The best PHANTOMS and the worst?

[themerrywidow]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 9:14am

ok Im new to the site and did do a search but didnt find anything like it on the first few pages so here goes

best and worst phantom

ive seen are Howard Mcgillin, John Owen Jones, Hugh Panaro, Gary Mauer and tim O leary

favorites are Howard Mcgillin and Hugh Panaro

Least : John O Jones and Tim o Leary

Probably overall favorite phantom: Hugh Panaro is the best though Great acting and Singing----his talking and screaming parts sound really really goofy especially the graveyard fireball scene it is too high pitched. His "Insolent Boy...." also doesnt sound to hot. PLus im not crazy about his finishing "Its Over now...

Howard Mcgillin: Sounds Amazing , but his mirror scene is terrible he sings it way too harshly, and he is a little too weepy through out, His point of no return should be more exciting.

gary Mauer- overall sounded like Piangi too much but has the most faboulously flawless ending (its over now....)Ive ever heard.

John Owen Jones: I think It was a mic glitch but he was WAY TOO LOUD AND ALMOST GRATING TO WATCH fo 2:30 hrs

Tim O leary- sounded like he couldnt act worth a paper bag but sounded pretty good on Music of the night


Your thoughts?

[kec]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 9:32am

I have to disagree with you about John Owen Jones. I thought he was the best I've heard -- and I've seen a few Phantoms in my time. He was the only stage Phantom to bring me to tears.

[theevilgumby]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 9:52am

WoW i agree with you with mostly everything.

Hugh Panaro is the Best IMO but I agree with you his talking/yelling parts Sound kinda screechy....But I think his "damn you...you little prying Pandora.." is his worst section not his ending to the show. His screaming sometimes kinda sucks. But basically overall amazing voice and acting

Howard Mcgillin: I also think is great but to me he jumps around from light and airy sounding to harsh way too much. And yeah he is a little too weepy. And the Point of no return needs help

Gary Mauer- its funny you mentioned the piangi thing I thought that too. And his ending ive always thought was the best ever that ive heard

JOhn Owen Jones - I disagree I thought he was very very good also but can sometimes be too loud/grating.

Tim o leary- Or I saw Mark jacoby cant remember But I thought their singing was sub par..

[Justin D]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 9:53am

I had that same thing eith JOJ, too much screaming and not at all pleasing to the ears.

Howard is rough at times, but his acting last i saw him was pretty good.

And Hugh has some freaky sounding bits in the final lair.

Mt fav. live one ive seen is still Ethan Freeman.

[CandarianDemonMoose]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:03am

I saw Phantom with both Howard and Hugh and loved it both times.

The worst: I am going to say the original Crawford. His high pitch whiny voice and his knack for trying to outsing Sarah just turns me off. And he is NOT sexy AT ALL

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:18am

Haven't seen enough to best/worst but I saw Cris Groenendaal who was wonderful -- very torn and emotional in the role and I also saw Marc Jacoby who wasn't quite so endearing. His was a stern/snapping Phantom. I much preferred Groenendaal's emotional character over that.

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:40am

Since the name of this thread isn't exactly specific, I'll say... The best "Phantom" is the one from the original Gaston Leroux novel. The closest they ever got, which clocks in as a second favourite, is Lon Chaney in the 1925 Universal silent. The musical just seemed way too 2-dimensional to me with a middle-of-the-road score, sub-par lyrics (though intelligent word-play here and there), un-developed characters (Raoul, IMO, is the most boring character in the history of the musical theatre) and the only great thing, IMO, is the spectacle, the soaring orchestrations and a good performance that's worth more than the material.

[theevilgumby]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:47am

way to change everything by a slip up of words LOL

[rockfenris2005]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:51am

Well, if I must say... I'd go with Australia's Anthony Warlow. He is the god of musical theatre, IMO, and anyone who gets to witness him in that role LIVE is a blessed soul indeed !!

I'd also have to say Michael Crawford who, for me, was just as tied to that role as Yul Brynner was to The King & Rex Harrison was to Professor Higgins. There's a beautiful video of him and Sarah in a music video of "The Music Of The Night" that, for me, summed up the whole iconic "image" that is Phantom...

[theevilgumby]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 10:52am

Whoa I wish I saw Warlow live

sounds amazing

[jynni]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:04pm

I've seen Frac d'Ambrosio, Brad Little & Ted Keegan.

Of those three, Brad was my favorite.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:07pm

Davis Gaines, the best. I would love to have seen Anthony Warlow.

