Once upon a time — June 22, 2006, to be exact — Steve Friess told CityLife, re the upcoming Phantom: The Vegas Spectacular, “If Phantom doesn’t work [here], then nothing will work. Period. End of story.”
Three years and more than 1,300 performances later, Phantom has proven its staying power and may well overtake the nearly six-year run enjoyed by Mamma Mia! And, as lead actor Anthony Crivello — in an extremely gracious curtain speech — facetiously observed, it’s even surpassed the longevity of long-forgotten Stardust show Headlights & Tailpipes.
Success has, however, bred a certain self-indulgence into Phantom, which might be fairly retitled Hambone: The Vegas Spectacular. Nearly everyone in the cast — especially the supporting players — works much too hard for their laugh lines or big moments. A noteworthy exception is Tina Walsh, whose tall, baleful Mme. Giry has evolved into a dominant presence precisely through restraint. Walsh does comparatively little, so whenever she takes action, one takes note. Every admonitory glance speaks volumes.
It would be unfair to say Crivello “manages” the incredibly demanding vocal line of the titular Phantom. However, a great deal of his singing emerges through a fixed snarl and the ratio of pitchless ranting to actual vocalism rises considerably toward the end. He tears the proverbial passion to tatters, flinging himself about the stage and frequently impersonating the Petulance of the Opera. For once, I found myself wishing that someone so generous with his talent might be a bit thriftier instead.
The venerable Harold Prince staging, Gillian Lyne’s choreography, the shimmeringly beautiful trompe l’oeil sets and period costumes all look as penny-bright as when this production debuted three years back. All it really needs at the moment is for a revival director to “put a bit of stick about,” and for some of the leads to take a sabbatical and recharge their batteries.
Sign of the times: Last night’s birthday cake looked appreciably smaller than 2008’s, if memory serves.
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