Phantom of the Opera phantastic on final tour

The current and, sadly, final tour of Phantom of the Opera that ran in Austin from March 17 to April 4 served as a magnificent curtain call for this long running show. From the opening scene, which is not truncated like it has been in the past, Bass Concert Hall seemed to be charged with energy. The staging and costuming is exquisite. Everything with this cast is right on cue and watching the chandelier rise from the floor to its location on the ceiling; you could feel that the audience was in for a real treat.

Trista Moldovan as Christine is wonderfully cast. Unlike Emily Rossum in the 2004 movie version, Moldovan is not only able to sing in the original range that the music was written, but does so artfully. Her acting skills are superb, and during the song "Past the Point of No Return," she seems genuinely surprised to find that the Phantom has taken over the role of Don Juan.

The visual effects do a wonderful job of drawing the audience in.  The pyrotechnics used were startling to many in the audience who were not expecting them. Gasps from the crowd, and an actual scream or two could be heard.

The ensemble is well done, and the supporting cast all give great effort in their roles. Nancy Hess gives a good performance as Madame Giry, the Phatom's contact in the Paris opera house and the instructor of the girls in the ballet. Though she seems somewhat disconnected during the scene when she explains the Phantom's story to Raoul, the weak, and thankfully brief, scene only serves as a slight departure from an otherwise quality performance.

"Whose is the face in the mask," sings Christine. In this case, the answer is Tim Martin Gleason. A long time Phantom veteran, he played the part of Raoul in Vegas and on Broadway when Phantom of the Opera became the longest running Broadway show in history. For the final US tour, he was cast in the titular role of the Phantom. He plays his part passionately, but not overdone as is many times the case. He touches the emotions of the audience, because he makes you feel his pain.

The strange, sad tale of the Phantom of the Opera was first told as Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux, a French novel that never became successful in the author's lifetime. In 1925, it was made into a movie starring Lon Chaney. The film enjoyed moderate success, but eventually faded back into obscurity until 1986, when Andrew Lloyd Webber resurrected the tale for his newest musical production.

The Phantom of the Opera was first produced on October 9, 1986 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, and went on to win every major British theatre award including the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards.

The New York production, which opened on January 26, 1988, swept all of the 1998 American theater awards, winning seven Tony Awards (including Best Musical), seven Drama Desk Awards and three Outer Critics Circle Awards. The original London cast recording, which was the first cast album in British musical history to enter the charts at number one, has since gone both gold and platinum in Britain and the United States, selling over two million copies. It's also the only musical that ever had a theater built specifically for it to be staged in. It was also the only musical to date to have three tours running concurrently in the U.S.

But all good things must come to an end. Webber has decided it's time for "Phantom of the Opera" to end its run for the foreseeable future.

A sequel to Phantom of the Opera opened on March 9 at the Adelphi Theater in London. "Love Never Dies" is a continuation of the story, following Christine and Raoul to New York, where she is to perform at Coney Island on the opening day of a park called Phantasm, and which unknown to them at first, is run by the Phantom. The music is darker, but just as well written. The double cast album is a good listen, but as a sequel, it does what sequels often do, and doesn't live up to the expectations placed by the predecessor.

So, for better or for worse, in Texas now, and in the entire country come October, the Phantom's lyrics sadly ring true: "It's over now the music of the night."