Phantom Take Three

Photo credit: Matthew Murphy

I know it's not cool for theater kids to admit to liking The Phantom of the Opera, but I do. The story is a fascinating one (there's a reason the 1909 book has been adapted so many times). I first saw the musical in 2001 and was mesmerized by the opulent world. When I revisited it in January, 2010, I still enjoyed it, but it wasn't quite as impressive as I remembered, especially the chandelier, which seemed far punier and slower-moving. But when Norm Lewis joined the cast as the first African-American Phantom on Broadway, I knew it was time for another trip to The Majestic. And I'm happy to report that this time the 26-year-old show felt exciting and fresh, thanks to Lewis and Sierra Boggess breathing new life into their characters.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story (it has come to my attention that many frequent theatergoers have actually never seen it), Christine Daaé (Boggess) is a chorus girl at the Paris Opera House taking singing lessons from a mysterious tutor. When Prima Donna Carlotta (Michele McConnell) drops out of an opera, Christine takes over. Raoul (Jeremy Hays), who she knew as a girl, is in the audience, and is instantly smitten. But her tutor, the Phantom, is very strict and in love with her. Christine doesn't have much to do but sing and look pretty, but Boggess gives her more of a personality, hinting that there is more to her than someone passively letting things happen to her. Lewis's voice is glorious as always. When he is wearing his mask, he makes for a sexy Phantom, but he also taps into his tormented side. His "The Music of the Night" is worth the price of admission.

The last time I saw another long-running show, Chicago, it felt rundown, like everyone was going through the motions. Not so with Phantom. The whole company was present in the moment. Though the chandelier still doesn't live up to the memory of the first time.

Broadway Up Close

Though I know a lot about Broadway, I still have more to learn, and I recently had the chance to do that on a Broadway Up Close walking tour, which caters to all prior knowledge levels. Our tour guide John Scacchetti is a dancer/actor who made his Broadway debut in 42nd Street. He was also in Patti LuPone Gypsy, so I've actually seen him on Broadway. I did Act I of the tour, which you have to complete before taking Act II and Act III. Act I only covers 41st through 44th Street. I expected to cover more ground, but there was a lot to see in those four blocks.

We started in front of the Nederlander and continued to other current and former theaters. As long as I've been coming to Times Square to see shows, there were some buildings that I had no idea used to be theaters. John used an iPad to show us what the inside of some of them looked like. My favorite stop was the final one, the Belasco. We learned about how it is haunted by the ghosts of producer David Belasco his former lover, the woman in the blue dress. Other than Hedwig and the Angry Inch, the theater's current tenant, the only two successful shows there have been Shakespeare revivals. And the architect George Keister was apparently a huge Shakespeare fan. We also learned that the word drag queen comes from Shakespeare. When all roles would be played by men, those playing women would be labeled on the cast sheet with the letters DRAG (dressed as a girl) so that the costume designers would know.

I don't want to give away too many fun facts. I'll save that for John and the other tour guides. If you're interested in booking, you can fill out a form on the website (there is a not a set schedule).

Michael Shannon is Killer (But Not The Killer)

Let me just get this out of the way: I'm not that into Eugéne Ionesco. I think it's important for critics to acknowledge their biases because everyone has them and I prefer realism to absurdism. But while The Killer is not my type of play, if any theater company can make me enjoy it, it's Theatre for a New Audience.

Photo credit: Gerry Goodstein

Michael Shannon plays everyman Berenger. Some say he's miscast in the role, but I found him convincing and it is nice to see him play against type. It was especially a pleasure in the scenes where he is at his most euphoric, such as in the first scene, when Berenger is learning about a radiant city that he wants to move to from the architect (Robert Stanton). Berenger's bubble is burst when he finds out there is a killer loose and Berenger makes it his mission to find and stop him.

Director Darko Tresnjak's, who just won a Tony for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, vision is an eerie one, realized with the help of lighting designer Matthew Richards and sound designer and composer Jane Shaw. He balances the humor--Kristine Nielsen and her cartoonish facial expressions are a highlight--and the horror--the killer's (Ryan Quinn) maniacal laughter still haunts me. 

What You Missed at the 2014 Theatre World Awards

For me, the highlight of theater award season is the Theatre World Awards ceremony. It recognizes twelve actors making a significant, reviewable Broadway or Off-Broadway debut. The recipients are announced in advance, so there are no losers and the evening is a celebration of the theater community.

Christopher Plummer received the John Willis Award for Lifetime Achievement.

