Phantom of the Opera (national tour #2, 1995)

The Phantom of the Opera, that is. The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical version of Leroux's gothic parody took nearly six years to get to St. Louis the first time. Now, almost two years later, it's back again and every bit as entertaining as it was the first time around.

For those of you who missed it back in '93 let me remind you that Phantom is more opera than conventional musical, with very little spoken dialog. The book, by Richard Stilgoe and Lloyd Webber, combines the major story line of the disfigured Phantom's doomed and destructive love for the soprano Christine with some satirical jabs at the foibles of opera and theatre in general. Charles Hart and Stilgoe are credited with the lyrics, which nicely compliment Lloyd Webbers music.

And in fact, theatrical flash aside, the music is what makes Phantom work so well. This lyrical, dramatic, and intelligent score is, in many ways, one of Lloyd Webber's best. The composer manages to both make fun of and pay homage to 18th and 19th-century opera conventions. The "Prima Donna" septet, for example, could pass as a set piece by Meyerbeer or Massenet, both of whom are deftly parodied in the opening number from the fictitious opera Hannibal. And yet, the score has also produced popular songs such as "Music of the Night" and "All I Ask of You". The latter is probably one of the most ecstatic love duets to emerge from the theatre since Rogers and Hammerstein's "If I Loved You".

Once again, the show is performed by a talented cast. Rick Hilsabeck brings out more of the title character's inner turmoil than Franc D'Ambrosio did last time around, and his dance training shows in the grace he brings to the Phantom's movement on stage. His wife Kitty is also very effective as the dancer Meg Giry. Soprano Sarah Pfisterer is a knockout as Christine - not surprising, given that she was part of the very first national tour of the show. Rita Harvey alternates in this role on Thursday and Sunday evenings, by the way.

Lawrence Anderson is appropriately charming and heroic as Christine's lover Raoul. Other fine performances come from Ian John Bourg and David Huneryager as the hapless owners of the Paris Opera, and Wendy Hill as the egocentric diva Carlotta. Her male equivalent is the tenor Ubaldo Piangi, sung with considerable humor and skill by Stefano Fucile. Both of them have substantial operatic experience, demonstrating once again that you have to understand something well to parody it effectively. Olga Talyn makes an imposing Madam Giry.

Technically, there were a few minor rough spots on opening night, mostly in the rather uneven sound mix. I expect that these will be corrected by the time you get to see the show. Hopefully the Fox will have its air conditioning back at full strength by then as well.

In short, Phantom of the Opera remains an entertaining and well-crafted diversion. It doesn't raise any important social issues and there's no subtext - what you see is what you get - but it does have the same the mix of humor and melodrama that characterized Leroux's original novel. If you haven't had a chance to see the delightful show yet, I highly recommend this production.

Fans of Phantom in it's various incarnations, by the way, will find useful information at The Phantom of the Opera Nexus.