[The White Half-Mask]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:14pm

Out of all the Phantoms I've experienced (through live performances, CDs, & YouTube), I'd have to say my Phavourites are:

Michael Crawford
Howard McGillin
John Owen-Jones
Hugh Panaro
Gary Mauer
John Cudia
Davis Gaines

I don't have any least favourite Phantoms, per se, but I can think of some criticisms for some of my favourites:

Michael Crawford: not as masculine-sounding as some other actors that have played the role, but it's no big deal

John Owen-Jones: tends to scream wildly & overact a bit

Hugh Panaro: I don't like his acting during Down Once More/Track Down This Murderer. He seems too calm when Christine returns the ring to him.

Gary Mauer: sounds very rough & harsh, even during tender moments, such as The Music of the Night

[Sant]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:36pm

Seen several Phantoms both sides of the Atlantic; Peter Karrie, John Owen Jones, Hugh Panaro, Howard McGillin, Peter Cousens, John Capes, David Gaschen, Earl Carpenter... among others.

I have to say Peter Karrie is my definite favorite. Totally amazing in the role. His final scene was absolutely heartbreaking! And his singing was stunning, great voice.

My least favorite was David Gaschen. With Peter Cousens a close second. Gaschen didn't seem to bring any emotions at all to the role. His idea of showing Phantom's emotions seemed to be "the louder you sing the more emotion you are showing". Didn't work at all.

[Perfectly Marvelous]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:37pm

Panaro and McGillin are my favorites.


I don't have a least favorite [stage-wise] as of yet, although I don't care for Gerard Butler in the 2004 film adaptation.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 12:39pm

I think I can really only talk about Phantoms I've seen in person, but my favorites would be Brad Little and Joseph Dellger. Least favorite is the whiny and pendantic Phantom that cried its way out of Franc D'Ambrosio, although at least he improved over the course of the SF run.

[JumpJumpJumpSoHigh]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 1:07pm

The best one I've seen live is definitely Davis Gaines -- but if we're not just counting live performances, then I'll have to add Michael Crawford and Anthony Warlow to that list.

(And if we're still acknowledging the phrasing slip-up, my favourite Erik of all time is the one from the Susan Kay novel!)

Worst? Gerard Butler, hands down.

~JJJ

[BwayStar]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 1:21pm

The best was TV's Benson.

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 1:41pm

Michael Crawford, Ted Keegan, Hugh Panaro and Brad Little. I enjoyed Franc to point. Lovely voice, but perhaps a bit overacted? Howard McGillin is quite powerful in the role as well.

I can't say that enjoyed Kevin Grey.

[Mamie]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 1:45pm

I have to disagree completely with CandarianDemonMoose and BWayStar. Michael Crawford was absolutely the best out of (I'm guessing here) around 8-10 different phantoms. The absolute worst - Robert Guillaume. His singing was awful and the stage acting wasn't much better.

Updated On: 12/4/06 at 01:45 PM

[lostgirl]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 1:48pm

Best:
Peter Karrie
Anthony Warlow
Hugh Panaro (hard to judge based on a single performance with him- he tried several interpretations)
David Gaschen (I saw him once and he was incredable- he brought tremendous emotion to the role)
Gary Mauer
Brad Little
John Owen Jones
Michael Crawford
Steve Barton

Worst:
Paul Stanley- Just...abysmal
Gerard Butler- I understand they were going for a more rough, masculine Phantom, but there are people who fit that description and can sing
Howard McGillan- I don't think there's much consistancy in his performances. Even from one scene to the next the Phantom seems like a different character

[bella cantato]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 1:57pm

The first Phantom I saw was Davis Gaines, and Phantom was my first Broadway show. I thought he was the most AMAZING thing in the WHOLE world- I was in 5th grade at the time- and while, in retrospect, I have no idea if I really had an accurate perception of how great he was, he will always be my favorite. I remember sobbing in the last scene... what a great memory :)

[javertim]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:10pm

There was never a Phantom actor named "Tim O'Leary." You're probably thinking of Thomas James O'Leary who played the part on tour and then on Broadway in the late 90s. I happened to think he was quite excellent in the part, but nowhere near the brilliance of Peter Karrie or Davis Gaines.

[Jesus]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:41pm

Good old Colm.

[Anthony3]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 3:52pm

Ive seen:

David Gaschen
Hugh Panaro
Howard McGillin
Rohan Tickell

The best Phantom EVER is Howard McGillin, IMO. Then comes David Gaschen, then Hugh Panaro, then Rohan Tickell

Gary Mauer and Tim Martin Gleason sound amazing too. (Ive seen video clips)

Ive seen the show 10 times in about 1.5 years, Howard is definitley the best for me!