The Phantom of the Opera by Augustine Muraski

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Isaiah Bailey as The Phantom and Jordan Lee Gilbert as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera North American Tour Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman


What does a show do after a forty year Broadway run? The Phantom of the Opera is a classic work within musical theater. Sporting the title for longest-running Broadway production ever, Phantom has consistently delighted audiences since 1986. It is based on a novel of the same name, taking place in The Paris Opera House. It follows the company as it is haunted by a masked figure and musical genius, the Phantom obsessed with a certain soprano, Christine Daae. He ensues havoc upon the theater as they don’t cave to his demands. The show is known for its great use of spectacle, with a massive chandelier and a variety of effects. The score is by Andrew Lloyd Webber, who has risen to great success as a composer with other hits such as Cats and Jesus Christ Superstar (which will be playing at the Ordway this December). It is these elements together that have kept the show in the public consciousness. 

Despite being his first lead role in a national tour, Isaiah Bailey’s performance as The Phantom satisfies. His voice is excellent and he truly embodied the masked ghoul through his dramatic voice and captivating movements. However, his performance did not strike me as particularly grounded or believable during his long and somewhat grueling songs in his musical dungeon. Jordan Lee Gilbert’s vocal performance as Christine through these classic songs did not disappoint, and she was entirely believable as the character. However, she may have suffered the opposite problem than Bailey and her acting did not go far enough. I found Midori Marsh’s tour debut as “Carlotta” quite amazing as she brings truly operatic vocals to the humorous character, despite reading a little younger than I expected from the character. While it is the Phantom and Christine’s scenes together that are the most talked about by theater enthusiasts, the entire cast really did deliver on the operatic elements (“Poor Fool…,” “Don Juan Triumphant,” etc.) and elevated them to a similar level.

"Prima Donna” from The Phantom of the Opera North American Tour. (L to R) Melo Ludwig, Christopher Bozeka, William Thomas Evans, Midori Marsh, Daniel Lopez, Carrington Vilmont, Lisa Vroman

Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman


My largest problem with the production came with the set design. Making a visually impressive show like Phantom portable was always going to result in a lesser experience, but I believe there were a few critical errors. Two columns resembling theater booths came in every time there was a performance inside the Opera House. While having very minor plot relevance, these set pieces add another layer between the actual audience and the operas, restricting immersion and separating the viewers. The set also attempts to replicate many Broadway set pieces such as the sewers and the Phantom’s large chamber with a form of forced perspective. Subtle changes in scale are meant to fool the viewer into believing the set is larger than it is (and more like Broadway) but completely fails on the Orpheum’s stage and is distracting during these important moments. It would be unfair to not mention the beauty of the production's multimillion dollar swinging chandelier or the impressive scale, but they clearly attempted to replicate the Broadway production rather than reinterpret.

There is plenty to love about the new tour of Phantom, as great performances and sense of spectacle deliver the ever-intriguing story and brilliant score. However, the production shows there is still room to grow with future touring productions, as the visuals fail to either move past or sufficiently emulate the classic Broadway production.

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