasn't very good at all.
The show started with Erik writing his opera. He became tired and fell asleep and the Persian came on and tried steal his music. After fighting with Erik, he set the place alight and Erik was badly burned by the fire. His wounds were tended by Mr and Mrs Midnight, who presented him with his cloak and mask. The Opera Ghost is born!
I almost fell off my seat I was laughing that much when Carlotta entered. She was being played by a man in drag! The Persian was portrayed as an evil fiend who was, or appeared to be, Erik's worst enemy, rather than a friend from his past. The young girl playing Christine was very good at skating, although the man playing Raoul looked positively...well, gay! The managers were very good, although they did not have very big parts, they came across perfectly. Although I didn't understand the reason for the addition of Mr and Mrs Midnight, they were an amusing pair. Their "friends" were also a good distraction from the real plot. I was extremly pleased with the portrayal of Madame Giry, she too was perfectly played.
By the interval, although there were some aspects of the show I enjoyed and the spectacle itself was enjoyable, I was outraged at the way they had altered the original storyline. Surely M. Leroux was spinning in his grave at such a dreadful adaption! The music so far had been good, although it was extremely confusing only having two singers doing all the parts. I was convinced though that the singeres themselves were nowhere near the theatre, and the only part of them that toured with the show was the recordings they had made. I went back into the auditorium open-minded towards how they would end the show.
Shortly in to the Second Act, I ws sat puzzling why the Phantom had entered but was stood in front of the ice, rather than on it. Soon, he started to sing. "Wow!" I thought, "He's good at miming live!" Then one of my companions whispered to me- "He's got a microphone on. He's really singing this!" "But I thought they weren't singing". The Ice Stars, it turned out, were not. It was the singer stood at the front. The Skater playing the Erik appeared next to him to join in the dance.
The next scene showed Christine visiting her Father's grave. Someone started singing to her. It took me nearly ten minutes to figure out that this was meant to be her Father! A nice touch, until Raoul appeared to find her.
Next came the scene where Erik admits to Mr and Mrs Midnight that he loves Christine. There was a complicated dance, obviously performed by the skater. Then the lights went down as the desk and stool were moved on. However, this was not the only bit that was changed. I wondered why the Midnights were, or appeared to be, holding Erik up. I soon found out. The other bit that got changed was the Phantom. They swapped the skater for the singer, who was helped to his desk and, after waving the Midnights out of the room, he preceded to belt out a truely magnificent song, "Sing with Me, Dance with Me". I had been disappointed so far that the show had no trace of the Erik that I loved. But, there he was! This was Erik! The song moved me to tears, but tears of happiness! Erik was here! Thank God! I forgot all my disappointment and realised that whatever they did with the story, Erik was not really being played by the skater, but that magnificent singer. I would give anything to here him sing
Lloyd Webber's musical. His voice was perfect. At one point he sung, "Won't someone sing with me, dance with me? Take all this love that I have from me, please?" As he sung that, he looked up, staring directly at me, while pointing in my direction! It sent shivers down my spine!
I didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the show, at least until Erik sang again! The Masquerade wasn't too bad. The Red Death costume looked very good. I was amused by the quite literal tug-of-war over Chritine. Every time Erik appeared to be in pain or upset, my other companion told me, "He's going to die now, just you wait". "No, he isn't. He doesn't until the end, if at all!" The Persian was killed by the Midnights as revenge. Christine and Raoul got married, and Erik turned up at the very end, laughing manically as he flew over the stage.
The Ice stars took their curtain and I was quite cross that they didn't let the singer come out to take his. However, low and behold, he did! He certainly got a cheer that equalled with that given to the ALW show when it came to the Alhambra, only tonight it was only half full, not a full house as the other had been. When they all went to bow together, I noticed that the singer, a certain David Lawrence, quickly grabbed hold of the person stood next to him. He was obiviously only a little more comfortable on skates than I am myself! Bless him!
The show was, overall, good. The music and songs were well written and I rushed to the gift shop after the show to buy the recording. The staging was simply a feast for the eyes, not the brain, especially if you know the original text. One let down was the Phantom's makeup. When he removed his mask, he looked like he had been badly sunbunt on one side of his face, nothing more serious! Otherwise, the show was good and well worth seeing, even if you choose just to laugh through the entire performance, which I would have done were it not for the fantastic singing of Mr Lawrence!
