#1
Posted: 1/29/08 at 12:43am
Saw Phantom again this evening...lots of understudies on tonight (perhaps there is some kind of bug going through the cast??)
We saw...
-Tim Martin Gleason as the Phantom
-Paul A. Schaeffer as Raoul (and all I could think about was Paul Schaeffer from Letterman playing this role)
-Kris Koop as Carlotta
-Sally Williams as Madame Giry (although the usher told me that she has taken over the role as of tonight, since Marilyn Caskey left for Gypsy, they just haven't re-printed the Playbills yet).
-then a ton of swings on in the smaller roles
Not that this is the least bit relevant or important, but there were "dueling slips" in my Playbill this evening...the big long understudy slip announced Julie Schmidt as the "Wardrobe Mistress and Confidante," but there was also another, individual slip that announced Kristie Dale Sanders as being on in those roles.
The understudy slip was literally a whole page with one name after the other.
Christine was the alternate, as per the schedule, Elizabeth Loyacano.
I was actually pleased to see this many understudies, because I saw the show back in December and did not care for McGillin or Gleason in their roles at all.
When I last saw it in December, the show was in ok shape. No one was terrible, but everything felt like it was very much on autopilot. It felt very mechanical. This evening, however, the understudies injected a lot of life into the show, and it felt like watching a completely different performance. There was some energy and passion coming off the stage again.
I was particularly impressed with Tim Martin Gleason, whose Raoul I do not like at all. However, he gives a pretty amazing performance as the Phantom. It's seriously leaps and bounds ahead of Howard's. His voice as the Phantom sounds completely different than when he's Raoul, and he's just so much more effective in this role. His acting is a lot better here, and I loved how his Phantom was a bit angrier than others.
Loyacano is a lovely Christine, and she sings the part well. Her Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (my pick for the best song in the show) is particularly beautiful. It was also nice to see a Christine who legitimately looked like a "chorus girl."
Schaeffer's Raoul, is well, Raoul. He acted it well enough, and his singing was great, but it's such a poorly written role, there isn't a lot to do with it.
Sally Williams, who I've seen as Giry before, is particularly good, if supremely over-qualified for the role. Koop was a good enough singer, but I didn't find her as amusing as Patricia Phillips.
Overall, bravo to the understudies for lifting the energy onstage this evening. A much better, tighter, more engaged performance than I saw a month ago!
We saw...
-Tim Martin Gleason as the Phantom
-Paul A. Schaeffer as Raoul (and all I could think about was Paul Schaeffer from Letterman playing this role)
-Kris Koop as Carlotta
-Sally Williams as Madame Giry (although the usher told me that she has taken over the role as of tonight, since Marilyn Caskey left for Gypsy, they just haven't re-printed the Playbills yet).
-then a ton of swings on in the smaller roles
Not that this is the least bit relevant or important, but there were "dueling slips" in my Playbill this evening...the big long understudy slip announced Julie Schmidt as the "Wardrobe Mistress and Confidante," but there was also another, individual slip that announced Kristie Dale Sanders as being on in those roles.
The understudy slip was literally a whole page with one name after the other.
Christine was the alternate, as per the schedule, Elizabeth Loyacano.
I was actually pleased to see this many understudies, because I saw the show back in December and did not care for McGillin or Gleason in their roles at all.
When I last saw it in December, the show was in ok shape. No one was terrible, but everything felt like it was very much on autopilot. It felt very mechanical. This evening, however, the understudies injected a lot of life into the show, and it felt like watching a completely different performance. There was some energy and passion coming off the stage again.
I was particularly impressed with Tim Martin Gleason, whose Raoul I do not like at all. However, he gives a pretty amazing performance as the Phantom. It's seriously leaps and bounds ahead of Howard's. His voice as the Phantom sounds completely different than when he's Raoul, and he's just so much more effective in this role. His acting is a lot better here, and I loved how his Phantom was a bit angrier than others.
Loyacano is a lovely Christine, and she sings the part well. Her Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (my pick for the best song in the show) is particularly beautiful. It was also nice to see a Christine who legitimately looked like a "chorus girl."
Schaeffer's Raoul, is well, Raoul. He acted it well enough, and his singing was great, but it's such a poorly written role, there isn't a lot to do with it.
Sally Williams, who I've seen as Giry before, is particularly good, if supremely over-qualified for the role. Koop was a good enough singer, but I didn't find her as amusing as Patricia Phillips.
Overall, bravo to the understudies for lifting the energy onstage this evening. A much better, tighter, more engaged performance than I saw a month ago!
Updated On: 1/29/08 at 12:43 AM
