Rattling the rafters, stirring the heart

’Phantom’ retains its allure at Wharton Center

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It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” made its debut in London’s West End and the show has remained a money-spinner ever since. That’s quite remarkable in the theater world, where today’s hot ticket can easily turn into tomorrow’s big yawn.

Why has “Phantom” continued to cast its spell over audiences while countless other (and some would say better) musicals have come and gone? That’s a question even Lloyd Webber probably couldn’t answer: Nothing he has created since — “Aspects of Love,” “Whistle Down the Wind,” “The Woman in White,” “The Beautiful Game” (now revised as “The Boys in the Photograph”), even “Sunset Boulevard” — has come close to matching “Phantom,” and the tepid-to-terrible reviews for his long-in-gestation “Phantom” sequel, “Love Never Dies” (which opened this spring in London and is slated to arrive on Broadway in 2011), don’t seem to bode well for its prospects.

The good news for longtime “Phantom” fans, or for those who might be catching the show for the first time, is that the current tour is a solid, suitably spectacular version of the blockbuster.

All the familiar elements are in place: the gondola cutting through the fog on a subterranean lake; the fireballs in the graveyard; the teeter-tottering ramps leading into the Phantom’s underground domain; and, of course, that sensational stunt with the chandelier that brings Act One to a (literally) smashing finale.

Just as importantly, Tim Martin Gleason (in the title role),Trista Moldovan as Christine, and Sean MacLaughlin as Raoul, givevibrant voice to the score, which is now as familiar to musical theaterbuffs as anything by Rodgers and Hammerstein or Jerome Kern. Gleason inparticular demonstrates crystal-clear enunciation that allows him togive his lyrics an extra punch of drama that has eluded many otherPhantoms over the years.

Theplot, adapted from Gaston Leroux’s 1911 novel, is built around a tragiclove triangle. Christine, a chorus girl in the Paris Opera House, iscaught in a romantic tug-of-war between the dashing vicomte, Raoul, andher mysterious mentor, an unseen “angel of music” who has been groomingher to succeed Carlotta (Kim Stengel), the company’s pompous primadonna.

AfterChristine scores a triumph by replacing Carlotta on opening night, thePhantom lures his young student into his macabre private paradise,although his hopes for a romantic liaison are spoiled when Christinecan’t resist removing the mask he wears to cover his distorted, scarred face.

Unsurprisingly,Christine seeks solace in the arms of Raoul: He may not be much of avocal coach, but he’s certainly a lot easier on the eyes. Equally unsurprisingly, the Phantom does not take this news well.

Althoughthe role of Christine was originally designed to showcase LloydWebber’s then-lady-love Sarah Brightman, it’s actually a somewhatshallow, colorless character. Moldovan enhances it as much as possibleby amplifying Christine’s divided heart and dropping a few extra gracenotes of anguish and confusion into “Twisted Every Way” and “WishingYou Were Somehow Here Again.” Her silvery, swooping soprano isbeautifully suited to “Think of Me” and “I Remember,” and she andGleason send their slow-boiling duet, “The Point of No Return,” to apassionate peak.

Moldovan and MacLaughlin work similar magic on “All I Ask of You,” investing Lloyd Webber’s swoon-worthy melody with warmth instead of histrionics.

Stengelis a haughty hoot as Carlotta, while Luke Grooms, as the Opera’s portlyresident tenor, works comic wonders with an Italian accent that twistshis tongue like rotini. As Madame Giry, the ballet mistress who may know more about the Phantom than anyone else, Nancy Hess is a formidable figure.

Thegilded stage trimmings and spangle-studded, bejeweled costumes arefirst-rate in every respect and, as the “Masquerade” staircase balletdemonstrates, this is not one of those tours in which corners have beencut or spectacle has been scaled down. The only major stumbling blockhere is the sound mixing during some of the ensemble numbers, such as“Notes” and “Prima Donna,” in which the layered vocals often becomemurky and indistinct. Even so, it’s ultimately the solos and duets thatfuel “Phantom,” and, in those numbers, Gleason, Moldovan andMacLaughlin frequently manage to both rattle the rafters and stir theheart.

’The Phantom of the Opera’

Wharton Center 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, May 26-June 3; 8 p.m. Friday,May 28 and June 4; 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 29 and June 5; 1:30p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, May 30 and June 6 $35/$70 (800) WHARTON www.whartoncenter.com

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