According to host Peter Filichia, 122 men and 66 women were eligible this year and those were narrowed down to Paul Chahidi (Twelfth Night), Nick Cordero (Bullets Over Broadway), Bryan Cranston (All The Way), Mary Bridget Davies (A Night With Janis Joplin), Sarah Greene (The Cripple of Inishmaan), Rebecca Hall (Machinal), Ramin Karimloo (Les Misérables), Zachary Levi (First Date), Chris O'Dowd (Of Mice and Men), Sophie Okonedo (A Raisin in the Sun), Emerson Steele (Violet), and Lauren Worsham (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder). Chahidi and Hall were not present. Chahidi is in London rehearsing for the stage version of Shakespeare in Love, but he did make a recording expressing his thanks, and it was not mentioned why Hall was not there. The rest of the recipients were presented their awards by former winners as is Theatre World tradition. Unfortunately, the ceremony is not televised or available on livestream, but I'm here to fill you in on what went down at Circle in the Square last night. These are just a few of the highlights:

• John McMartin presents "young discovery" Bryan Cranston his award: McMartin, who received his Theatre World Award in 1960 for Little Mary Sunshine, stars in All The Way with Cranston. McMartin thought he should try to look at his co-star with new eyes. "I said to myself, 'Ooh the potential here,'" he said, adding, "Please, please don't let Hollywood steal him away." 
• Zachary Quinto and Celia Keenan-Bolger are siblings from another mother: Quinto (2011 recipient for Angels in America) presented Keenan-Bolger with the Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater for her performance in The Glass Menagerie, saying, "I never had a sister until I played Tom in The Glass Menagerie and now I'll have one for the rest of my life." When Keenan-Bolger accepted the award, she said, "My takeaway from [The Glass Menagerie] is that," and pointed at Quinto. She spoke about how much she loved Dorothy Loudon growing up due to her obsession with the Annie cast recording and concluded her moving speech by saying, "If my five-year-old self knew I would get an award named after the lady who played Miss Hannigan, I would still be jumping on my bed."

Zachary Quinto presented Celia Keenan-Bolger with the Dorothy Loudon Award for Excellence in the Theater

• Ben Daniels surprises Sophie Okonedo: When Okonedo accepted the award from Daniels, who won in 2008 for Les Liasions Dangereuses, she expressed shock that he was there. She said that they had been best friends for 20 years since meeting doing a show at the Old Vic and she had asked him to accompany her to the ceremony, but he claimed he was busy. She had known about the award from Daniels, who told her it was the best thing he ever received. Her speech, in which she mentioned that this is the first award she's received, was so gracious and genuine that I'm tempted to buy a ticket to A Raisin in the Sun.

  

  Sophie Okonedo, one of this year's recipients

• Zachary Levi and Len Cariou meet: Sometimes the presenters and recipients are dear friends and sometimes they've never met. But usually in the latter case, the presenter has seen the performance and can speak to that. But Cariou (1970 recipient for Henry V and Applause) hadn't seen First Date and expressed his regret that no one was there who could say lovely things about Levi (I hoped they had at least asked his Chuck co-star Yvonne Strahovski, who won last year). It was a little sad, but they both handled it well. And it made for a cute moment when Levi took the stage and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you." 
• Rob McClure makes me want to buy a ticket to Honeymoon in Vegas: McClure, who received the award last year for Chaplin, performed the title number for the Broadway-bound Honeymoon in Vegas and if the rest of the musical is as good, it could end up being a must see.
• We find out how the Billys are doing: In 2009, Trent Kowalik, David Alvarez, and Kiril Kulish won a Theatre World Award (and a Tony) for portraying Billy in Billy Elliot. Kowalik, now 19, is a college student and updated the audience on the whereabouts of the other former Billys. Kulish is in California and Alvarez (the Billy I saw) is in the army. Kowalik said they were living their dream and wished the same for Emerson Steele. Steele, who was cast for the City Center production of Violet via an open call, said her dream was to be on Broadway and her even bigger dream was to be opposite Sutton Foster. 

  

  Billy Elliot's Trent Kowalik, all grown up

• Keala Settle leaves everyone with a great mental image: Settle, who won last year for Hands on a Hardbody, made fun of her Les Misérables co-star Ramin Karimloo for being Canadian and the way he plays softball. She then quoted Will Swenson, "Ramin, more than any other co-star, has made me question my own sexuality." At the end of his speech, Karimloo said, "I have many things to discuss with Will Swenson. Then he should talk to Audra." Given that Audra McDonald has said in interviews that she was kind of hoping Valjean and Javert would kiss, I think she'd be fine with it.
• De'Adre Aziza and Mary Bridet Davies reunite: Aziza (2009 recipient for Passing Strange) described her former A Night with Janis co-star as "cords of steel and a heart of gold." She spoke about how important it is to have humility and graciousness when you are the lead in a show and said that the cast looked up to Davies as their leader even though some of them had more stage experience. Davies was visibly crying when she accepted the award and said that the show was about the woman who made Janis who she was and that's what the cast did for her. She also probably spoke for all the winners when she said that she was never cool growing up, but "I'm fucking cool now."
• Chris O'Dowd speaks the truth: O'Dowd's speech was of course hilarious, but the highlight was when he said what I'm sure everyone in the industry has thought: "The Wednesday matinees I could do without."