Note: By now ya'll know that I'm a terrible editor. So be prepared for me to be editing this AFTER I upload it. Also, I'm not a professional reviewer nor do I try to be in these. I'm simply stating what I thought.
"It truly amazes me how the original production has held up after 33 years!"
Picture it: New Jersey 2021. I am sitting on my bed scrolling through Instagram, but suddenly, I see an announcement, The Phantom of the Opera announced that Emilie Kouatchou and Sara Esty would be the new Christine Daaé alternate and Meg Giry. Literally the first thing I |
| Corps de Ballet |
thought was "Can't wait to see these white people" but when I swiped to see their pictures, I was stunningly surprised to see that both are women of color (Kouatchou is black and Esty is Latina). I was so excited that in one year Phantom had cast three black women as Christine. The first thing I did was look up Kouatchou on YouTube and she has an absolutely GORGEOUS voice. I knew right then and their I had to see her in the role. I was not planning to see Kouatchou's debut, but life had other plans for me. As soon as I heard about Kouatchou's debut, I immediately bought tickets and I planned my day. However, my day did not go as I planned. My car's battery decided to die so I had to get a Lyft to the train station and got to NYC thirty minutes later than I had planned. As I started walking up the stairs of Penn Station and saw the lights of the city, my heart was in my chest. It felt amazing to be back in the city and knowing I would be seeing a Broadway show. My entire walk to the theatre I was filled with ecstasy, I was so excited. The feeling inside the theatre was absolutely ELECTRIC. There was applause, whistling and cheering for everything! When the pre-show announcement came on, there was applause,  |
| Raquel Suarez Groen and Carlton Moe |
when the chandelier rose their was applause, for Carlotta's entrance there was applause, for Christine's entrance there was applause, it felt so great to be back in a theatre. As I am sure many of you have heard there were some changes made to the production. Don't be alarmed, it is still the same production, there was just a few lyrical changes and blocking changes. The first change that I noticed was during "Hannibal Rehearsal", specifically with the corps de ballet, Christine was not with them when they entered. At first, I did not like this change because it just felt like a weird change to make, but when Kouatchou she looked worried, concerned and a little shaken. I knew as soon as she entered she had just come from a singing lesson with the Phantom. Then I really enjoyed this small change because it added a lot of nuance to the role of Christine. There was also some lyrical changes which I really did not like, because I felt that the new lyrics did not enhance the story. (Except for the exchange during the end of "Angel of Music" where they removed, "Your |
| John Riddle and Maree Johnson |
face Christine it's white" to adjust it so anybody no matter ethnicity could play the role.) While there were some changes, it truly amazes me how the original production has held up after 33 years! This accomplishment is a testament to the brilliance of the original creative team. Hal Prince's breathtaking direction still holds up and Gillian Lynne's choreograph is brilliant as always. The sets and costumes designed by Maria Björnson are utterly breathtaking and groundbreaking. The lighting design by Andrew Bridge perfectly compliments the production adding mystery and illusion to the show. Last, but not least Martin Levan and Mick Potter's wonderful sound design that echoes throughout the theatre. In addition to the stunning production, there was also some stunning performances. The ensemble was stunning and I want to give shout outs to Satomi Hoffman as the Confidante and Jeremy Stolle as Passarino. In addition, Sara Esty who joined the production along with Kouatchou delivered a wonderful Meg, Etsy is a beautiful dancer and has a great voice. Carlton Moe as Piangi delivered some stellar comedic moments with a gorgeous tenor voice to boot. Another stunning performance was given by Maree Johnson (Who happens to be a former Christine from Australia) as Madame Giry. She gives a haunting Madame Giry who is not only scared,  |
| Emilie Kouatchou |
but enamored by the Phantom. There were two moments that I really loved with Madame Giry, the first is during "Think of Me" when Christine begins to sing she gestures to Christine, reminding her of the things she has been taught by the Phantom. The second moment is during "Magical Lasso" when Giry enters she sees the Phantom bringing Christine back from his lair. The managers played by Craig Bennett, Firmin, and Bradley Dean, André, were absolutely hysterical. They worked so well together and played off each other nicely. They both created two very distinct characters who are complete foils of each other, but still manage to work together. Unfortunately, not all of the performances were stunning though... Raquel Suarez Groen was a huge let down. This was my second time seeing Groen as Carlotta Giudicelli and both times she was disappointing. Her voice was not as powerful as I like in my Carlotta's. While she did deliver some nice comedic moments, overall I found her acting to be weak. I like my Carlotta's to be these big caricatures of a woman and Groen just did not deliver in my eyes. John Riddle as Raoul was great. He has a gorgeous voice and was a wonderful actor. I especially loved his chemistry with Kouatchou during "All I Ask of You" their voices fit so well together. Onto the lady of the evening, Emilie Kouatchou who delivered a stunning debut performance of Christine Daaé. She delivered a strong performance with absolutely killer vocals. There were so many moments that I loved. I loved the difference in volume that Kouatchou had during "Think of Me" when she is very quiet and scared at first, but then gradually becomes more confidant and serves strong vocals. I also loved how in "I Remember.../Stranger Than You Dreamt It" Kouatchou's Christine was not scared of the Phantom's deformity, but was scared when he started yelling and chasing after her. Some other great moments were her Serafimo in "Il Muto" and her facial expressions and |
| Ben Crawford and Emilie Kouatchou |
varying degrees of emotion during "Masquerade". My favorite moment of hers was during "The Point of No Return" when she realized the Phantom was there in place of Piangi. Kouatchou delivered a strong performance and she has so much room to grow. If this was her debut performance I cannot wait to see her after a month or so in the role. I would not be at all surprised if after Meghan leaves Kouatchou takes over the role of full time. While I loved Kouatchou, I have to be quite honest, I was rather disappointed in Ben Crawford as the Phantom. I was not a fan of some of his acting choices, they felt rather silly at times. For example, during "I Remember.../Stranger Than You Dreamt It" when he was crawling on the floor it was this weird scooting thing that made several audience members laugh. I also did not like how his vocal tone kept changing throughout the performance. There would be times he would have a clear tone and it would then switch to this full/deep tone. It was kind of jarring. I much preferred his full/deep tone in the role because it worked well with Kouatchou's strong voice. The Phantom of the Opera is a stunning show and it has stood against the test of time. I definitely plan on seeing Kouatchou again sometime soon. I think she is stunning. I highly recommend you buy tickets and see her. "Masquerade! Paper faces on parade... Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!"
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