‘Phantom’ has some shades of ‘Grey’ issues to deal with
Let’s take a moment to recognize the myriad set changes in “Phantom of the Opera,” a recently rebooted touring production that is in Houston through Nov. 18.
Pillars rise from the Hobby Center stage to the top of the arena, rotating to reveal the lavish gold box seats of the opera house. A giant central rotunda of sorts slides in and out of stage, then spins to reveal three different interiors — an office, a rehearsal stage, a chamber with steps leading down to a misty lake.
An angelic statue, three times taller than a human being, creates a black silhouette against a moonlit sky. Watch out for the beast of a man who jumps out from behind the statue, his cape and white mask by now — 30 years after “Phantom” opened on Broadway — an icon of the American theater.
The chandelier is a jump-from-your-seats feat worthy of Disneyland. Gunshots, fire, magic tricks — these “Phantom” staples are bolstered by a lavish series of operatic period costumes. In other
words, those attending this national tour of “Phantom” get bang for their buck when it comes to stage design, perhaps the most notable aspect of this show. And, yet, not much else feels different about this “Phantom.”
Eva Tavares, as Christine, and Quentin Oliver Lee, as Phantom, are good. I don’t know, I can never come up with much else to say about leads of touring versions of Broadway musicals. First productions, staged in New York, tend to make more of a statement in the casting, which sometimes bring unusual bodies and voices, or at least stars with interesting pre-existing reputations, to leading roles.
The touring versions, on the other hand, nearly always have a person who looks, sings and dances as well as a star but isn’t one. Tavares and Lee look and sound like exactly what you’d expect from a touring Broadway production.
But despite their excellent voices, I wasn’t convinced by their romance. This has to do with the writing. Christine and the Phantom are caught up in a Stockholm syndrome, “Beauty and the Beast” style romance that today reeks of heavy-handed symbolism. Her innocence, his tortured outsider status — that juxtaposition today feels unconvincing.
While the music hasn’t aged a day since 1988 — it’s still as catchy and solemn yet electrifying as it has ever been — the plot struggles to feel as surprising as it did at first glance.
A man kidnaps a woman, tossing her onto his bed in his dark chamber. The woman falls in love with him, though today it’s hard to tell why. She can overlook the way he treats her — lots of hair grabbing, plenty of shoving her onto the ground — but can’t get over how ugly he is under that mask.
Christine, who nearly vomits when she sees the Phantom without the mask, really is as superficial as Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” who just can’t wait for that beast to turn into a conventionally attractive prince. Both women are older incarnations of Anastasia Steele of “50 Shades of Grey,” who love sexy, commanding-to-the-point-of-abusive men.
I think, in 2018, it’s more common for audiences to look at a malefemale relationship and ask what that relationship has to say about power dynamics, beauty standards and consent. “Phantom” arrived before this became a mainstream mindset, so it remains a museum piece in this aspect.
But as camp, “Phantom” works, same as it does in “50 Shades of Grey.” Watching Christine get boated into a dungeon is fun if you don’t take it as realism. And those set pieces sure are impressive to look at. When the Phantom essentially throws out a fireball to repel his rival Raoul ( Jordan Craig), his cape lights up against the pyrotechnics of the stage.
That’s the kind of flash and dazzle that helps you make it through all the other dark, dreary, stentorian moments of “Phantom.”