I saw the classic Phantom of the Opera musicalseveral years ago at the Kennedy Center (read that blog post here). I really enjoyed it, so I was excited to see the Synetic Theater putting on their own version. Their productions are always a little dark (and without dialogue!), but I knew the biggest twist was that the phantom was a woman instead of a man, so I was interested to see what that dynamic would be like.
This new version starts with the female phantom's younger self (Lottie Guidi) dancing as a ballerina. When she gets burned in a fire, that's when she becomes the Phantom (Irina Tsikurishvili). As an older woman, she discovers Christine (Maryam Najafzada), another talented dancer, and takes her under her wing as her protégé. While the original is clearly a love story, this take has a teacher-tutee feel, as well as a sense that the Phantom sees her younger self in Christine; there's that longing of what could have been had she not been disfigured.
The chemistry between Tsikurishvili and Najafzada was very strong onstage. The way the Phantom would use a baton to gracefully move Christine's body into proper position was beautiful and a dance in and of itself. And when the Phantom would grow frustrated and even hit Christine with the baton, the young dancer would forgive her teacher, almost like a child with a reprimanding parent. I think it would be fair that there is love between the characters, just not the romantic kind.
I should also talk about the set. Like the Kennedy Center version I saw, there were moving staircases to give the illusion of going into the depths of the Opera House. The staircases were also hollow with openings in them, so they were used throughout the set as doorways, changing rooms, etc., so that was pretty cool. But a lot of the set was actually created with the use of a screen in the background. Sometimes the graphics would give the illusion of falling down into an abyss; other times the screen showed a brick backdrop or a performance stage. And of course the lighting was very effective; I really liked the strobe lights that came on when the chandelier fell. Synetic seems to use a lot of technology in their productions, and that was no exception.
I also enjoyed the moments of comic relief in the show. Christine's lover, Raoul (Jacob Thompson), is a clumsy man, literally falling for her. And while at times the Phantom's demon minions were very scary (especially when they wore multi-faced masks), they were funny at times, like when they were holding flowers and wine glasses for a special "date" between the Phantom and Christine.
And the costumes were beautiful! The Phantom's mask was much prettier than the original one, and of course I loved the ballerinas in their tutus. And the outfits during the masked ball were amazing! They were so colorful and ornate. The Phantom wore a red dress with a skull mask surrounded by sun beams (my friend Jen leaned over and said, "It's the Sun God!"). And like I mentioned above, the Phantom's minions wore headpieces that featured multiple masks, so it was like they were always watching you, even when their backs were turned or their real faces were looking down at the ground. I thought the costumes really fit the set and the story well.
I still had some questions after the show, though. Is the black lake really an ocean? Because the way the fabric that represented the water was moving, it looked like crashing waves. And at one point the demons brought out several large mirrors. The Phantom removes her mask and sees her reflection; she essentially has a nervous breakdown. I just want to point out that someone who is disfigured in that way probably wouldn't keep a lot of mirrors around. And in the end, when the Opera House is burning, the Phantom jumps off a ledge, as if killing herself. But we're left with the Phantom's younger self putting on her mask, and that's the finale. How should I interpret this?! I need closure!
If you want more of a sneak-peek, the trailer is great:
There is still time to see this show! Buy your tickets here!
If you're interested, here's a review from DC Theatre Scene (I agree with the author's point that the ballet in this production is sub-par if you are used to watching professional ballet dancers like those of the Bolshoi.).
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